NYC Parks & Global Citizen Announce Global Citizen Festival Will Return to Central Park’s Great Lawn on September 28, 2024

Media Alert // April 1, 2024 – The Global Citizen Festival is set to return to the iconic Great Lawn of Central Park for the twelfth year on Saturday, September 28 to continue its mission to end extreme poverty. Tickets to Global Citizen Festival are free, and can be earned by taking action to create a world where everyone’s basic needs are fulfilled, our planet is flourishing, and every person and country can prosper. This year’s lineup and ticketing information to be announced in the coming months.

“Since 2012, the Global Citizen Festival has called Central Park its home, thanks to the long-standing partnership with NYC Parks and the City of New York. Annually, we have welcomed 60,000 global citizens to the Great Lawn, who have played a crucial role in our mission, and we look forward to coming back again on September 28 to drive more action and commitments towards ending extreme poverty.” – Hugh Evans, Co-Founder & CEO, Global Citizen.

"Our public greenspaces are where New Yorkers gather for connection, celebration, and release, and that proud tradition continues as we welcome Global Citizen Festival back to Central Park this September!” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “Central Park’s iconic Great Lawn has a long and celebrated history of hosting live events that thrill New Yorkers and visitors alike, from Simon & Garfunkel to the NY Philharmonic. The Global Citizen Festival is more than just a good time for music lovers – it’s a call to action, inspiring us to be active citizens of the world in the fight against poverty, inequity, and climate change. I look forward to joining thousands of New Yorkers and visitors out on the Great Lawn for this celebration of music and activism."

“As New Yorkers we are all citizens of the globe. And few moments are as exhilarating and rewarding as the end of UNGA Week each September when our partners at Global Citizen come to Central Park and welcome New Yorkers from all five boroughs to an event that raises much needed resources for those struggling for basic necessities around the world. I’m excited that with Global Citizen’s support, the Parks Department and the Central Park Conservancy will open a restored Great Lawn this week so that an NYC gem is ready for spring - and a season’s worth of inclusive cultural, philanthropic and recreational events that help make New York the great city that it is.” – New York City Councilmember Erik Bottcher (NYC Council District 3, Manhattan).

“Central Park is for every New Yorker, and so is every event in it. I’m grateful to our partners at Global Citizen and the Parks Department for working together to make sure the Great Lawn - site of so many of those great events - is in peak condition for an on-time early spring opening this year.” – New York City Councilmember Shaun Abreu (NYC Council District 7, Manhattan).

Coinciding with the gathering of the UN General Assembly in New York City each September, tens of thousands of diverse New Yorkers from all five boroughs and the tri-state area, as well as American and international visitors, unite on Central Park’s Great Lawn for Global Citizen Festival to take action and address the most urgent issues our world is facing, including the hunger crisis, climate change, and the inequity facing women and girls. Global citizens have taken over 33 million actions, resulting in over $43 billion being distributed to non-profit partners around the world, impacting more 1.3 billion lives.

Central Park’s Great Lawn is reopening on-schedule, on April 6. After heavy rain before, during, and after last year’s Global Citizen Festival in September, the damage to the Great Lawn was assessed, and Global Citizen’s Board of Directors paid for all repairs that were requested. Following its annual closure for the winter months, the Great Lawn is now ready for use by all New Yorkers and visitors to New York City, as well as a wide range of events throughout the warm-weather months. 

Visit globalcitizen.org/festival for more information.

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