Prince Harry, Meghan and Bidens to appear at vaccine benefit concert

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will co-chair a fundraising concert urging more vaccinations that will air May 8, which the Bidens will also participate in, event organizers announced Tuesday.

Along with US president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris will also appear at "Vax Live: The Concert To Reunite The World" where performers will include Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, J Balvin and HER.

Put on by Global Citizen, an international advocacy organization, the campaign is pushing businesses to "donate dollars for doses," and for G7 governments to share excess vaccines.

It also urges pharmaceutical companies "including Moderna to make vaccines available at not-for-profit prices."

The concert will be pre-taped on May 2 in Los Angeles, and will stream on YouTube along with American television networks ABC and CBS on May 8 at 8pm ET.

It will also air internationally on Brazil's Globo, Colombia's Caracol, SABC in South Africa and MultiChoice in Africa.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will also appear at the event, whose audience will comprise of fully vaccinated frontline and essential workers.

"Over the past year, our world has experienced pain, loss, and struggle—together. Now we need to recover and heal—together," Harry and Meghan said in a statement.

"We can't leave anybody behind. We will all benefit, we will all be safer, when everyone everywhere has equal access to the vaccine. We must pursue equitable vaccine distribution, and in that, restore faith in our common humanity. This mission couldn't be more critical or important."

Last year Global Citizen partnered with the World Health Organization to put on a virtual concert packed with A-listers like The Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift, to celebrate health workers and fundraise for the battle against Covid-19.

© 2021 AFP