Update, May 5, 2020: In light of COVID-19, Global Citizen and Teneo announced that Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream, the year-long campaign and multi-city series of events meant to drive impact for the world to achieve the United Nations Global Goals, will not take place on Sept. 26, 2020. Global Goal Live, the campaign, will extend into 2021, and the major events will be postponed to Sept. 25, 2021. Learn more here.
The clock is ticking on the fight to end poverty, achieve equality, and stop climate change by 2030. With slightly over 10 years left to accomplish these lofty — but achievable — goals, governments, corporations, philanthropists, and individual citizens must take urgent action.
In total, the world needs to secure $350 billion in additional funding and investments each year to be spent on areas like health and education in the world’s poorest countries in order to achieve the Global Goals.
So, from now until next year, Global Citizen and its partners are rallying to ensure that stakeholders recommit and reprioritize efforts to achieve these goals as part of a new campaign, called Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream.
And the campaign will culminate in a historic 10-hour event unlike any other on Sept. 26, 2020. With musical performances, inspiring policy makers, and exciting speakers, the broadcast event will take place on five different continents, including festivals in New York City’s Central Park and Lagos, Nigeria.
Dozens of the world’s biggest stars have already signed on to make history. Here’s a sneak peek who you can expect to see at Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream — with many more to be announced.
1. Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys will have Global Citizens “fallin’” for her once again as she returns to the Global Citizen stage for Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. Keys previously performed at the Global Citizen Festival in New York City’s Central Park in 2013 and 2019.
The singer and longtime Global Citizen is a powerful advocate for racial and gender equality. Throughout her career she has used her music and her influence to address everything from women’s empowerment to the refugee crisis — and she’s continuing to call for an end to extreme poverty and inequality by 2030.
2. Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish will be gracing the Global Citizen stage for the first time next year. “Bad Guy” singer Billie Eilish will enchant audiences next September during Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. The 17-year-old singer is an ardent supporter of climate action and youth activism.
3. Coldplay
Coldplay has performed at Global Citizen’s festivals in India, Germany, and New York — and next year, the Grammy-winning band will channel the power of its music for good once again. The band, whose frontman Chris Martin is the Global Citizen Festival curator, will rock the stage at Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream.
4. Cyndi Lauper
Time after time, singer Cyndi Lauper has used her music and influence to make change — and she’ll be doing it again at Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. Lauper has been a champion of LGBTQ rights throughout her career. In 2008, she took her advocacy a step further, founding the nonprofit True Colors United to help find solutions to youth homelessness, with a particular focus on supporting LGBT youth.
5. D’banj
With Nigerian rapper and musician D’banj on the line up, Global Citizens should expect to be brought to their feet during Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. The superstar, who performed at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 last December, has consistently used his music and his platform to address issues including gender equality and agriculture. In fact, D’banj became Nigeria's first United Nations Youth Ambassador for Peace in 2007.
6 and 7. Eddie and Jill Vedder
Power couple Eddie and Jill Vedder will be bringing their talents and activism to the Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream stage. Eddie, best known as the lead vocalist of rock band Pearl Jam, has joined the all-star lineup of musical performances, while Jill will be co-hosting the exciting event.
The pair are outspoken advocates for greater equality, supporting criminal justice reform, environmental protection, and access to maternal and reproductive rights.
8. Exo
K-pop band Exo will be joining forces with Global Citizen for Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. Though the nine-member band is known for its catchy hits and smooth dance moves, its members have been involved in philanthropy since their debut in 2012. That same year, they became Red Cross Youth goodwill ambassadors in South Korea. The band has also donated part of the proceeds from multiple albums to Smile for U, a UNICEF initiative supporting music education for children in Asia.
9. H.E.R.
H.E.R. is committed to empowering young people around the world by advocating for change and leading by example. The singer, who performed at the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, has said she was able to thrive and learn several instruments because of the incredible support system she had — and she wants all children to have such opportunities.
10. Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe made the crowd at the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park feel all the feels. And she’ll be bringing that same star power to Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream next September.
The singer has been outspoken against police brutality and racial inequality, and has also championed LGBTQ rights and gender equality. During last year’s performance she sent the crowd a message of support and empowerment: “I want to tell any survivor here and any survivor watching us that I hear you, I see you, and I believe you.”
11. Lizzo
In addition to many longtime Global Citizens, Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream will also feature exciting performers new to the Global Citizen stage, including Lizzo. The singer, a champion of body positivity and women’s empowerment, will be joining the groundbreaking event’s stellar line up.
12. Metallica
In 2016, Metallica rocked Central Park during the Global Citizen Festival, and next year the band will return to Global Citizen’s stage as part of Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. The band has supported everything from environmental protection to access to food and health care through musical performances and ticket sales. But, while they’re known for their loud, high energy music, much of their activism and philanthropy has taken a different approach.
In addition to the causes they support on-stage, the band’s members have also quietly supported a range of causes off-stage, including education opportunities for people living with a disability.
13. Miley Cyrus
When it comes to bringing the best and most powerful voices to the stages of the Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream — we can’t stop. Singer Miley Cyrus will be performing on a Global Citizen stage for the first time, but this certainly won’t be the first time she’ll have used her voice to advocate for change.
The singer has supported various health initiatives. And, like Lauper, Cyrus has used her platform to raise awareness about issues affecting the LGBTQ community and people experiencing homelessness; Cyrus even used her 2014 MTV Video Music Award win to highlight these issues. Like Brosnahan, Cyrus has also urged people to make their voices heard through voting.
