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Jennifer Lopez, Foo Fighters, Selena Gomez To Perform On ‘Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World’, Set For May 8 On ABC, CBS, Fox & YouTube

SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will play host to an all-star concert that will be broadcast and streamed worldwide as part of a global effort to inspire confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and encourage people to be inoculated, organizers announced today.

Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World will be pre-taped at SoFi Stadium and air May 8 as part of a worldwide event broadcasting on ABC, CBS, Fox, YouTube and on iHeartMedia radio stations. Selena Gomez will host the event, which will include performances by Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin and H.E.R.

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“I’m honored to be hosting Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World,” said Gomez in a statement. “This is a historic moment to encourage people around the world to take the Covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them, call on world leaders to share vaccine doses equitably and to bring people together for a night of music in a way that hasn’t felt possible in the past year. I can’t wait to be a part of it.”

YouTube will stream an extended, 90-minute version of the concert on the YouTube channel of the event’s sponsor, international anti-poverty advocacy group Global Citizen. The extended version will include additional performances and appearances by various YouTube personalities.

“As a global community, we are in a race against time and the key to coming back together is the vaccine,” Global Citizen co-founder/CEO Hugh Evans said in a statement. “We need to build vaccine confidence in the U.S. and globally, and encourage people to take the vaccine as quickly as possible.

“There is a light at the end of this tunnel,” Evans added, “but getting vaccines to everyone, everywhere regardless of who they are or where they are from, is key to ensuring the end of this pandemic around the world. We must all unite to get back on track to eradicating extreme poverty.”

The broadcast will encourage donations, with the goal of ensuring vaccinations for 27 million health-care workers globally, including in the poorest countries of the world. Organizers will also advocate for “equitable distribution” of vaccines.

“Global Citizen is giving voice to a core message to Angelenos, Americans, and citizens of the world: every time someone gets vaccinated, we move another step closer to ending this pandemic,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. “Vax Live will open our eyes to the future we can forge if we all do our part, follow health guidelines and get our shots as soon as we’re eligible — a return to concerts with our fellow fans, gatherings with loved ones, and the embrace of family and friends.”

Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World is hosted by the State of California, and supported by the LA County Health Department, the City of Los Angeles, the City of Inglewood, and E. Stanley Kroenke, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park Developer, and Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman.

“The State of California is thankful to Global Citizen for demonstrating what’s possible when we embrace getting vaccinated and encourage others to get immunized as well,” said Gavin Newsom, Governor of California in a statement. “Music and the arts have long brought us together to celebrate moments of hope and happiness. This concert is no exception to that. We are excited to showcase the best of California reopening in compliance with the best standards of health and safety.”

The event is executive produced by Global Citizen, the Ad Council & Covid Collaborative, YouTube Originals, iHeartMedia, Teneo and Live Nation. The Vax Live broadcast will be executive produced by Casey Patterson and Casey Patterson Entertainment, and Ken Ehrlich. Producers of Vax Live, include: Michele Anthony, for Universal Music Group, Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation, John Sykes, President, Entertainment Enterprises at iHeartMedia, Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer & President at iHeartMedia, Declan Kelly, CEO of Teneo, Rob Light, for CAA, Amanda Silverman of The Lede Company, Shawn Sachs & Keleigh Thomas Morgan of Sunshine Sachs, and Diversified Production Services (DPS).

City News Service contributed to this report.

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