NYC's Global Citizen Festival Abruptly Canceled: What Forced the Decision?
See more of our coverage in your search results.
The annual Global Citizen Festival in Central Park was cancelled Friday — for the first time in 14 years — after being threatened by a powerful nor’easter expected to slam parts of New York City over the weekend, organizers said.
The star-studded fundraising concert, which was scheduled to be held on the park’s Great Lawn on Saturday, was canned after being on a collision course with the strong storm touching down Friday night, Global Citizen reps said.
“We have spent this week working through countless contingencies, which were ultimately not possible, and cancelling is a decision we have not taken lightly,” Global Citizen said in a statement.
— Global Citizen ⭕ (@GlblCtzn) September 25, 2026Dear Global Citizens,
Due to the extreme weather forecast for New York City this weekend, we have made the difficult decision, in consultation with the City of New York and NYC Parks,
to cancel this year’s Global Citizen Festival.Forecasts predict dangerous conditions and… pic.twitter.com/fza9anxU4l
Festival goers will be refunded for their tickets, and food expected to be served at the event will be donated, organizers said.
The music fundraiser – which was supposed to be hosted by actor Hugh Jackman and feature performances by acts including Ms. Lauryn Hill & Wyclef Jean – was expected to contend with high winds, powerful rain and possibly even coastal flooding from the storm forecast to hit Friday night and to get gradually worse on Saturday, according to meteorologists.
Concerns about the safety of concert attendees, festival staff and artists drove the decision to cancel, according to the organizers.
Global Citizen said the “difficult” decision not to hold the concert followed discussions with city government and the Parks Department.
Historically, the fundraiser has still gone on in the past despite rain – often to mixed success.
Follow live updates on the powerful nor’easter set to bring dangerous winds, flooding to the East Coast
Particularly poor weather conditions have muddied up the festival grounds in the past, turning the park’s Great Lawn into a soddy mess.
Most infamously, a heavy storm that rolled through during the concert’s 2023 performance made the park’s lawn unusable for two months in 2023 – and saw the festival’s board of directors footing the $622,000 in damages from the weather.
Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan) has long argued that the concert should be relocated out of her district to nearby Randall’s Island.
“Randall’s Island has more parking, has a stage already, it can fit 60,000 people,” Brewer told ABC 7.
