Prime Ministers, Presidents and World Leaders to Fight for an End to Extreme Poverty by 2030 at Third Annual Global Citizen Festival

NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Global Citizen Festival announced that over a dozen world leaders including, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India; Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh; United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group; Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway; Sushil Koirala, Prime Minister of Nepal; Dr. Roger Kolo, Prime Minister, Republic of Madagascar; the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mrs. Helle Thorning-Schmidt; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia; Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, will participate in the 2014 Global Citizen Festival to voice tangible commitments that could affect the lives of 50 million people.

These world leaders will join a star-studded line up of musicians, celebrity hosts including Hugh Jackman and Jessica Alba, and 60,000 Global Citizens on the Great Lawn of New York City's Central Park on September 27, 2014. The free-ticketed concert will feature performances from JAY Z, No Doubt, Carrie Underwood, fun., The Roots, and Tiesto, and will call for accelerated progress in the areas of vaccines, education and sanitation.

"I am delighted to join the Global Citizen Festival 2014 and to share Bangladesh's unique experience and achievement in education, sanitation, health and women's empowerment. The People of Bangladesh are determined to end extreme poverty by 2030 and I call on the global community to assist us in our efforts to create a pro-people, pro-planet, inclusive, peaceful and sustainable world for all," stated Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

"When this distinguished group of world leaders turn their attention to New York City for the Global Citizen Festival, they will see a city that is deeply committed to ending poverty and to protecting the rights, enhancing educational opportunities and the health of all of our children," said NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. "We welcome these leaders and stand with them in their fight to end poverty."

This year's Festival will also feature the inaugural Global Citizen Honorary Congressional Host Committee. The committee, comprised of leading members of the US Senate and the US House of Representatives, will include: Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR 3), Congressman Charles Dent (R-PA 15), Congressman Richard Hanna (R-NY 22), Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA 13), Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY 17), Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY 12), Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX 2), Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL 18).

Hugh Evans, CEO of The Global Poverty Project, said, "It is a monumental acknowledgement of the actions taken by Global Citizens that Prime Minister's Modi and Hasina, together with dozens of other world leaders will take the stage at the Global Citizen Festival to announce extraordinary commitments on behalf of the world's poor. We know that ending extreme poverty by 2030 is within our reach, but we need the support of political leaders around the world to accelerate the significant policy changes necessary to eliminate it altogether."

A high-level assembly of leaders from the public, private and social sectors will also take part in this year's Festival. Borge Brende, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway; Mogens Jensen, Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation, Denmark; Junaid Ahmad, Senior Director for the World Bank Group's Water Global Practice; Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals; Helena Thybell, Global Manager of H&M Conscious Foundation; Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever; Martin Riant, Group President, Global Baby, Feminine & Family Care of Procter & Gamble; Sarina Prabasi, Chief Executive Officer of WaterAid America; Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA; Elmo & Raya of Sesame Street, will add their voices to further the movement to end extreme poverty by 2030.

Proud partners of the 2014 Global Citizen Festival, include: Caterpillar Inc., Citi, H&M, World Childhood Foundation, The Riot House, Noise4Good, EKOCYCLE, BidKind, Universal Music Group, iHeartRadio, and The Paramount Hotel. The Festival has also partnered with leading non-profit groups, including: UNFPA, the Global Partnership for Education, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, The Malala Fund, WaterAid, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, WASH Advocates, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Sesame Workshop and more. MSNBC and NBC News are the official media partners for this year's Festival.

MSNBC and NBC News will serve as official media partners for this year's Festival. For the first time, the Festival will air live on television with MSNBC carrying the full concert on cable and msnbc.com. In addition, NBC News will produce a one-hour primetime special of the event to air on NBC at 9p.m. on September 27. 

For more information about the Festival, visit: www.globalcitizenfestival.com.

SOURCE Global Poverty Project