UN "Pacific Unite Concert" To Fight Covid-19 On Oriana TV In New Zealand

As Pacific communities are dealing first-hand with the impact of Covid-19 in Auckland, a star-studded "Pacific Unite: Saving Lives Together" concert will be broadcast free-to-air in New Zealand on Oriana TV this weekend.

It's a first-of-its-kind concert event in the Pacific, calling on leaders and citizens across the region to work together and with the rest of the world in the fight against Covid-19.

The concert was broadcast and digitally streamed around the Pacific on Saturday 15 August. Oriana TV will broadcast the concert free-to-air in New Zealand, in a 3-hour television special in a prime time slot from 7.30pm-10.30pm on Kordia TV (Freeview Channel 200), this Sunday 23 August.

The concert is hosted by Aunty Tala from the Laughing Samoans and features performances from Jah Boy (Solomon Islands); Jay Hoad (Australia); Juny B (Kiribati); Justin Wellington (PNG), Kendal T (Palau), Mia Kami (Tonga), Nem & Talei (Fiji), Paulini (Australia), Poly Flavour (Samoa); Skillz (Fiji); Stan Antas (Vanuatu), Te Vaka (New Zealand); Tiki Taane (New Zealand), Tropikana Breeze (Tuvalu), Vanessa Quai (Vanuatu), Yosh (Vanuatu), UN Messenger of Peace Yo-Yo Ma (USA), and more.
 

A spokesperson for Oriana TV, a TV platform for Pacific communities, Will Ilolahia says it's a privilege for Oriana TV to be screening the concert free-to-air in New Zealand, especially when Pasifika people reportedly account for 69 percent of the current Auckland Covid-19 cluster.

"We know that potentially one-third of our Pasifika households in New Zealand don't have reliable and consistent internet access, so being able to broadcast the concert free-to-air on Kordia TV, Freeview Channel 200, is one way of helping to get important Covid-19 messages out to our local Pasifika communities," says Mr Ilolahia. "This is especially relevant for Pasifika communities in Auckland who are currently at the frontline of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic".

The concert also includes appearances from the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, the Fiji National Rugby Sevens Team, Oscar-winning actor and Sustainable Development Goals Advocate Forest Whitaker, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Fiji Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano, Miss Pacific Islands 2018-19 Leoshina Kariha, UNAIDS Pacific Goodwill Ambassador Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, celebrity chef Robert Oliver; The Royal Princess Her Royal Highness Princess Salote Mafileó Pilolevu Tuita of Tonga, Director of the World Health Organisation Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Palau President Tommy Remengesau, and more.

The United Nations is supporting countries in the Pacific through a system-wide, multi-sectoral approach that aims to limit the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the devastating social and economic impacts of the virus.
 

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