While reading this New York Times article, “Review: Global Citizen Festival, Including Beyoncé and Pearl Jam, Mixes Music and Activism” by Jon Pareles, on the Global Citizen festival this past Saturday, I was able to analyze the mediums that the organization used to address our major world problems and invigorate people to be activists for change.
The incentive – celebrities. By getting famous musicians, actors, hosts, politicians, executives and social leaders to come together on stage, the organizers of the Global Citizen Festival ensured there would be a lot of media hype surrounding the concert. The publicity would incite audiences’ attention to get tickets and see their heroes in person.
From a showing of 60,000 people, we can see how popular music is and how it reaches out to audiences of tremendous size. The music itself was varied, from Beyonce’s fierce style to Coldplay’s steady rhythms, Ed Sheeran’s smooth vocals to Pearl Jam’s head-banging rock. The appeal reaches all branches of music tastes and therefore, all branches of people.
Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Pearl Jam, Coldplay (left to right)
The set list was carefully chosen to include audience favorites and still send the right message. The article places a lot of emphasis on the feminist empowerment underlying Beyonce’s performance – “Who runs the world? Girls!” – in line with the UN goal of gender equality. With Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder’s performance of John Lennon’s “Imagine”, an activism anthem weaseled its way into people’s hearts. The pathos associated with the dreamy ideas of “no need for greed or hunger” and “a brotherhood of man” is intrinsically connected to the central goals of the UN and envisions a brighter future for us all.
Then there is the method audiences can get tickets – they must complete a list of tasks that promote the UN’s sustainable development goals on social media. This is great for free publicity as social media spreads information across all borders. The more people hear about the goals and concert, the more people will spread the message to get tickets. They will also invite their friends to join the cause so they can all attend the festival together. In the process, the candidates for tickets learn about the issues affecting our world and teach others about it as well.
The massive crowd of 60,000 that attended the Global Citizen Festival.
The Global Citizen Festival cleverly mashes social activism, social media, and music to get the attention and support of everyone.
I really liked reading your blog post Chynelle. I have seen ads around the city about the Global Citizen Festival, and I actually thought it was just a music concert. Naturally, I was very interested in going since it had some of my favorite artists performing. But I have learned through your blog post that this isn’t just a concert – these singers are trying to spread more awareness about certain issues the U.N has been trying to get more people to know about. This is a very effective and great way for more people – especially the younger generations – to not only enjoy music but get more involved about world issues we need to address and discuss more about.
Chynelle, your post immediately caught my eye as I was one of the 60,000 people who went to the Global Citizen Festival last Saturday and one thing that stood out to me most about this particular event was the immense community that gathered together for such a great cause. To have the leaders of our generation step on stage with the hopes and purpose of bringing awareness to worldwide issues like poverty and gender inequality to so many people was what made the day for me so unforgettable. Not only was the music beautiful, but the spirits that filled the air were, too. I hold incredible respect for that event and organization.
Like Sabrina said, I’ve also seen the ad for this concert (on Facebook) and I also thought that it was simply a free outdoor concert! But it’s inspiring to know that it wasn’t JUST that. The whole idea was, as you stated, to promote the UN’s sustainable development goals (the UN’s website, BTW, was very user friendly and easy to follow which really helped me understand certain issues our world is facing today). The organizers (very cleverly) utilized celebrities and their talents to their utmost advantage— tickets in the form of spreading this important information along. Its a pretty powerful idea to know that music can help unite groups of people for a good cause.
I heard about the concert via word of mouth, but I didn’t know about the process of getting tickets. I heard the name Beyonce and I immediately wanted to go, but I was going to be away that weekend. But I think it’s incredibly effective to use a checklist of sustainable development goals created by the UN as a way to ear these tickets. I agree that celebrities and big-name performances are a sure-fire way to receive media attention and desirability to attend the event. Especially with names such as Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, and Coldplay, some of the biggest names in the music industry today. But to know that the even served not only as a platform for musical performance, but to raise awareness on societal equality for all, is really cool to me and makes me regret not going even more.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article. I think you picked an interesting and engaging topic. The Global Citizen Festival did a fantastic job in hosting an awesome event and increasing publicity for their cause. In the modern world, the only way to get people to acknowledge humanitarian/social problems is through social media. Personally, I think this is actually sad how the only way for people to actively pursue solving problems like poverty and gain knowledge of these problems is through celebrity incentives and social media. Instead I think these topics should be apart of the educational curriculum and people should take personal incentive to attacking these problems. However, that in a sense is just wishful thinking because people today are took caught up in their own lives to care about the lives of others. This is sad but also a truth.
From a person that went to Global Citizens, it was a very powerful experience. There was definitely great marketing to make this festival as big as it was. The crowd was amazing and you could feel the vibe of people that want to make the future much brighter than before. The song choice was also very moving, which played a powerful role in emphasizing each problem that exists in our world. However when I was at the festival I felt that people weren’t there for the causes; they were there to see famous celebrities rather than understand the inequalities and problems that exist around the world. I felt like the event brought great awareness, but I felt a bit underwhelmed because the event really went in depth how they were going to fix problems. Overall it was a life moving event for a lot of people.
I think its great how sometimes art can inform, and create a better world for everyone. This is nevertheless exemplified in your article, with the variety of music artists shaping the scope of UN’s sustainable development goals. The Global Citizen’s festival really got people enthusiastic about their favorite arts, and at the same time fueling the change for greater gender equality and promoting a change for other issues as well.
The UN’s idea to use popular artists to promote different ways to help deal with the major world problems is a great approach. In today’s world people consider artists such as Beyonce and Ed Sheeran their role models. By using the celebrities the UN was able to reach a very large audience. I think it’s a great idea, considering people are much more interested in music and entertainment rather than important issues such as gender equality. Beyonce’s song, for example, is able to get the point across in a different way because it is seen in a different light. That way, the UN can get the attention of all kinds of people.
I admit Global Citizens concert really contributed to a great cause. Since I was one of the 60,000 people at the concert, I got to experience first hand how powerful music can be in bringing people together. Artists such as Coldplay and Ed Sheeran spoke about the world problems and for the first time, we really listened and understood. The celebrities especially appealed to the young audience, such as myself, and we all felt inspired to really make a difference. Events, like the Global Citizens Concert, unite people and make them more aware of the global issues. It’s truly inspiring and powerful!
I attended this year’s festival with a few friends, and it was absolutely amazing. All the live acts were fantastic and everyone there had an awesome time. What was even more amazing, however, were all the human rights activists, celebrities, and politicians gathering at the same event to speak about the issues that society is facing today. To see people like Malala and Michelle Obama talk about social change and justice live in person was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ll always remember that day as a fun filled, but important memory.
The UN’s idea to host a concert to try and get people educated about the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals is a great marketing plan. Music is an art form that can reach a great amount of people. The lyrics can also resonate with many as everyone takes away something different from a song. The Global Citizens concert was a great hit because it combined activism with music that inspired activism.
Like a few people have states, I’ve also seen the ad around on the subways and around. It never occurred to me how because of propaganda using celebrities we often are convinced to do something. It was very interesting to read about the use of them to catch the attention of the people to do what our “role models” would support. In this case it was for a good cause and an affective way to get people to go, as shown through the massive crowd of 60,000 that showed up