My First Media Pass at the 2024 Global Citizen Festival

For years, I attended the Global Citizen Festival as a fan—first in 2020, then again a couple of years later. But this year, I experienced the festival from an entirely different perspective: with a media pass around my neck and my camera gear ready to capture every moment from the media pit.

Having a media pass was the perfect way to experience the festival. In previous years, I’d arrived before any artists took the stage, only to end up far from the action as more dedicated fans had already claimed prime spots hours earlier. This year, though, I was able to get close enough to capture the crowd from an intimate vantage point and tell a visual story that simply isn’t possible from the general admission section.

The 2024 Global Citizen Festival will forever stand out in my memory—not just as a fan of music, but as someone who had the chance to witness and capture these moments so close to so many incredible artists. It was an experience I won’t soon forget, and I can only hope it’s the first of many years photographing the Global Citizen Festival.