Lady Gaga, Chris Martin headline global concert

The emotional power of music, especially in times of crisis, has been demonstrated time and again these past weeks as the worldwide coronavirus crisis continues. Every day new videos and new online concerts go viral in the social networks, such as a new recording of the 1980 Police hit song, "Don't Stand So Close to Me."

Other videos show virtual choir rehearsals, private balcony concerts and impromptu concerts from living rooms, like the one by two young Italian violinists who cheerfully performed Coldplay's "Viva la Vida," letting people forget the coronavirus blues for a moment.

Read more: Culture goes digital amid the coronavirus crisis

Coldplay frontman, Chris Martin, was bound to have been particularly pleased with the young Italian musicians' spirited rendition of his 2008 hit song. He also regularly serenades his fans on Instagram, as do many famous musicians and singers — all under the motto "One World: Together at Home."

A show of gratitude

Such individually streamed concerts are about to become one huge streaming festival. On Saturday, musicians from all over the world, including international pop stars like Lady Gaga, Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, Elton John , Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder plan to stand up for the fight against the coronavirus with the joint streaming event "One World: Together at Home."

Their aim is to call on governments and large international companies to provide more money for the World Health Organization (WHO) solidarity fund, which supports hospitals, health workers and local charities worldwide in their efforts to contain the novel coronavirus.

"Through music, entertainment, and impact, the global live-cast will celebrate those who risk their own health to safeguard everyone else's," said Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen, the platform that organized the streaming festival with the WHO and the United Nations (UN).

Lady Gaga in the fight against COVID-19

Pop star Lady Gaga played a major role in organizing the global event. Over the past weeks, the US singer has shown her commitment to fighting the coronavirus. On March 16 she went into self-quarantine as a precautionary measure and called on her fans via Instagram to stay at home as well. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked the artist for her dedicated work.

Read more:  Opera stars come out of isolation

Global coverage

The "One World: Together at Home" special consists of the streaming event and a linear broadcast.

Preliminary coverage of the streaming festival is scheduled to begin Saturday at 19:00 UTC on numerous platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and will continue with a livestream of the main event. 

A two-hour linear broadcast of the main event will take place on April 19 on the American TV networks NBC, CBS and ABC and on the British BBC, as well as on various other national and cable networks.

The virtual concert will be available online as a digital stream afterward.

For more details about timings for national broadcast networks and streaming platforms, please see the Global Citizen website.