Prince Harry joined kings of pop including Jennifer Lopez at an all-star charity concert in Los Angeles on Sunday to call for a faster and widespread global vaccination against COVID-19 and to show his support to India, facing a devastating outbreak of the epidemic.
Video messages from the Pope and US President Joe Biden were notably broadcast during “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World”, while Hollywood stars such as Ben Affleck and Sean Penn appeared in person.
The concert will be broadcast on May 8 on Youtube and on several television stations around the world, including ABC and CBS in the United States, after being pre-recorded in front of thousands of fully vaccinated spectators, in a vast stadium in California.
“Tonight, we stand in solidarity with the millions of families in India who are battling a devastating second wave,” Prince Harry said, greeted with a standing ovation.
“The virus does not respect borders, and access to the vaccine cannot be determined by geography,” added Harry, who was making his first appearance at a major public event in California since moving to the United States with his wife Meghan Markle, absent at the concert.
This initiative, organized by the NGO Global Citizen, aims to fight against disinformation and call on world leaders and companies to donate for the purchase of vaccines and to take action for the poorest countries.
Thousands of spectators, most of them medical staff on the front lines in the fight against COVID, gathered in the gigantic SoFi stadium in Los Angeles, which was recently completed.
Singer and actress Selena Gomez livened up the festivities, calling for sending “doses and dollars” to poorer countries, while the Foo Fighters were joined by AC / DC’s Brian Johnson for a performance of “Back in.” Black ”.
Organizers say the event surpassed its fundraising target to purchase 10 million doses of vaccine for low- and middle-income countries, attracting more than $ 53 million in donations from businesses and communities. philanthropists.
In pre-recorded messages, President Biden said he was “working with leaders around the world to share more vaccines and boost production,” and Pope Francis said, “I beg you not to forget the more vulnerable ”.
Video messages from French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were also released.
