Hot on the heels of her Best African Actress accolade at the Septimius Awards in Amsterdam for her role as Queen Nandi in “Shaka iLembe”, Nomzamo Mbatha will once again take to the Global Citizen Festival stage in New York.
The actress, media personality and human rights activist will be a presenter at this year’s edition of the annual music festival which seeks to unite the world to defend the planet and defeat poverty.
The gathering at the Big Apple’s Central Park’s Great Lawn on September 28 will be hosted by “Deadpool & Wolverine” actor Hugh Jackman. Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin, will also make a special appearance.
RAYE, Benson Boone, Post Malone, Doja Cat, LISA, Jelly Roll and Rauw Alejandro will also perform at the gathering.
In addition to Mbatha, Antoni Porowski, Bill Nye, Bridget Moynahan, Charlamagne Tha God, Danai Gurira, Eric Adjepong, Gavin DeGraw and Jordan Fisher will also be presenters.
They will be joined by Rachel Brosnahan, Kal Penn, Liza Koshy, Doctor Mike Varshavski, Osi Umenyiora,, Rhett & Link, Sophia Bush and Vladimir Duthiers.
In another proud moment for South Africa, the festival is also being presented by Patrice Motsepe and his wife Dr Precious Moloi’s Motsepe Foundation, alongside Citi, Cisco, Delta Air Lines and PayPal.
There is expected to be around 60 000 global citizens in attendance, along with the world’s leading artists and advocates who will gather for a day of action and advocacy for equity.
This year’s festival will also place much focus on sustainability and for the first time, the Central Park stage will be entirely powered by a SmartGrid battery system.
This is the same innovative technology which is being used by Coldplay during their “Music of the Spheres” tour.
In addition, the festival’s partnership with Showpower Global BV, CES Power and Equitable Earth will dramatically reduce the festival’s carbon footprint, making it one of the first major US festivals to embrace the eco-friendly approach.
The festivals organisers said climate change was a leading driver of extreme poverty and could push an additional 100 million people into severe financial strain by 2030.
“This year, the Global Citizen Festival is spotlighting the Amazon rainforest, one of the planet’s greatest allies in the fight against climate change,” they said in a statement.
“At present, the Amazon has the ability to offset 12 years of global emissions, which is equivalent to what is emitted annually by 40 000 coal power plants.”
In partnership with Re:wild, UN Global Compact Network Brazil and other campaign allies, they are also calling for $1 billion (R17bn) in investments by 2025 to protect and restore the Amazon.
“Additionally, we are championing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, advocating for a fair, fast and fully funded fossil-fuel phase-out.
“By joining forces with 13 nations, hundreds of businesses, including 17 banks, over 100 cities, thousands of civil society groups and scientists, we are pushing for a global commitment to a just transition from coal, oil and gas,” the organisers said.
The festival’s co-founder and chief policy, impact and government affairs officer, Michael Sheldrick added: “Global Citizen Festival has always been about using the power of music and activism to drive real, tangible change.”