Prince Harry and J.Lo lead ‘Vax Live’ concert in Los Angeles [photos]

Vax Live: The Concert To Reunite The World featured video messages from Pope Francis and US President Joe Biden and in-person appearances from Hollywood stars, including Ben Affleck and Sean Penn.

The show will air on television and YouTube on Saturday 8 May, after being pre-taped in front of thousands of fully vaccinated spectators at a vast California stadium on Sunday 2 May.

Prince Harry greeted with standing ovation at Vax Live

“Tonight, we stand in solidarity with the millions of families across India, who are battling a devastating second wave,” said Prince Harry, who was greeted with a standing ovation.

“The virus does not respect borders, and access to the vaccine cannot be determined by geography,” added Harry, making his first in-person appearance at a major public event in California since moving last year to the United States with wife Meghan Markle, who did not appear.

Vaccine awareness and action

The concert organised by Global Citizen, an international advocacy organisation, aims to battle vaccine disinformation while calling on world leaders and corporations to take action and make donations.

Thousands of spectators gathered inside Los Angeles’ giant, recently completed SoFi stadium for the first time. Most attendees were frontline medical workers, many dressed in nurse and doctor uniforms.

Selena Gomez hosted proceedings, calling for “doses and dollars” to go to the world’s poorest countries even as California and parts of the West emerge from lengthy lockdowns thanks to massive inoculation progress.

Not ‘out of the woods’

A glittering J-Lo told fans she had been forced to spend Christmas without her mother for the first time due to the pandemic — before bringing the Lopez matriarch onto an elaborate meadow-themed stage for a feelgood singalong of Sweet Caroline.

The Foo Fighters were joined by surprise guest Brian Johnson of AC/DC for a rendition of Back in Black.

“We ain’t out of the woods yet… let’s work as hard as we can to make sure we can do this” every night, said Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl.

Vax Live surpasses fundraising goal

Organisers said the event had surpassed its fundraising goal need to purchase 10 million vaccine doses for low and middle-income countries, drawing more than $53 million (about R764.2 million) in donations from corporations and philanthropists.

Pre-taped messages from Biden, Pope, Macron, Trudeau

In pre-taped messages, President Biden said he was “working with leaders around the world to share more vaccines and boost production” while Pope Francis said: “I beg you not to forget the most vulnerable.”

Other video messages came from Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Vaccine disinformation is a ‘humanitarian crisis’

Prince Harry, who took to the large circular stage in the middle of the arena dressed casually in a blue shirt, described online disinformation about vaccines as a “humanitarian crisis” that is “getting worse.”

Vax Live: Where and when to watch

The concert will stream on YouTube along with American television networks ABC and CBS on 8 May at 20:00 ET (midnight GMT). It will also air internationally on Brazil’s Globo, Colombia’s Caracol, SABC in South Africa and MultiChoice in Africa.

— By © Agence France-Presse