Fans Worldwide Virtually Transported to the Great Lawn in Central Park, New York City
Citi and Live Nation will broadcast this year’s Global Citizen Festival live in virtual reality for the first time ever. On September 23rd, fans will be transported to the Great Lawn in Central Park, New York City, for an incredible immersive experience that will encompass on-stage performances by headliners including The Lumineers, The Chainsmokers, and special guests Big Sean, Andra Day and Alessia Cara. This is the first festival experience that Citi and Live Nation will bring to fans in the NextVR app.
This one-of-a-kind live concert experience will virtually connect fans worldwide, offering them front row access, joining over 60,000 in-person activists as they stand together calling on leaders around the world to uphold their responsibility to end extreme poverty. Since its inception in 2012, Global Citizens have taken over twelve million actions and achieved financial commitments worth more than $30 billion set to affect one billion lives by 2020.
As an added bonus, fans will have a rare, virtual lens into how this momentous event comes to life, via the “Backstage with Citi” a joint production series by Live Nation and NextVR. Highlights include an in-depth interview with Global Citizen founder Hugh Evans and special access to the grounds not otherwise accessible by the public.
Citi has been a proud partner of Global Citizen Festival since inception, and Live Nation proudly serves as the entertainment partner producing and promoting the event. Both companies are committed to helping address societal challenges that impact communities across the globe.
In addition to supporting the festival as a major partner, Citi will present a number of unique advocacy-driven activations during the 2017 Global Citizen Week including a co-branded takeover of bikes in the Citi Bike program, retail branches, NBC’s Today Show and Citi Field as well as an exclusive show by Mumford & Sons for Citi cardmembers in which ticket proceeds will benefit Global Citizen and Children in Conflict.
“With our friends at Live Nation, Global Citizen and NextVR, we are proud to amplify this important event through virtual reality so that more Global Citizens can unite and be engaged in the movement to end extreme poverty,” says Jennifer Breithaupt, Global Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, Citi.
“One of the key ingredients to driving global change is to continuously find ways to galvanize likeminded people and the power of live music has proven to be the right medium to ignite action,” states Kevin Chernett, EVP Global Partnerships and Content Distribution, Live Nation. “By bringing VR into the mix we are expanding our reach and connecting a global audience to the cause inspiring even more people to help combat the world’s biggest challenges.”
“Inclusion is at the heart of Global Citizen’s movement to end extreme poverty – we are so excited to partner with Citi, Live Nation and NextVR to give activists and fans around the world front row access to the Festival through this incredible virtual reality experience,” states Lizzie Edelman, Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Global Citizen.
The Global Citizen Festival will be available on a Samsung Gear VR headset or Google Daydream, along with a compatible smartphone, by downloading the NextVR app from the Oculus store for GearVR or the Google Play store for Daydream. Portions of “Backstage with Citi” will also be made available on demand – in virtual reality and 2D – on Citi channels.
“Global Citizen is a worldwide movement and in collaboration with our partners, we’re proud to be able to extend the live festival experience to fans globally though our VR technology,” claims David Cole, CEO, NextVR.
Since last year, Citi and Live Nation have partnered with NextVR to broadcast live performances from Slash & Friends, Imagine Dragons, Lady Antebellum, Third Eye Blind, Prince Royce and more in virtual reality to music fans worldwide and transformed the way fans interact with artists.
