This is how Lady Gaga managed to pull off her $35 million COVID-19 benefit concert in just 12 days
Lady Gaga (Araya Diaz/Getty for #SeeHer)
Lady Gaga “set up a war room” in order to raise $35 million for the fight against coronavirus and for the One World: Together At Home concert.
The acclaimed singer-songwriter has been widely praised for curating the concert special to help raise funds for the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) COVID-19 efforts.
Gaga has put huge time, effort and energy into getting rich people to donate to fight against coronavirus, Hugh Evans, CEO of Global Citizen said.
In an interview with Variety, Evans revealed that Gaga played “a leading role” in getting millionaires and massive corporations on board.
Lady Gaga has been ‘helping with everything’ in the planning for coronavirus benefit concert One World: Together At Home.
“She and her manager, Bobby [Campbell], and her colleagues have literally set up a little war room,” he said.
Gaga has been “helping with everything,” he added, from curating the line-up of the concert to helping with music and artist engagement.
“She’s very much involved creatively,” Evans said.
He also revealed that the $35 million was raised with the help of Declan Kelly from Teneo, a partner of Global Citizen. He set up a teleconference call with Lady Gaga, corporations and philanthropists.
She and her manager, Bobby [Campbell], and her colleagues have literally set up a little war room.
“I think Cisco teed it up with their WebEx and everyone dialed in and we just had a conversation and we said, ‘Listen, we want to try to pull this off, but we know we need everyone to step up if it’s going to be possible.”
The pop star encouraged various corporations to chip in to help fight COVID-19.
He said fundraisers like this one usually take “forever” to come together, but that was not the case with One World: Together at Home.
“All of a sudden they were each chipping in, and each were willing to put in major seven and sometimes eight-figure contributions towards the mission. So that’s why we’ve been able to raise close to $5 million a day since we started.”
Gaga has been widely praised for her work – so much so that her fans are now calling on her to be given the Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking at a press conference earlier this month, Gaga said: “We are all so very grateful to all of the healthcare professionals across the country and the world who are on the front lines during COVID-19.”
