Global Citizen Festival Canceled Over Extreme Weather in New York

Global Citizen Festival has been canceled for the first time in 14 years, as organizers cited extreme weather forecasts for New York City that made it impossible to safely stage the event on Central Park's Great Lawn.

The festival was scheduled for Saturday with headline performances from Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, Lenny Kravitz, John Legend and more. Hugh Jackman was set to host.

"Forecasts predict dangerous conditions and circumstances in which we cannot safely bring tens of thousands of Global Citizens, artists, crew, vendors, partners, and staff onto the Great Lawn, let alone all of the equipment required," organizers said in a statement. "Safety has to come first. This is the first time in 14 years we've had to cancel. We have spent this week working through countless contingencies, which were ultimately not possible, and cancelling is a decision we have not taken lightly."

The bill also included Lainey Wilson, Shaboozey, Tomorrow X Together, Victoria Monét, Yeonjun, Yoshiki and Alicia Keys with friends.

Ticket holders will receive automatic refunds. Those who acquired tickets through a donation will also be refunded, with options sent via email. Food intended for the festival will be donated to local organizations in New York City.

Organizers framed the cancellation within the broader mission of the movement, which campaigns against poverty.

"The Festival is one day, but the actions you took and the impact you created will reach far beyond Central Park," the statement continued. "Conflict, extreme weather, and rising costs are forcing millions of families from their homes, disrupting education, threatening food supplies and pushing communities back into extreme poverty, but we have seen what is possible when we take action together."

Global Citizen Festival was not the only casualty of the weather system bearing down on the city. The three-day All Things Go NYC Festival was canceled just hours before doors were set to open on Friday afternoon, also because of extreme weather conditions.

The double cancellation leaves a gap in New York's late-September music calendar and raises questions about how outdoor festivals will contend with increasingly volatile autumn weather in the years ahead.