An expansive festival featuring hundreds of pop-up performances, NY PopsUp, has been announced by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.

It is hoped that the (predominantly free) series of events will help raise the spirits of New York citizens with the energy of live performance and in doing so, jumpstarting New York’s struggling live entertainment sector. The Festival will also act as a “pilot program” on how to bring live performance back safely following the pandemic.

Launching on 20 February and running until 6 September, there will be in excess of 1,000 pop-up performances during this time across all five boroughs of New York City, upstate and into Western New York; all strictly adhering to Covid-safe regulations. The events will make stages out of New York’s existing landscapes, including iconic transit stations, parks, subway platforms, museums, skate parks, street corners, fire escapes, parking lots, storefronts, and upstate venues.

The public will encounter a range of artists representing all areas of performance – from theatre to dance, from poetry to comedy, from pop music to opera, and so much more. Among the confirmed artists are Hugh Jackman, Renée Fleming, Amy Schumer, Alec Baldwin, Chris Rock, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mandy Patinkin, Gavin Creel, Billy Porter, Jonathan Groff, Kelli O’Hara, Idina Menzel, Sutton Foster, Jessie Mueller, plus many more.

Governor Cuomo said: “Cities have taken a real blow during COVID, and the economy will not come back fast enough on its own – we must bring it back. Creative synergies are vital for cities to survive, and our arts and cultural industries have been shut down all across the country, taking a terrible toll on workers and the economy. We want to be aggressive with reopening the State and getting our economy back on track, and NY PopsUp will be an important bridge to the broader reopening of our world-class performance venues and institutions. New York has been a leader throughout this entire pandemic, and we will lead once again with bringing back the arts.”  

Further details will follow in due course but given the impromptu nature and surprise element of the pop-up format, not all performances will be announced in advance.

For updates, please follow @NYPopsUp on Twitter and Instagram.