Global Citizen is returning to Perth this October with a three-day action summit capped by a free, ticketed concert featuring ARIA-winning soul-rock outfit The Teskey Brothers. The event aims to spotlight Western Australia’s role in the transition to cleaner energy while bringing together political, business and community leaders.
What’s happening in Perth
The Global Citizen NOW: Perth summit runs from Oct. 18–20 and will conclude with Global Citizen Nights: Perth — a live performance on Oct. 20 at the Riverside Theatre, part of the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre. Admission to the concert is free but ticketed.
Alongside The Teskey Brothers, the evening’s bill includes rising artists South Summit and Ruby Rodgers. The summit program will feature conversations and keynote contributions from figures including retired Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe, OECD secretary-general Mathias Cormann and WA musician-activist John Butler.
- Dates: Oct. 18–20 (concert Oct. 20)
- Venue: Riverside Theatre, Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre
- Headliner: The Teskey Brothers
- Other performers: South Summit, Ruby Rodgers
- Speakers: Ian Thorpe, Mathias Cormann, John Butler (keynote)
- Tickets: Free; claim via globalcitizen.org/nights
Why the return matters
This marks Global Citizen’s first major presence on Australia’s west coast since the landmark End of Polio concert in 2011. Organizers say the Perth summit will push practical discussion about making Western Australia a hub for renewable energy production and export — a shift with implications for local jobs, investment and energy access across the Indo‑Pacific.
Michael Sheldrick, Global Citizen’s co-founder and head of policy and government affairs, described the event as an opportunity to marry public engagement and policy action, closing two days of deliberation with a night of Australian music.
Josh Teskey, frontman of The Teskey Brothers, said the band is pleased to join the program and sees music as a way to amplify broader social goals. The group’s most recent studio album, released in 2023, reached number one on the ARIA charts and later won the ARIA award for best blues & roots album.
Melbourne hosted the organization’s first international Global Citizen NOW summit in March 2024, which ended with a headline performance by Crowded House. Global Citizen — co-founded by Hugh Evans and active in Australia since 2008 — reports more than US$50 billion in commitments announced through its platforms since launch.
What attendees should know
Tickets for the Perth concert are free but limited. Interested readers should register at globalcitizen.org/nights to reserve seats and check the site for the most recent program updates and speaker schedules.
For Western Australians and regional partners, the summit raises concrete questions about how state resources, infrastructure and policy can be leveraged to deliver clean power domestically and to neighboring economies. Those debates are likely to be central to outcomes the summit seeks to advance.
