BTS To Speak At YouTube Commencement Event
The coronavirus pandemic may have stopped the graduates of the school year 2020 from getting their own individual commencement ceremonies, but Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, BTS, and a host of others are solving that with a virtual graduation ceremony.
NME reports that the virtual graduation ceremony will be streamed on YouTube on Jun. 6 and is called “Dear Class of 2020.” Aside from Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and BTS, other personalities that will be delivering commencement speeches include Lady Gaga, former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Aside from the speeches, there will also be a virtual grad night after-party, featuring performances and appearances from BTS, Alicia Keys, Chloe x Halle, Kerry Washington, Kelly Rowland, Zendaya, The Try Guys, Zane Hizaji, Mr. Kate, Jackie Aina, Dude Perfect, and AsapSCIENCE.
In her tweet promoting the event, former First Lady Michelle Obama said that she knew how hard the class of 2020 has worked and that she and her husband wanted to give everyone the celebration that they deserved.
According to Metro, “Dear Class of 2020” is a collaboration between YouTube and Ideas United, the Malala Fund, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, and Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative.
The publication also quoted YouTube’s Global Head of Original Content Susanne Daniels as saying that this virtual commencement was something that they hope would be an inspiration for the graduates of 2020.
Graduations aren’t the only things that have been canceled or postponed because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. BTS’s ow Map of the Soul tour had to be completely rescheduled because of the pandemic. Other affected events include the Cannes Film Festival, the Met Gala, Coachella, and the UEFA Champions League.
Because of the pandemic, artists and entertainers have had to find alternative ways to reach out to their audience. BTS, for instance, staged “Bang Bang Con,” a two-day “at-home BTS concert experience” where fans watched footage from eight different BTS concerts.
It’s unclear whether the class of 2021 will get to have more traditional graduation ceremonies as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world continue to rise. According to the World Health Organization’s situation report for May 5, there are now 3,517,345 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide, with 81,454 of that total being new cases. Deaths from COVID-19 are now at 243,401 people, with new cases making up 3,797 of that total.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention update for May 5 puts the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at 1,171,510, with total deaths at 68,279.