With New York City on the verge of fully reopening, Mayor Bill de Blasio has enlisted none other than Clive Davis to produce a massive concert in Central Park.
Per the New York Times, Davis is reportedly looking to have eight “iconic” artists perform in a three-hour show that will unfold in Central Park’s Great Lawn, with 60,000 people in attendance.The concert, which takes place on August 21, will be televised worldwide, with the majority of tickets available for free.
According to de Blasio, it will be part of New York City’s “Homecoming Week,” which will include a series of events to prove to the world that New York has officially reopened.
“This concert is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity,” de Blasio said in a statement. “It’s going to be an amazing lineup. The whole week is going to be like nothing you’ve ever seen before in New York City. … I can’t think of a better place than the Great Lawn of Central Park to be the place where you say that New York is reopening.”
Despite showing confidence in the city’s resurgence, de Blasio and New York officials are still taking COVID seriously. With that in mind, close to 70% of the tickets will go to vaccinated residents, and there will be vaccinated sections of the concert and an area for people who are not vaccinated.
As for what performers we might expect, Davis is one of the most connected men in music so expect him to pull out all the stops. As Variety points out, artists like John Legend, Alicia Keys, and Common have all worked with Davis in the past.
