Chris Martin on Global Citizen Project: “Everything I Do Is a Bono Move”

Credit: Anton CorbjinAs previously reported, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin will curate the Global Citizen Festival for the next 15 years. The Global Citizen festivals will be held to combat and raise awareness of extreme poverty.

With this announcement, it appears that the torch for rock stars raising awareness of world problems may have been passed from U2 frontman Bono, who has played the Live Aid and Live 8 benefit festivals, to Martin.

"Everything I do is a Bono move, surely that's clear after 15 years," Martin said in a press conference, reports Forbes. "Of course he has an influence on my work, I'm very proud of that. Sometimes in music, being influenced by someone is seen as a form of plagiarism. Really it's a form of inspiration. But I'm not going to start wearing shades."

Coldplay is often compared to U2, and Martin took that comparison to another level when he stepped in for Bono to perform with U2 during the World AIDS Day concert in New York City's Times Square. Bono had previously injured himself in a cycling accident, so he was unable to play.

Global Citizen's 2015 events include Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day, held April 18 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; the Global Citizen G7 Summit Event, taking place June 7 in Bavaria, Germany; and the 2015 Global Citizen Festival, to be held September 26 in New York City's Central Park.


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