On 28 May 2026, four of the candidates standing to become the next United Nations Secretary-General gathered in London for a landmark public event hosted by UNA-UK as part of the global 1 for 8 Billion campaign.

Watch the interviews in the videos below.

The event began with a high-level opening panel discussion on the leadership the UN needs, featuring Margarita Gómez, Executive Director of Southern Voice, Mark Malloch-Brown, former UN Deputy Secretary-General and Thant Myint-U, writer and historian.

Each of the four candidates—Michelle Bachelet, Maria Fernanda Epsinosa, Rafael Grossi and Rebeca Grynspan—laid out their vision for the UN and responded to questions from a global audience. The interviews were moderated by BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet. A fifth candidate, Macky Sall, was not present at the event.

See more information about all of the candidates at the bottom of this page.

Introduction and Expert Panel

Michelle Bachelet

Maria Fernanda Espinosa

Rafael Grossi

Rebeca Grynspan

More Information about the Candidates

Michelle Bachelet: Wikipedia, Vision Statement

Maria Fernanda Epsinosa: Wikipedia, Vision Statement

Rafael Grossi: Wikipedia, Vision Statement

Rebeca Grynspan: Wikipedia, Vision Statement

Macky Sall: Wikipedia, Vision Statement (in French)

United Nations page with more information on each candidate, details of the process of selecting the candidates and videos of some of the candidates from April 2026.