Photos By: Krystal Perkins

The Global Citizen Festival took place this weekend (Sept. 27) on the Great Lawn in New York’s Central Park. Currently in its third year, the charity concert - broadcasted live on MSNBC - featured headlining performances by Jay Z, No Doubt (who was joined by Sting), Carrie Underwood, fun., The Roots, Alicia Keys, and Tiësto. The biggest names in music were accompanied by celebrity presenters such as Hugh Jackman, Jessica Alba, Ryan Reynolds, Adrian Grenier, Katie Holmes, and Olivia Wilde. They all showed their commitment and passion to follow the Global Citizen movement of ending extreme poverty in 2030, as well as fix ongoing world problems that are prevalent today.

In between each performance, world leaders like Queen Silvia of Sweden, Prime Minster Narenda Modi of India, Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway and our very own President Barack Obama (previously recorded and aired live) spoke about the need to improve access to education, cleaner water initiatives, toilets in third world countries, HIV and the Ebola crisis. It was a constant reminder to the 50,000-plus crowd in attendance that their efforts would go a long way in spreading poverty awareness.

Aside from big musical moments, there were announcements that plans to end poverty were already in motion. Prime Minster Modi announced his ambitious plan to completely clean India by 2019. Later in the evening, Prime Minister Solberg pledged to donate $28.5 billion towards education for developing countries. Before Jay Z  hit the stage, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim discussed his promise to reduce the number of children around the globe who are out of school.

While the Global Citizen Festival has been successful in spreading its message, the rockstar lineup meant that each performer continued the tradition of raising awareness. Headliner Jay Z built anticipation for his set with Billy Joel’s “New York State Of Mind” and Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” and then performed his own Big Apple anthem “Empire State Of Mind.” The hits from his 10-plus career came in wave after wave, with songs like “Big Pimpin’” and “Takeover” drawing the biggest crowd reactions. “Support this movement,” he said. “From the front to the back, make some noise!” Hov also made comments about the crowd’s energy, soaking it all in with a few pauses.

For his second and final song, Hov brought out Beyoncé and it was pandemonium from there. For those who didn’t catch the duet for their On The Run Tour, this was a suitable replacement. Bey did the vocals to “Holy Grail,” and ended the show on a high note with “Young Forever,” which was met with a sea of lighters from the amped up crowd. In a night dedicated to raising awareness to end poverty, it was filled with memories that can't be forgotten.—Eric Diep

Jay Z's Setlist

Empire State Of Mind
H To The Izzo
Big Pimpin'
I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)
Tom Ford
Takeover
99 Problems
U Don't Know
On To The Next One
Niggas In Paris
Clique
FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt
Public Service Announcement
Holy Grail
Young Forever

Previously: Denzel Washington Gives A Great Jay Z Impression On ‘The Queen Latifah Show’
44 Of The Best Jay Z Songs
Jay-Z – ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ Album Review

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