New York (AFP)

Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, or Paul Simon are headlining Saturday of a concert planned in the grounds of Central Park in New York to mark the "reunion" of the artists with the public of this city strongly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the prospect of a hurricane heading towards the east coast of the United States, as well as a strong rebound in the number of coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant, threatens to break the festive atmosphere of the event for the 60,000 spectators expected.

All participants 12 years of age and over will need to provide proof of vaccination, except for those who could not receive a vaccine due to a disability.

Masks will not be required for this outdoor concert, except for unvaccinated children.

The mayor of America's largest city Bill de Blasio told local radio on Friday that the event was planned "to really tell people that New York is back, to tell the world."

Since the start of the pandemic, New York has deplored more than 33,000 victims of Covid-19, and for Bill de Blasio, the concert must be a symbol of the city's recovery.

"I think it will be one of those defining moments that just tells everyone that we are back and that we will be okay regardless of the circumstances," said the councilor.

The event is scheduled to last five hours and will be broadcast live on US television.

- The Henri threat -

In the weeks leading up to Saturday's event, a series of concerts also took place across different parts of the city, including Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, KRS-1, as well as Ghostface Killah and Raekwon, members of the Wu-Tang Clan group.

The group Earth, Wind and Fire in rehearsals on August 20, 2021 for the concert in Central Park in New York on August 21 TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP

The legendary George Clinton & The P-Funk All-Stars also performed at a concert in the Queens borough on Friday night.

With the exception of certain VIP seats, tickets are free to attend the Saturday concert during which Santana, Jennifer Hudson, LL Cool J, Barry Manilow, or Earth, Wind and Fire must appear.

More than 68% of adults in New York are fully vaccinated, but the number of infections has rebounded recently in the city with more than 1,800 cases daily, up 19% from the situation two weeks earlier.

The skies darkened a little over the concert with the announcement by the American Hurricane Monitoring Center (NHC) that Storm Henri, off the US East Coast, had been classified as a Category 1 hurricane. .

With winds now up to 120 km /, Henri must reach the American coasts on Sunday at Long Island, near New York, or a little further north in New England, according to the NHC, which however expects "to a weakening before his arrival ".

The hurricane is expected to bypass New York City but could still cause significant precipitation as early as Saturday evening.

Bill de Blasio, however, said he was not overly worried about the event, which he said will be "extraordinary".

"We are confident about the weather for the concert on Saturday," he said.

© 2021 AFP