The live 2021 festival, held across six continents, was the largest, as part of Global Citizen's 2021 Recovery Plan for the World program.

[2] Global Citizen estimated that tens of thousands of people would attend the in-person events, and millions would watch the live broadcasts.

Tickets were free, and awarded at random to people who shared Global Citizen campaigns through their app; attendees had to prove either a negative COVID-19 test or vaccination against it.

[1] The television broadcast in the United Kingdom was stopped for a period to show Strictly Come Dancing, but all performances were available via the BBC iPlayer.

[3] Broadcasting live to the same feed from six continents and the International Space Station posed a technical challenge described as "once in a generation".