SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will play host to an all-star concert that will be broadcast and streamed as part of a global effort to inspire confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and encourage people to be inoculated, organizers announced Tuesday, April 13.
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.
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.
The 70,000 seat So-Fi Stadium is the multi-billion-dollar new home of the Rams and Chargers. It held its first event in September with a Rams game against the Dallas Cowboys but with no crowds due to COVID-19.
But it isn’t just meant for sports because the 3-million-square-foot venue at Hollywood Park was slated to be a busy concert hot spot as well.
SoFi was originally set to open July 25 2020, with two sold-out shows by Taylor Swift, and a busy season was planned after that with shows by Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Guns N’ Roses and The Stadium Tour with Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts before COVID-19 shut all live music shows down.
According to the SoFi website, The Stadium Tour will likely be the first live music show at the venue since it has been rescheduled to Sept. 4.
The pre-recorded May 8 concert however, will mark the first time major musicians have performed at SoFi.
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.”
Staff writer Richard Guzman contributed to this report.
This post first appeared on ocregister.com
ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue82erqxno5q5prrAZp6opZWveqe7zmadop%2BYqbKzv4ypmKusXaSzbq3LpWSsrJGneqS7zZycq6xdlsFuv86foGarpJaxqsHMZquoZZWjsLDB0ZqenmWmlrCktc2aq6Knnqh8