14. Muse
“Time Is Running Out” to get the world on track to end extreme poverty and stop climate change by 2030. That’s why rock band Muse will be performing at Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream, to bring fans together to take action and see the UN Global Goals through.
The band previously used their musical talents to support those experiencing homelessness through a benefit concert.
15. Ozuna
Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado — who goes by Ozuna — will definitely have Global Citizens dancing at Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. The rapper and singer has been working to help those affected by the devastating 2017 hurricanes in his native Puerto Rico through his organization Odisea Children.
“There’s a lot of people that are in need,” he told Billboard in an interview. “We’re going little by little… I’m only one person, but we are contributing.”
16. Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne, another award-winning rocker, will also perform at Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. Though surprising to some, Osbourne applies the same high energy he brings to his music to his philanthropy. The musician is an animal rights activist, and has also supported organizations working to help vulnerable children and people affected by colon cancer and AIDS.
17. Pharrell Williams
Global Citizens will be happy to see Pharrell Williams at Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. The musician and philanthropist has performed at several of Global Citizen’s festivals, including in New York and Johannesburg, and has joined the line up of this one-of-a-kind event, where he will continue to use his voice to advocate for gender equality and climate action.
Williams has spoken about the urgent need to save the planet and stop climate change at the UN and teamed up with fashion brand G-Star RAW to create clothing made from recycled ocean plastic.
18. Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers will be bringing the heat to Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. Though it will be their first time performing for Global Citizens, it’s far from the first time the celebrated band will have used its platform to call for change.
Both its musical career and history of activism span more than three decades. In that time, the Red Hot Chili Peppers has urged people to get out and vote to use their own voices to make change happen, as well as advocating for climate action and disaster relief. The band has also performed as several fundraising concerts in support of these causes and more.
19. Shawn Mendes
Activism appears to be in singer Shawn Mendes’ blood. After charming Global Citizens with his performance at the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, Mendes will be performing at Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream.
Despite his youth, the singer already has a demonstrated history of using his platform and massive following to call for change, bringing attention to education and disaster relief efforts.
20. Tiwa Savage
Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage had the crowd at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 up and dancing last December — and she’s bound to do it again at Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream.
The singer has spoken about her struggle to establish herself as a successful musician in Nigeria’s male-dominated music scene, and has used her music and her journey to champion greater gender equality and women’s empowerment.
21. Usher
Global Citizens who’ve got it bad for Usher will be excited to learn that singer will be returning to the Global Citizen stage for Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. Usher has spoken out against racial inequality, cash bail, and mass incarceration. Through his nonprofit, New Look, Usher has also worked to empower vulnerable students in Atlanta, Georgia, and will be continuing to use his voice to urge individuals, corporations, governments, and philanthropists to commit to ending poverty by 2030.
Usher also performed at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in Johannesburg in 2018, and previously performed at the 2016 Global Citizen Festival in New York City and in Montreal that same year.
22 and 23. Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman
All-star Global Citizens Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman will appear as co-hosts of the event. The pair have consistently used their platforms to advocate for the eradication of poverty. Jackman was even recently awarded his homeland’s most prestigious award for outstanding achievement and service, the Companion of the Order of Australia, for his work to end poverty.
24. Idris Elba
An actor, writer, rapper, singer, DJ, and activist — Idris Elba is a man of many talents, some of which he’ll be bringing to the Global Citizen stage next year as a co-host of Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream.
In 2013, he played the late South African president and human rights icon Nelson Mandela, but Elba is an activist in his own right, supporting affordable housing, joining the effort against Ebola, and advocating for the protection of refugee rights.
25. Katie Holmes
Actress Katie Holmes will return to the Global Citizen stage next year as a co-host of Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. The actress has spoken up for gender equality and access to menstrual health, and has previously appeared at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park on multiple occasions.
26. Rachel Brosnahan
Fellow education advocate Rachel Brosnahan will also return to the Global Citizen stage as a Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream co-host. The actress, best known for playing the title character in the Amazon hit show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, has repeatedly spoken out for girls’ education. She even traveled with Global Citizen to Peru to meet with Venezuelan refugees and learn how education can change lives as part of ACTIVATE: The Global Citizen Movement, a six-part docu-series created in partnership with National Geographic.
The Emmy-award winning actress is also a fierce advocate for voting and strongly believes that every person can use their voice to enact change.
27. Trevor Noah
Furness and Jackman won’t be the only co-hosts Global Citizens recognize. South African comedian and host of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah will also be lending his voice and wit to Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream. Noah hosted the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in his hometown of Johannesburg last December, saying: “If we fail to act, all the signs indicate that extreme poverty will not be solved by 2030 and, in many places, it will get worse."
Noah is also an advocate for education and has worked to increase access to life skills and education opportunities for vulnerable youth in South Africa through his foundation.
28. Uzo Aduba
Uzo Aduba is best known for playing Suzanne Warren in the Netflix show Orange Is the New Black, a role which the actress said enabled her to bring together her two longtime passions: acting and activism.
“I think sometimes the most effective activism can be when the people don’t even know they’re being transformed,” she told Rolling Stone in an interview. “When you’re able to blanket in change and artistic expression in one breath — that’s the art I’m interested in.”
The Emmy-winning actress has used her platform and her art to bring light to mental health, LGBTQ rights, and, most recently, the importance of clean water. Aduba also appears in ACTIVATE: The Global Citizen Movement, in which she travels to her parents’ homeland, Nigeria, to learn about open defecation and why investment is needed to end it. And she is continuing to team up with Global Citizen as a co-host of Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream.