This past weekend, Central Park was host to a bevy of stars–Sting, The Roots, Beyonce, Jay Z, Fun, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Keys, No Doubt, and Tiesto, just to name a few–who came together to put on a powerful show for the Global Citizen Festival.

The festival, in its third year, is put on by the Global Poverty Project, which seeks to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030.  Dignitaries and celebrities alike, such as Jessica Alba and the Prime Minister of Norway took to the stage between acts to speak to the crowd of 60,000 concertgoers about various charitable causes.  Other celebrities, such as John Amos, came out just to show their support for a good cause.

“Our world needs solar power and wind power, but I believe in an even stronger source of energy–people power,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The crowd of 60,000 was proof of the aforementioned people power; in order to gain entry to the free, ticketed, event, concertgoers won admission by taking some form of social and political action, whether it was signing petitions, emailing world leaders or sharing content with their social networks to campaign for positive change.

Jay Z issued a statement on the importance of change, saying, “Change only takes place when and where there is action.  I’m joining the 2014 Global Citizen Festival because I believe through actions, whether it be by raising awareness, getting involved or educating ourselves, the goal to end extreme poverty by 2030 is possible.”

Indeed, the “Change Clothes” rapper’s performance was the highlight of the night, with Mrs. Carter making a surprise appearance and joining her hubby Hov on stage for “Holy Grail” and “Forever Young.”  The often unimpressed Jay Z even commented at the strength in numbers displayed by the budding activists–”That’s the most incredible thing I ever saw,” he remarked, as he looked out at the crowd, spread across the Great Lawn.

Check out some of the backstage pix we snapped below.