Global Citizen has announced that Stephen Colbert, CHIME FOR CHANGE co-founder Salma Hayek Pinault, Deborra-Lee and Hugh Jackman, Kerry Washington and Olivia Wilde will appear as the lead hosts of the 2015 Global Citizen Festival, presented by Gucci and CHIME FOR CHANGE. The free-ticketed concert, headlined by Pearl Jam, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay, will take place on the Great Lawn of New York’s Central Park on September 26, 2015.

As the lead hosts of the Festival, Stephen Colbert, Salma Hayek Pinault, Deborra-Lee and Hugh Jackman, Kerry Washington and Olivia Wilde will encourage fans and friends to get involved with the Global Citizen movement and help end extreme poverty by 2030. Each host is committed to encouraging actions on GlobalCitizen.org, where fans can participate in the latest Action Journey and enter the draw to win a pair of tickets to the Festival.

Since the headliner announcement of the 2015 Global Citizen Festival in early July, nearly half a million actions have been taken on behalf of the world’s poor. Today’s official host announcement coincides with the next Action Journey release, where global citizens will champion the importance of improving universal access to education, especially for girls and women. Global citizens will be asked to send a voice message to Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway, encouraging her to attend the 2015 Global Citizen Festival and make a commitment to universal education. Hugh Evans, CEO of The Global Poverty Project, will be meeting with the Prime Minister next week where he will personally deliver these messages.

MSNBC returns as a media partner of the Global Citizen Festival for the second year. Willie Geist, Janet Mock, Thomas Roberts and Alex Wagner will host the simulcast of the full concert from 4-10 p.m. ET on MSNBC and MSNBC.com live from Central Park. The YouTube livestream will be hosted by AsapSCIENCE and Matthew Santoro on youtube.com/globalcitizen, presented by T-Mobile. Tamron Hall will host NBC’s one-hour television special of the event, produced by director and screenwriter Richard Curtis, to air on Sunday, September 27. A one-hour special of the Festival will also air on BBC One in the UK on Monday, September 28 and will be distributed globally through BBC Worldwide. The Festival will be produced by Emmy Award-winning producer, Ken Ehrlich (Grammy Awards). An audio feed of the concert will also be simulcast live on the “Global Citizen Radio” digital station on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s industry-leading digital radio service, making this the fourth year that iHeartMedia has partnered with Global Citizen in support of the Festival. Audio from the Festival will also be digitally streamed on innovative music and entertainment platform, Tidal.com. The Festival will be produced by Emmy Award-winning producer, Ken Ehrlich (Grammy Awards).

Said Stephen Colbert, “I am honored and thrilled to join Global Citizen in urging world leaders to commit to ending extreme poverty. Finally, all that U.N. traffic will have a purpose!”

“We can’t wait to stand with these awesome artists, co-hosts, and thousands of global citizens in Central Park this September as we call on our leaders to end the injustice that is extreme poverty,” said Deborra-Lee and Hugh Jackman. “The Global Citizen movement is proof that when we come together and raise our voices, our leaders pay attention.”

Kerry Washington said, “I am very excited to be a part of the Global Citizen Festival and to join in this movement calling for an end to extreme poverty so that our future generations can live in a more just and equal world.”

“Over the last four years the Global Citizen Festival has achieved real and meaningful impact for those in need around the world. I’m excited to join everyone again this year to show what we can achieve when our energy is focused in the right place,” said Olivia Wilde.

“We are so grateful for the support of these world-class artists and activists,” said Hugh Evans, CEO, The Global Poverty Project. “Ending extreme poverty is a long-term commitment for global citizens around the world. With the help of these individuals to inspire and motivate our movement brings us a step closer to realizing the Global Goals.”

Said YouTube star Matt Santoro, “I’m incredibly excited to be hosting this year’s festival. The Global Citizen project is something I am very passionate about, and it is the perfect way to involve my audience in a movement that is making a difference worldwide!”

“We are honored to be a part of Global Citizen,” said AsapSCIENCE. “It is important that we embrace our global community and urge world leaders to fight poverty, embrace equality and create a more sustainable world for everyone. We can’t wait to be surrounded by people who share this common goal and have worked hard to create a positive change in the world!”

In July, Global Citizen announced a new partnership with Gucci and the CHIME FOR CHANGE campaign to build a community of people who want to learn about and take action on the biggest challenges faced by girls and women. CHIME FOR CHANGE was founded by Gucci in 2013 to raise funds and awareness for girls and women’s equality. Led by co-founders Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Salma Hayek Pinault, the campaign has joined forces with Global Citizen to promote education, health and justice for girls and women around the world.

“As a global citizen and co-founder of CHIME FOR CHANGE, I am honored to co-host the 2015 Global Citizen Festival,” said Salma Hayek Pinault. “Empowering girls and women is a key step toward ending extreme poverty, and I am proud to be a part of this historic moment where we will raise our voices together to create real change for girls and women around the world.”

In coordination with Global Citizen, CHIME FOR CHANGE and Salma Hayek Pinault are encouraging supporters to “CHIME for Education” through a recently launched Crowdrise campaign that supports girls’ and women’s education efforts around the world. By donating to CHIME for Education, fans will be entered to win two VIP tickets to this year’s Global Citizen Festival. To find out more information and support the campaign, visit http://www.crowdrise.com/CHIME.

