(Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna)

The Global Citizen Festival has just announced its 2016 lineup. Headliners include Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Metallica, Major Lazer, and Selena Gomez. In addition to the musicians, guest speakers such as Chelsea Handler, Deborra-lee & Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra, Salma Hayek Pinault and Seth Meyers will make appearances.

Each musician included in the lineup was chosen not only for their artistic success, but for their philanthropic efforts. Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation, which she named after her grandparents, offers funding to schools in her native country of Barbados. In 2015, Kendrick Lamar was thanked by the California Senate for donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to his native Compton. Selena Gomez works frequently with the ENOUGH project, which seeks to end genocide and conflict in areas such as Sudan and Somalia. Additionally, in 2009 she was appointed the world’s youngest UNICEF ambassador.

The Global Citizen Festival is not merely a music festival. Established in 2012, the festival aims to be a part of a continued effort to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is currently the creative director of the festival, and he will hold that position for the next 15 years. On the festival’s website people are able to complete activities such as signing petitions or watching videos in order to receive free tickets to the festival. Tickets cannot be purchased. In the coming weeks, Global Citizen will announce via social media a variety of activities people can partake in for a chance to obtain tickets. The issues concerned in these activities include gender equality, access to education, clean water, and healthcare. Every two weeks the focus will shift to a new issue, and each issue will have a variety actions available for people to take. These include emailing politicians, making social media posts, and other visible declarations of support. Engaging in these actions earns points, and with enough points, one will be drafted into a lottery to receive a pair of tickets. Points need to be re-earned for each issue, so it is important for people to keep up with all of the new challenges that pop up. Additional information on how to obtain them can be viewed here.

Artists who support Global Citizen, including Kanye West and The National, are also collaborating on a compilation album.

Global Citizen Festival 2016 Lineup
Rihanna
Kendrick Lamar
Major Lazer
Metallica
Selena Gomez
Eddie Vedder
Chris Martin
Usher
Ellie Goulding
Yandel
Yusef/Cat Stevens