Ed Sheeran to headline New York anti-poverty concert

The English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran will headline the Global Citizen Festival, a free concert in New York aimed at rallying support to fight global poverty.

Sheeran -- whose album "x" was last year's top-seller in Britain and the most streamed worldwide on Spotify -- said in a short video Wednesday that he would perform at the concert on September 26 in Central Park.

The festival is free, with fans earning tickets not through money but through activities aimed at eradicating extreme poverty in the world.

The youth-oriented event has been held annually since 2012 when world leaders are in New York for the UN General Assembly.

Last year's festival was headlined by rap giant Jay Z with surprise appearances not only by his wife Beyonce but by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who pledged to work to improve water, sanitation and housing for his nation's poorest.

Coldplay singer Chris Martin signed on earlier this year as the permanent curator of the festival.

The festival also held a spinoff event in Washington for Earth Day in April, with No Doubt, Usher and Mary J. Blige among artists at the concert aimed at raising pressure to fight both poverty and climate change.