As the world unites to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Global Citizen and the World Health Organization (WHO) have announced the One World: Together At Home global special in support of the fight against COVID-19.
The special will be broadcast live on Saturday, April 18, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on ABC, NBC, ViacomCBS Networks, and iHeartMedia, as well as Bell Media networks and platforms in Canada. Internationally, BBC One will run the program on Sunday, April 19, with additional international broadcasters including beIN Media Group, MultiChoice Group, and RTE.
The virtual broadcast will show unity among all people who are affected by COVID-19, as well as celebrating and supporting the brave frontline health care workers around the world who are doing incredible, life-saving work.
One World: Together At Home will also be a multi-hour digital broadcast streaming online on multiple global platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Facebook, Instagram, LiveXLive, TIDAL, TuneIn, Twitch, Twitter, Yahoo, and YouTube. Broadcast information is coming soon for Alibaba, Tencent, and Tencent Music Entertainment Group.
Announcing the global broadcast during the WHO’s press briefing on Monday, Lady Gaga confirmed that $35 million has already been raised over the past seven days to support COVID-19 relief efforts. These are a mixture of philanthropic and corporate donations. We'll be sharing more during the April 18 broadcast and digital special, so be sure to tune in!
"It is so important to think globally and support the World Health Organization to curb the pandemic and prevent future outbreaks," she said. "We want to highlight the gravity of this historical, unprecedented, and cultural movement."
.@LadyGaga, @Eltonofficial, @Lizzo, and more are standing in solidarity with us and the @WHO to support global response efforts to the coronavirus. Join us on April 18 for One World: #TogetherAtHome and take action now 👉https://t.co/QMSMOngS2hpic.twitter.com/dpPYhmIEF1
— Global Citizen (@GlblCtzn) April 6, 2020
As well as driving combined action to support the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, the broadcast will highlight stories from the world’s health care heroes, as well as messages of gratitude and appreciation from those who they’ve treated.
Lady Gaga highlighted that "we are all so very grateful to all of the health care professionals across the country and around the world, who are on the frontlines during COVID-19... What you are doing is putting yourselves in harm's way to help the world and we all salute you."
Lady Gaga was joined in making the announcement by Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen.
"I hope that we, as a shared humanity, emerge from this moment forever grateful for the work of doctors, nurses, teachers, grocery store workers, and all of those who are the backbone of our communities," said Evans, during the press conference. "Global health is at the very core of the Global Citizen mission. We must ensure that the world's poorest and most marginalized people have access to resources to cope with and tackle this health crisis."
“As we honor and support the heroic efforts of community health workers, One World: Together At Home aims to serve as a source of unity and encouragement in the global fight to end COVID-19,” added Evans, in a statement. “Through music, entertainment, and impact, the global live-cast will celebrate those who risk their own health to safeguard everyone else’s.”
The global live-cast follows the launch of the Together At Home campaign and virtual concert series in March, in urgent support of the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, powered by the UN Foundation. The campaign calls on individuals around the world to take urgent action to ask world leaders and corporations to step up in supporting the global COVID-19 response with sufficient resources. We’ve also already seen numerous artists stepping up in support of the efforts to drive united global action.
By putting on incredible performances streamed into the homes of fans around the world, artists including Chris Martin, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Common, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, and many more, have been helping to connect and inspire Global Citizens to stand together to beat coronavirus.
To date, Global Citizens from more than 130 countries around the world have taken tens of thousands of actions in support of the Solidarity Response Fund.
Now, the One World: Together At Home global broadcast will go even bigger, reaching even more people, and driving even more action to support the World Health Organization and the global fight to end COVID-19.
Curated in collaboration with Lady Gaga, the global special will feature appearances and musical performances from Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Burna Boy, Chris Martin, David Beckham, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, FINNEAS, Idris and Sabrina Elba, J Balvin, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lang Lang, Lizzo, Maluma, Paul McCartney, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan, and Stevie Wonder.
The broadcast will also be hosted by Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel of Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Stephen Colbert of The Late Show; meanwhile, friends from Sesame Street will also be on hand to help unify and inspire people around the world to take urgent action against COVID-19.
The WHO’s Solidarity Response Fund has already achieved huge impact around the world. As of the latest details provided by the WHO last week, the organization has shipped personal protective equipment (PPE) to 75 countries, including more than 800,000 surgical masks, 54,000 N95 face masks, 873,000 gloves, 85,000 gowns, 15,000 goggles, and 24,000 face shields. It has also sent 1.5 million diagnostic kits to 126 countries, and set up multilingual online courses that have reached 176,000 responders so far.
But the World Health Organization’s incredible work needs funding, with the amount needed to support the global health response expected to be in the tens of billions.
“The World Health Organization is committed to defeating the coronavirus pandemic with science and public health measures, and supporting the health workers who are on the frontlines of the response,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO.
“We may have to be apart physically for a while, but we can still come together virtually to enjoy great music,” he continued. “The One World: Together At Home concert represents a powerful show of solidarity against a common threat.”
At this critical moment in history, Global Citizen is also calling on philanthropists to join and support immediate COVID-19 response efforts, as part of our Give While You Live effort.
We’re urging investors, changemakers, and foundation leaders to actualize their giving and invest quickly in COVID-19-related efforts, such as investing in stronger global health systems and vaccine development.
“The United Nations system is fully mobilized: supporting country responses, placing our supply chains at the world’s disposal, and advocating for a global cease-fire,” said Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres. “We are proud to join forces with One World: Together At Home to help suppress the transmission of the virus, minimize social-economic impacts on the global community, and work together now to advance Global Goals for the future.”
He added: “There is no greater case for collective action than our joint response to COVID-19 – we are in this together and we will get through this together."
The One World: Together At Home commitments from supporters and corporate sponsors will go to the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, to support and equip frontline health care workers around the world, and to local NGOs that provide food, shelter, and health care to those who need it most.
These local groups have been verified to ensure that they are helping communities impacted by COVID-19.
You can join the global efforts against coronavirus by taking meaningful action through our One World: Together At Home campaign — including actions like calling on G20 leaders to support the effort to develop a vaccine; calling on EU leaders to protect refugees in Europe; spreading the word about the WHO's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund; and more.
You can learn more about One World: Together At Homehere, and find all of Global Citizen's COVID-19 coverage here.
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