The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will join the US president, Joe Biden, at a concert in Los Angeles aimed at increasing the global vaccination effort.
Harry and Meghan are “campaign chairs” of the A-list event, Vax Live. Hosted by Selena Gomez, and organised by Global Citizen, the event, on Saturday 8 May, will feature musical performances by names from the worlds of film and politics, and music performances from stars including Jennifer Lopez, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin and HER.
The broadcast special aims to encourage donations to Covax, which is working to provide vaccines for low and middle-income countries.
In a statement, the Sussexes said: “Over the past year, our world has experienced pain, loss and struggle – together. Now we need to recover and heal – together. We can’t leave anybody behind. We will all benefit, we will all be safer, when everyone, everywhere has equal access to the vaccine.
“We must pursue equitable vaccine distribution and, in that, restore faith in our common humanity. The mission couldn’t be more critical or important.”
Special guests, including Ben Affleck, Chrissy Teigen, David Letterman, Gayle King, Jimmy Kimmel and Sean Penn, will speak from around the world.
Biden, along with the US first lady, Jill Biden, and the vice-president, Kamala Harris, will make special appearances through Global Citizen’s partnership with the White House’s We Can Do This initiative, which encourages measures, including mask wearing.
Appearances by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Croatian prime minister, Andrej Plenković, are also planned, organisers say.
A trailer for Vax Live promised it would feature “big names and an even bigger message”. It will be recorded at SoFi stadium in Los Angeles, and air on 8 May across networks including ABC, CBS, and iHeartMedia radio stations.
The announcement comes as there are calls for the US to hand over 60m doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to India as part of the global drive to fight the virus. The US announced on Monday that 60m doses would be available to send abroad once the vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Global Citizen calls itself a movement of “engaged citizens who are using their collective voice to end extreme poverty by 2030”. The concert has been described as a call to world leaders to ensure vaccines are accessible for all.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
