On Saturday, September 28, 60,000 activists came together in Central Park to celebrate worldwide progress towards eradicating extreme poverty by 2030. As I stood amongst tens of thousands of Global Citizens from every walk of life–including infants, children, teengers, parents and grandparents–I felt an overwhelming sense of community, compassion and energy uniting all of us in our mission to make the world a better place. 

The list of artists and celebrities that appeared at the Global Citizen Festival this year was quite impressive, with performances by Tiesto, The Roots, Alicia Keys, Fun., Carrie Underwood, No Doubt, Sting, Jay-Z and Beyonce, and appearences by Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and Jessica Alba, to name a few.

Still, some of the brightest moments of the day, which truly reflected the mission of the festival, were inspired by Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. Mr. Modi reaffirmed his comittment to provide toilets to every Indian household by 2019, resulting in an eruption of applause from the audience. Ban Ki-Moon stated, “Our world needs more solar power and wind power, but I believe in an even stronger source of energy: People power!” The esteemed guests that graced the stage on The Great Lawn made sure the entire event was driven by love, passion, hope and perserverence. Each moment felt fueled by the need to have a positive effect on the world around us. 

And while I loved Global Citizen Festival for focusing on community service, I also loved the performances. 

Tiesto started out the day–and although I can really appreciate some EDM–trying to fist pump in broad daylight with babies in strollers after standing in line for four hours is slightly awkward. Nonethless, he jump started the party and got everyone in a postive and upbeat mood. The Roots followed with robust and powerful instrumentals and even did a cover of Fela Kuti‘s “Water No Get Enemy.”

Later, Alicia Keys sang “We Are Here,” a song which aims to begin a dialogue between cultures on issues such as gun violence, with Idan Raichel from Isreal and Ali Amir-Kanoon from Palestine, resulting in a poignant and touching performance. Fun. then took to the stage and Nate Ruess blew everyone’s mind with belting vocals and tons of energy. 

The headliners began with Carrie Underwood doing a 45 minute set including “Jesus Take The Wheel”–tear–and “Before He Cheats,” which really brought out the 12-year-old me as I fangirled from the sidelines. Finally, No Doubt took to the stage, and while saying the experience was life changing might sound hyperbolic–the experience was life changing. They performed a ton of hits from their 1995 “Tragic Kingdom” album as well as a few of their best singles. Sting made a guest apperance during their set and performed “Message in a Bottle” in a duet with Gwen Stefani. Watch below:

After what seemed like an eternity, Jay-Z dramaticlly approached the stage, with an intoduction in the form of a slideshow projecting vintage photographs of New York to the sounds of Frank Sanatra‘s “New York, New York.” The entire crowd erupted with chants of “HOVA” as he skillfully delivered “Empire State of Mind.”

Beyonce made a surprise appearance, to perform “Holy Grail” with her hubby and it was a monumentous moment for Beyonce fans at Central Park that evening. Jay-Z called out to the crowd, “We’re gonna end extreme poverty by 2030! It’s on you, New York City!” And really echoed the ethos of the evening. Watch Beyonce’s surprise entrance and performance below:

For the tens of thousands of people in the audience and those at home who watched the event on NBC, the evening was about raising awarness and motivating action towards the ultimate goal of eradicating extreme poverty and taking a stance against hunger, lack of education, women’s rights, water and sanitation, lack of health care and sustainability. For more information on how to earn points towards free tickets to other Global Citizen events or simply to learn more about these issues, visit http://www.globalcitizen.org.

 -Taylor Rae Almonte [@tayloralmonte]

[Photos from FUSE]