March 28, 2018
The initial lineup for WE Day California, an annual youth empowerment event that brings together thousands of students, educators, speakers and celebrity performers, was announced Wednesday.
John Stamos will host the April 19 event, which will be held at The “Fabulous” Forum and feature speakers and performers including Parkland, Fla., students and March for Our Lives organizers Jackie Corin and Cameron Kasky, Paula Abdul, Jennifer Aniston, Dierks Bentley, Monique Coleman, Lily Collins, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Selena Gomez, Martin Sheen, Lilly Singh, Maddie Ziegler and more.
The event will be filmed for an ABC special airing Aug. 17.
A catalyst to support the movement of young people leading change, WE Day is a series of 19 stadium-size events held across the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Caribbean. More than 200,000 students from over 10,000 schools attended WE Day events last year.
WE Day is connected to the free, yearlong service learning educational program WE Schools, which provides schools and community groups with curriculum, educational resources and action campaigns. The program is designed to enhance a school’s existing social initiatives or spark new ones. WE Schools encourages students to further their curricular learning and develop life skills for success beyond the classroom.
“We are surrounded by youth of the WE generation — a generation that is tuned-in to the needs of their community both globally and locally. They have committed to choosing hope, optimism, empathy and courage over fear, division, apathy and intolerance,” said WE co-founder Craig Kielburger. “We are honored to celebrate young people from over 875 schools and youth groups from across California, who have joined together to make a difference and prove that you are never too young to change the world.”
See below for the full list of speakers and performers so far:
Host: John Stamos
Speakers: Paula Abdul, Jennifer Aniston, Gunnar Argyros, Sofia Carson, Lonnie Chavis, Monique Coleman, Lily Collins, March for our Lives organizers Jackie Corin and Cameron Kasky, Will Ferrell, Connor Franta, Morgan Freeman, Selena Gomez, Lizzy Greene, Winnie Harlow, Olivia Holt, Craig and Marc Kielburger, Jenna Ortega, Lele Pons, Nicole Richie and Kelly Sawyer, Drew Scott, Martin Sheen, Lilly Singh, JoJo Siwa, Spencer West, Henry Winkler, Maddie Ziegler
Performers: Dierks Bentley, DVSN, Celebrity Marauders, The Chainsmokers, Jordan Fisher, Jessie Reyez