Ellie Goulding rocked out at Global Citizen Festival Hamburg tonight, as international stars assembled on the eve of the G20 summit to pressure world leaders to step up to solve the world’s greatest challenges.
Goulding, a Grammy-nominated artist, performed her biggest hits in front of a crowd of thousands of global citizens at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg. She was introduced by Wana Limar, an MTV host who first came to Germany as a refugee, who highlighted her hard work in providing clean water, healthcare access, and education around the world as she took the stage.
That was *magic* @EllieGoulding.#TuWas#GlobalCitizenFestivalpic.twitter.com/guznpLcGtB
— Global Citizen (@GlblCtzn) July 6, 2017
Goulding opened with “On My Mind,” before launching into a new Kygo-produced single, “First Time.” She closed to a huge barrage of noise from dancing global citizens with two hit number one singles: a version of “Burn” that rocked the arena to its core, before finishing with epic confetti cannons and “Love Me Like You Do.”
The electric performance comes just days after Goulding took to Twitter to criticise music festivals for not booking enough female artists. A BBC study examining British music festivals over the last 10 years found that male headliners dominated proceedings. In an analysis of over 600 top-billed acts across 16 major festivals, the BBC found that four in five headline bands were entirely male. But Goulding is proud to break the trend.
Need to give myself credit sometimes as I've been doing this non stop for over seven years. I don't see many females at these festivals.
— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) July 1, 2017
It’s not just in music either. Women are excluded from a majority of leadership positions in politics and business. But if women participated in the economy identically to men, it would equate to $28 trillion, or 26% of annual global GDP in 2025.
“It’s really important to be here,” Goulding said to a dazzled crowd in the arena. “I’m a Global Citizen and you guys are Global Citizens.”
From the UK’s “Hottest Vegetarian” to a seasoned international activist, Goulding is proud to represent women everywhere. And as protests grip Hamburg on the eve of the G20 summit, her stage has never been bigger.
A struggle to get into Hamburg for @GlblCtzn because there are so many protesters against you know who at G20. I'm not mad tbh
— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) July 6, 2017