What to expect from the star-studded Vax Live fundraiser

LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Joe Biden, Prince Harry and Jennifer Lopez are among the big names advocating the importance of vaccine equity during the Global Citizen fundraising concert airing Saturday.

The pre-taped event brought together celebrities and political leaders at “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the Word,” which was recorded May 2 and will air Saturday. ABC, ABC News Live, CBS, YouTube and iHeartMedia radio stations will broadcast the concert staged at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Selena Gomez hosted the show, which was attended by several thousand fully-vaccinated concertgoers who cheered on performances by Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin, H.E.R. and Lopez, who enjoyed a duet with her mom.

Ben Affleck, Chrissy Teigen, Jimmy Kimmel, Sean Penn and David Letterman served as special guest speakers.

Global Citizen said $53.8 million in philanthropic and corporate commitments have already helped procure nearly 10.3 million doses, exceeding the goal for the Vax Live campaign.

Here are some highlights from the event:

A DREAM FULFILLED FOR PERFORMERS

Vax Live was one of the largest concert gatherings in Southern California since the coronavirus pandemic roiled the world more than a year ago.

Organizers called the event the country’s first large-scale music event for a COVID 19-compliant audience. (Media and production staff needed to show a negative COVID-19 test before entering the stadium.)

All of the performers showed enormous enthusiasm with returning to a live stage, especially Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl who said, “This is a (explicit) concert” on multiple occasions.

“In the last year, I’ve been having this dream that’s happening now,” Grohl said. His band rocked out with AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson during a performance of the rock...