Thousands are expected to throng New York‘s Central Park for the Homecoming concert on Saturday, which will feature several superstars. The concert, titled the ‘Homecoming Concert’, was initially meant to celebrate the city’s recovery from the coronavirus. Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Paul Simon, Carlos Santana, Andrea Bocelli and LL Cool J are among the performers at the star-laden concert.

The event comes after a series of hip-hop concerts were held at outdoor venues across New York last week.

The Homecoming Concert had been scheduled at a time when it seemed New York had defeated COVID-19. But the concert will now take place at a time when cases are on a rise again. The fresh surge is being attributed to the Delta variant of coronavirus, which experts consider as the most infectious strain of COVID-19. The vaccination rates across the US have also plummeted in the last two months.

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New York City over the past week has averaged just under 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 a day, according to state statistics. That’s up from just under 200 cases per day in late June. Only some 54% of all city residents are fully vaccinated against the virus.

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The majority of the tickets for the ‘Homecoming Concert’ had been distributed for free. Proof of vaccination will be mandatory for those attending the event. This concert will also be broadcast.

Others expected to perform include Barry Manilow, Wyclef Jean, Elvis Costello, Cynthia Erivo and Patti Smith, who is duetting with Springsteen.

(with AP inputs)