Global Citizen Festival in Central Park cancelled over extreme weather
Organisers have cancelled this weekend's Global Citizen Festival in New York's Central Park because of forecast extreme weather.
The announcement came on Friday, 25 September, a day before the concert was due to take place on the Great Lawn. The decision was made in consultation with the City of New York and NYC Parks, Rolling Stone reported.
The bill was set to include Ms. Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, Lainey Wilson, Shaboozey, Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, Alicia Keys and Friends, and Tomorrow X Together. Hugh Jackman was due to host.
Organisers said it was the first time in 14 years they had cancelled the festival. Food that had been prepared for the site will be donated to local organisations serving New York City.
It is the first cancellation in 14 years. Concern had been building through the week about heavy rain and a large crowd damaging the Great Lawn, ABC7 New York reported. One local official had urged organisers to move the event from Central Park to Randalls Island, according to the New York Daily News.
The festival supports a nonprofit working to end extreme poverty and promote social justice, CBS News reported.
Global Citizen is not the only live event hit. The All Things Go festival planned for this weekend in Forest Hills, Queens, was also cancelled because of severe weather from a Nor'easter, a coastal storm common in the north-eastern United States. Ed Sheeran's shows at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts were cancelled for the same reason.
For fans, this means a crowded festival weekend in the north-east has largely been cleared. Refund or rescheduling details for the affected events will come from the respective organisers and promoters.