Presenting partner Gucci and CHIME FOR CHANGE join proud core partners of the Festival: Citi, Unilever, YouTube, TIDAL, Google, iHeartRadio, Clear Channel Outdoor, MSNBC, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, H&M, and T- Mobile. Supporting partners are BBC Worldwide, Universal Music Group Distribution, Pratt Foundation, Waislitz Foundation, The Huffington Post, Milk Studios, RYOT and Riot House.

Citi has been a proud partner of the Global Citizen Festival since inception four years ago, and Citi credit cardmembers enjoy exclusive access to VIP offers and ticket pricing.

People everywhere are invited to sign-up, take actions, and enter the prize draws for free tickets. In total, 48,000 free tickets to the Festival will be given out to Global Citizens. Once fans complete an Action Journey on globalcitizenfestival.com, they can enter to win free tickets. Ticket draws will occur throughout the summer and fans will be notified via Global Citizen when they have been selected.

For more information about the artists, schedules, and event, please visit www.globalcitizenfestival.com and follow @GlblCtzn Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #GlobalCitizen.

ABOUT GLOBAL CITIZEN
Global Citizen is a content and campaigning platform where people can learn about and take action on the world’s biggest issues. Global Citizen works in partnership with and supports some of the most effective organizations working to end extreme poverty. Committed to providing the most interesting stories, effective actions and powerful campaigns, Global Citizen aims to unlock the power of every individual to play his or her part in the movement to end extreme poverty in the next 15 years. For more information, visit GlobalCitizen.org and follow @GlblCtzn Twitter,Facebook and Instagram using #GlobalCitizen.

Global Citizen has partnered with leading organizations for the 2015 Global Citizen Festival, including: action/2015, CARE, Concern Worldwide U.S., The Earth Institute, Every Woman Every Child, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, The Global Partnership for Education, Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Heifer International, The Hunger Project, Kiva, The ONE Campaign, Opportunity International, Oxfam, Pencils of Promise, RESULTS, Save the Children Action Network, The United Nations Foundation, UNICEF, USA for UNHCR, WaterAid, World Bank Group, World Vision and Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL POVERTY PROJECT
The Global Poverty Project is a registered 501(c)(3) international non-profit organization whose mission is to end extreme poverty by 2030. The advocacy organization works in partnership with other NGOs, business leaders, world leaders and global citizens in its efforts to build the largest movement of people taking actions and calling on governments to support policies that would significantly impact the world’s poor. The Global Poverty Project organizes massive global campaigns including Live Below the Line and the annual Global Citizen Festival as catalysts in this movement. Over the last four years, global citizens have nearly 3 million actions in the fight against extreme poverty. These actions have resulted in 87 commitments and policy announcements, including cash commitments valued at US $18.3 billion. The Global Poverty Project has offices in New York, Canada, UK and Australia. For more information, visit globalpovertyproject.org.

ABOUT CHIME FOR CHANGE
CHIME FOR CHANGE, founded by Gucci in 2013, is a global campaign to convene, unite and strengthen the voices speaking out for girls and women around the world, with a focus on using innovative approaches to raise funds and awareness for Education, Health and Justice projects. Through the power of crowdfunding, CHIME FOR CHANGE has funded more than 400 projects in 86 countries through 144 non-profit partners reaching hundreds of thousands of girls and women. CHIME FOR CHANGE co-Founders Salma Hayek Pinault and Beyonce Knowles-Carter continue to lead the coalition of partners who support the campaign. Founding Partners include the Kering Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, Hearst Magazines and Catapult. Strategic Partners include P&G Prestige, Twitter and Kellogg’s Special K. The CHIME FOR CHANGE Advisory Board includes Hafsat Abiola, Muna AbuSulayman, Valerie Amos, Humaira Bachal, Jimmie Briggs, Gordon and Sarah Brown, Lydia Cacho, David Carey, Minh Dang, Juliet de Baubigny, Waris Dirie, Carolyn Everson, Helene Gayle, Leymah Gbowee, Yasmeen Hassan, Hung Huang, Arianna Huffington, Musimbi Kanyoro, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Lee Young-Ae, Madonna, Pat Mitchell, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Alyse Nelson, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Francois-Henri Pinault, Julia Roberts, Jill Sheffield, Alison Smale, Jada Pinkett Smith, Peter Soer, Caryl Stern, Meryl Streep, the Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mpho Tutu, Monique Villa and Yang Lan.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL GOALS CAMPAIGN AND RADIO EVERYONE
In September 2015, at the United Nations General Assembly, New York, 193 world leaders will adopt a series of ambitious targets to end extreme poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change for everyone by 2030. The Global Goals campaign is a global collaborative effort to ensure that these goals are world famous and that they are successfully acted upon. In order to make the goals famous Project Everyone, the brainchild of Richard Curtis is on a mission to get the goals to 7 billion people in the 7 days after they are adopted. Radio Everyone forms one part of that ambition, alongside the World’s Largest Lesson and the World’s First Global Cinema Ad.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Global Citizen Inquiries:
Andrew Kirk, Andrew.Kirk@GlobalPovertyProject.com

Media Inquiries:
Blaec Kalweit, kalweit@sunshinesachs.com – (212) 691-2800
Haley Dorgan, dorgan@sunshinesachs.com – (212) 691-2800

SOURCE Global Poverty Project

LINK:
http://GlobalCitizen.org