A star-studded global event is under way to support frontline workers tackling the coronavirus outbreak. The Killers, Sheryl Crow, Annie Lennox and One Direction stars Liam Payne and Niall Horan have all performed.
In total, the One World: Together At Home show will see more than 100 artists including the Rolling Stones, Billie Eilish and organiser Lady Gaga play live from their homes.
Real-life stories from medical staff on the front line are also being told. The eight-hour event run by the Global Citizen movement and the World Health Organization (WHO) is being live-streamed and broadcast on TV.
It began with a montage of people under lockdown applauding the efforts of healthcare workers around the world – from France, Spain, the UK and US and elsewhere.
“To all of our frontline healthcare workers, we are with you. Thank you for being there for us,” read an on-screen caption.
Lady Gaga, who curated the line-up, dedicated the show to first responders and medical staff, saying the artists all wanted “to give back a little bit of the kindness that you’ve given us”.
She went on to play a ragtime version of Charlie Chaplin’s Smile, adding: “We want to get to the other side of this pandemic and we know you do too.”
Paul McCartney joined the programme shortly after, calling health-care workers “the real heroes” and remembering his mother Mary, who was a nurse during the Second World War.
Proceeds generated from the concert will go to the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the WHO, but Lady Gaga has made clear that the show is not a fundraising telethon and will focus on entertainment and messages of solidarity.
The global music marathon began with US singer songwriter Andra DayThe event involves a six-hour pre-concert, which started at 18:00 GMT on Saturday, followed by the main two-hour TV broadcast from 00:00 GMT on Sunday.
Kicking it off, actress Jameela Jamil said: “We are here for a moment of respite and hopefully joy as we celebrate our true heroes. Thank you for risking your lives every day to save the lives of others.” First to perform was US singer songwriter Andra Day, who sang the ballad Rise Up from her apartment.
Rita Ora gave a pre-recorded performance of her 2014 song I Will Never Let You DownOne Direction star Niall Horan followed shortly afterwards singing Black and White with an acoustic guitar from his living room and former bandmate Liam Payne appeared with the song Midnight. “It’s a pretty dark time for us all right now… and I feel we’re all being brought a lot closer together by this solidarity,” he said.
Two members of The Killers performed their hit Mr Brightside while US singer Adam Lambert gave a rendition of the Tears for Fears song Mad World and Jessie J sang Flashlight.
Rita Ora urged viewers to stay safe and follow WHO recommendations, before singing I Will Never Let You Down.
Annie Lennox, meanwhile, appeared to address President Donald Trump’s threat to pull funding from the WHO earlier this week.
“In this unprecedented moment in history we have a collective responsibility to make sure that global health systems are strong enough to identify and prevent future pandemics before they happen again,” said the singer, although she didn’t mention President Trump by name.
Ellie Goulding and Christine + The Queens also addressed the mental health issues arising from the lockdown, urging viewers to reach out to friends if they were feeling low.
“I know it’s hard,” said Christine, whose real name is Heloise Letissier, “and don’t hesitate to reach out to people virtually if you feel down.”
“We may be apart right now, but coming together has never been more important,” Global Citizen said in a statement earlier.
American TV personalities Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon are hosting the main two-hour show, which will also feature Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Martin, Pharrell Williams, Rita Ora, Sam Smith, Elton John and Paul McCartney.
The entire event is being streamed live on Amazon Prime Video, Facebook, Instagram, TuneIn, Twitch, Twitter and YouTube; with Apple, Music, Apple TV, and Apple Beats 1 joining for the main show.
In the UK, BBC One will screen highlights of the concert at 19:15-21:15 BST on Sunday.
It will include extra performances from British artists like Little Mix, Sir Tom Jones and Rag ‘N’ Bone Man and additional footage will also be available on BBC iPlayer for 30 days.
Source: bbbc.com
