[imagesource: Twitter / Taryder]

Harry is back with a bang in his first public appearance since his grandfather’s funeral.

With his name beaming in big lights behind him, he was greeted with wild cheers as he walked on stage at the SoFi Stadium in LA to give a speech for the star-studded Vax Live concert hosted by Selena Gomez.

As you can see from the image above, it was also made clear that he is ‘The Duke of Sussex’ just in case anyone had their doubts after he threw the Royals under the bus during that interview with Oprah.

The Vax Live event is a charity performance in aid of the international COVID-19 vaccination effort, with celebrity performances ranging from Jennifer Lopez to the Foo Fighters, as well as a prerecorded speech from President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr Jill Biden.

Harry took the stage without his pregnant wife Meghan, who stayed at home. The couple serves on the board for the Vax Live campaign, organised by the anti-poverty group Global Citizen.

Harry’s short speech was a plea for governments to commit to vaccine equity by donating doses and resources.

Here’s some of his speech via the Daily Mail:

‘We’re coming together because this pandemic cannot end unless we act collectively with an unprecedented commitment to our shared humanity.

‘The vaccine must be distributed to everyone everywhere. We cannot rest or truly recover until there is fair distribution to every corner of the world. The mission in front of us is one we cannot afford to fail out and that’s what tonight is about.

‘The virus does not respect borders and access to the vaccine cannot be determined by geography. It must be accepted as a basic right for all and that is our starting point.

‘We must look beyond ourselves with empathy and compassion for those we know, and those we don’t. We need to lift up all of humanity and make sure that no person or community is left behind.

According to the BBC, the event raised $53,8 million (around R753 million) for Covax, which the organisers said was enough to help purchase almost 10,3 million vaccine doses.

In South Africa, we know how that feels.

Behold, he walks…

Well, he’s here! Los Angeles LOVES Prince Harry tonight — he gets electric reception and standing ovation as he steps out on the biggest stage since moving down the road in Montecito. #VaxLive pic.twitter.com/ewzqZ7WnYz

— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) May 3, 2021

“Every single one of you in here [is] awesome,” he says as he walked on stage to an audience of vaccinated frontline workers.

That is 100% correct. The world’s frontline workers deserve all of our gratitude after the work that they have put into saving lives during the pandemic while putting themselves at risk.

Those who weren’t there can enjoy the full concert online, streaming on YouTube on May 8.

[source:bbc&dailymail]