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New York is slowly but surely opening back up and celebrations are in order!
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city will host a week-long reopening celebration ("Homecoming Week") this August, anchored by a massive concert on the Great Lawn at Central Park (working title: "The Official NYC Homecoming Concert in Central Park").
"We have a big announcement about a citywide celebration of New York City, a citywide moment to declare NYC is back, a homecoming for New York City, where New Yorkers come out together to celebrate and support our city, where folks from all over the metropolitan region come back to their roots in this city," the Mayor said during a press conference this week. "This is going to be an amazing, memorable, once-in-a-lifetime week in New York City."
Although the show date is still tentative (currently August 21) and the lineup has yet to be determined, de Blasio did mention that 89-year-old music producer (and legend) Clive Davis has signed on to help organize the effort. De Blasio also revealed that restaurateur Danny Meyer, currently the chair of the NYC Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, is the one who came up with the "Homecoming Week" idea.
According to the New York Times, Davis is "aiming for eight "iconic" stars to perform a three-hour show for 60,000 attendees and a worldwide television audience." Who might these artists be? Perhaps, Bruce Springsteen, who recently announced the return of his acclaimed Broadway show for a limited run? Alicia Keys? Jay-Z?
In terms of tickets, New Yorkers can expect most of them to be free, although Davis mentioned to the New York Times that some V.I.P. seating will be available as well. The paper also notes that there will be both vaccinated and unvaccinated sections at the event, with about 70 percent of passes going to vaccinated spectators.
Of course, Central Park has been an iconic concert venue for years. From Elton John's Great Lawn performance on September 13, 1980 to Barbra Streisand's 1967 show, the New York Philharmonic's 1986 one, Simon & Garfunkel's 1981 concert and Pavarotti's performance in 1980—not to mention the annual Global Citizen Festival—the city's famous park has hosted some of the biggest names in music throughout the years. We're sure that this summer's post-pandemic extravaganza will be just as iconic as all these other shows. We will certainly be there to celebrate.