Updated: July 10, 2015. 12:30 p.m. EST
Just days after the U.N. will set new goals to tackle the world’s most pressing problems, some of entertainment’s biggest names will hit the stage in New York City to ensure their fans join in to help.
On Sept. 26, Beyonce, Pearl Jam, Ed Sheeran and other stars will play in Central Park at the fourth annual Global Citizen Festival. The free concert will fall just a little over a week after the U.N. will have signed off on its new global goals, a roadmap to end poverty, reduce maternal deaths and combat climate change, among other critical issues it will address.
“We hope Pearl Jam fans will sign up to become Global Citizens -- not just to earn tickets to the show -- but to be part of a movement that encourages leaders of nations with the greatest wealth to apply aid, trade and governance policies in support of nations and communities in the greatest need,” Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard said in a statement.
To gain admittance to the show, participants have to commit to taking an “action” to help make the world a better place.
They can start by visiting the Global Citizen website and calling upon the U.S. State Department to spend half of the foreign aid budget on the world’s poorest countries. They’re also encouraged to get involved in volunteer events.
“By making this call, we will show the U.S. Administration that the world is watching and demand concrete solutions at Addis Ababa that will lead to the end of extreme poverty by 2030,” Global Citizen said in a statement.
In addition to raising awareness about poverty issues, the concert hopes to shed light on ways to empower women and girls around the world.
Gucci’s Chime for Change campaign is serving as one of the event’s partners, and works to fund education, health and justice projects for girls and women worldwide.
A total of 48,000 free tickets will be distributed and they’ll be available starting on Thursday.
Since 2012, participants have taken 3 million actions to fight extreme poverty, which have resulted in a number of tangible results, including cash commitments valued at $18.3 billion, according to the organization.
MSNBC will simulcast the show both online and on TV, and YouTube will stream the show. But this year, supporters will also be able to access the show on various radio stations.
Screenwriter Richard Curtis, creative director for the Global Citizen Festival, figured that expanding the coverage to include radio would help amplify the event’s message.
Radio Everyone, a global pop-up radio station, will air highlights of the six-hour concert on radio stations around the world. Curtis told HuffPost in an email that the addition of radio broadcasting this year will ensure the message reaches people who don't have other forms of media.
"Radio has enormous reach," he wrote. "Having set ourselves the ridiculously ambitious task of reaching 7 billion people in 7 days (which of course we will fail to do… but we will have a damn good go at it and fail brilliantly) then we needed to do some analysis of how to reach them."
Learn more about earning tickets here.
To take action on pressing poverty issues, check out the Global Citizen's widget below.
