For First Time Ever, Global Citizen Festival to be Broadcast LIVE in Virtual Reality by Citi, Live Nation & NextVR

Citi, Live Nation, and NextVR today announced that they will broadcast this year’s Global Citizen Festival LIVE in virtual reality for the first time ever. On September 23rd, fans will be transported to the Great Lawn in Central Park, New York City, for an incredible immersive experience that will encompass on-stage performances by headliners including The Lumineers, The Chainsmokers, and special guests Big Sean, Andra Day and Alessia Cara. This is the first festival experience that Citi and Live Nation will bring to fans in the NextVR app.

This one-of-a-kind live concert experience will virtually connect fans worldwide, offering them front row access, joining over 60,000 in-person activists as they stand together calling on leaders around the world to uphold their responsibility to end extreme poverty. Since its inception in 2012, Global Citizens have taken over twelve million actions and achieved financial commitments worth more than $30 billion set to affect one billion lives by 2020.

As an added bonus, fans will have a rare, virtual lens into how this momentous event comes to life, via the “Backstage with Citi” a joint production series by Live Nation and NextVR. Highlights include an in-depth interview with Global Citizen founder Hugh Evans and special access to the grounds not otherwise accessible by the public.

Citi has been a proud partner of Global Citizen Festival since inception, and Live Nation proudly serves as the entertainment partner producing and promoting the event. Both companies are committed to helping address societal challenges that impact communities across the globe.

In addition to supporting the festival as a major partner, Citi will present a number of unique advocacy-driven activations during the 2017 Global Citizen Week including a co-branded takeover of bikes in the Citi Bike program, retail branches, NBC’s TODAY Show and Citi Field as well as an exclusive show by Mumford & Sons for Citi cardmembers in which ticket proceeds will benefit Global Citizen and Children in Conflict.

“With our friends at Live Nation, Global Citizen and NextVR, we are proud to amplify this important event through virtual reality so that more Global Citizens can unite and be engaged in the movement to end extreme poverty,” said Jennifer Breithaupt, Global Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, Citi.

“One of the key ingredients to driving global change is to continuously find ways to galvanize likeminded people and the power of live music has proven to be the right medium to ignite action,” said Kevin Chernett, EVP Global Partnerships and Content Distribution, Live Nation. “By bringing VR into the mix we are expanding our reach and connecting a global audience to the cause inspiring even more people to help combat the world’s biggest challenges.”

"Inclusion is at the heart of Global Citizen’s movement to end extreme poverty - we are so excited to partner with Citi, Live Nation and NextVR to give activists and fans around the world front row access to the Festival through this incredible virtual reality experience,” said Lizzie Edelman, Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Global Citizen.

The Global Citizen Festival will be available on a Samsung Gear VR headset or Google Daydream, along with a compatible smartphone, by downloading the NextVR app from the Oculus store for GearVR or the Google Play store for Daydream. Portions of “Backstage with Citi” will also be made available on demand - in virtual reality and 2D - on Citi channels. Fans can go to https://www.citiprivatepass.com/vr and http://www.nextvr.com/LiveNation to get the latest information.

“Global Citizen is a worldwide movement and in collaboration with our partners, we’re proud to be able to extend the live festival experience to fans globally though our VR technology,” said David Cole, CEO, NextVR.

Since last year, Citi and Live Nation have partnered with NextVR to broadcast live performances from Slash & Friends, Imagine Dragons, Lady Antebellum, Third Eye Blind, Prince Royce and more in virtual reality to music fans worldwide and transformed the way fans interact with artists.

About Citi

Citi [NYSE:C], the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook:www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, Live Nation Advertising & Sponsorship and Artist Nation Management. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com.

About NextVR

NextVR is the world’s leading virtual reality platform for delivering live sports and music in virtual reality to fans globally. Launched in 2009, the company has multiple patented technologies that deliver an unparalleled virtual reality experience, providing fans extraordinary access and profound immersion. NextVR has world-class partnerships with leaders in sports and entertainment including the NFL, NBA, FOX Sports, Live Nation, and the International Champions Cup. NextVR was founded by industry leaders with decades of experience in 3D stereoscopic imaging, compression technology and VR broadcasting. For more information, visit nextvr.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170919005885/en/