MUMBAI • Rock legend Mick Jagger and actor Will Smith were among dozens of international and Bollywood stars taking part in a four-hour concert yesterday to raise funds for the battle against the coronavirus in India, where the number of cases is surging.
India’s cricket captain Virat Kohli, actress Priyanka Chopra and actor Shah Rukh Khan were some of the top names performing or reading messages from their homes.
The show was livestreamed by Facebook and paid tribute to workers fighting the pandemic.
It aims to raise millions of dollars for more than 100 groups providing food and other essential services.
Concert organisers said the money was needed “for those who have no work and no home and do not know where their next meal is coming from”.
India’s 1.3 billion people have been under lockdown since March 25 with the restrictions set to last until at least May 17.
The shutdown has especially hit millions of migrant workers stranded in cities with little food or money. Special trains were organised last Saturday to help thousands of labourers return home.
India has so far reported nearly 40,000 coronavirus cases and more than 1,300 deaths.
Experts fear a lack of testing and poor reporting procedures mean the death toll is much higher.
