In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s unjust invasion of Ukraine, Global Citizen was contacted by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to support the humanitarian needs facing millions of people affected.

Global Citizen is best known for the yearly Global Citizen Festival in Central Park and hosting large events that bring together leaders in entertainment, government, corporations to end extreme poverty & protect the planet.

This was different. We had to reinvent the format.

We partnered with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime

Minister Justin Trudeau, to host the “Stand Up for Ukraine” digital campaign that featured a global social media rally on April 8 and a Pledging Summit on April 9, 2022.

In just 3 weeks, over 100 artists, 10000s of activists, and 100s of organizations from around the world joined the rally. The pledging summit the next day raised 10.1 billion dollars from over 17 governments.

“Stand Up for Ukraine” centered on driving a massive global social media rally that was held the day before the government pledging summit. The creative was simple: take action and upload and share a video of yourself asking world leaders to pledge funds at the Stand Up for Ukraine pledging event.

Two important notes: while this campaign had tremendous artist support, we did not want this to come across as a performative, celebrity-driven stunt. This was a purpose-first campaign led with authentic voices to generate massive impact.

The strategy centered on leveraging platforms of 100s of artists, athletes, entertainers, advocates and citizens (general consumers) to drive the calls to action for governments and companies to step-up and make financial commitments at the pledging summit.

Thanks to the support from the artist and entertainment community, millions of people were reached with this campaign and its calls to action.

Some of the artists that participated included: Bono and U2, Barbra Streisand, Billie Eilish, Black Eyed Peas, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Elton John, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Green Day, Hugh Jackman, Isha Sesay, Jamala, Jenna Dewan, Jennifer Lopez, Jon Bon Jovi, Juanes, Julian Lennon, Kacey Musgraves, Katy Perry, Kerry Washington, Lilly Singh, Luis Fonsi, Madonna, MÅNESKIN, Miley Cyrus, Nicky Jam, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Oprah Winfrey, Padma Lakshmi, Pharrell Williams, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Usher, Weezer, Zucchero, 5 Seconds of Summer.

The Stand Up for Ukraine campaign launched on March 28, 2022 and concluded on April 9, 2022. In a matter of three weeks, our team worked to drive a social media campaign, produce a live-streamed pledging event, package videos from heads of government, secure earned global media coverage, but most importantly, drove $10 billion in new funding toward the humanitarian needs facing people affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.