New York City is alive and what better way to signify it’s reopening than with a mega concert. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced, reported by the New York Times, that NYC is set to host a massive party celebrating the city’s reopening. The festival-like event will be tentatively set for August 21, 2021. The mayor aims to hold a concert as part of “Homecoming Week” in New York City. Mayor de Blasio is working with legendary music producer Clive Davis on the huge concert set to take place at Central Park. “I can’t think of a better place than the Great Lawn of Central Park to be the place where you say that New York is reopening,” he says.
Additionally, Mayor de Blasio’s office said there will be vaccinated and unvaccinated sections, though around 70% of the tickets will be distributed to those who are vaccinated, the Times reported. De Blasio says this event is to show that the city is recovering from the pandemic. He is branding the event as a celebration for residents and individuals in the area who may not have visited in some time. “This concert is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity,” de Blasio says.
Producer and music industry icon, Clive Davis will spearhead the event. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer in 2000. Davis has signed many artists that achieved significant success, including Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen and Pink Floyd. The 89-year-old is also credited with bringing Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow to prominence.
Approximately 60,000 people are expected to attend and the show will be televised worldwide. The concerts are expected to be free except for some VIP seats. No artists have been confirmed yet. The early plans call for eight “iconic” stars to perform a three-hour set for 60,000 people. On June 1, NYC recorded no new COVID-19 deaths, and posted its lowest rate of coronavirus cases yet, at 0.83 percent. More than 66 percent of the state’s total population had received at least one vaccine dose, according to the state’s COVID-19 vaccine tracker. Davis, who grew up in Brooklyn, tells the Times that he was “greatly honored” when Mayor Bill de Blasio contacted him three weeks ago, asking him to put the show together.“It’s going to be an amazing lineup,” de Blasio says. “The whole week is going to be like nothing you’ve ever seen before in New York City.”
