When the BMW Group needed to launch the MINI Paceman vehicle in Japan, they turned to Empire’s growing, Tokyo-based Asia division to produce this important launch. The launch took place in Tokyo at the chic "R-Gallery", and was kicked offwith a press conference led by BMW Group Japan President Mr. Alan Harrisand MINI Division Director, Mr. Andreas Wecke.The launch included several elements including vehicle displays, live entertainment, and innovative food presentation to members of the automotive press. In addition to being responsible for the production of the press conferences, Empire organized a series of exclusive party events in Tokyo and Osaka attended by top names in fashion, design, architecture, and various well-known celebrities.Empire is responsible for a wide variety of launches, press conferences and event marketing activities through Asia.

The Bravo Upfront Party has become one of the most highly anticipated upfront events in the industry. Bravo once again enlisted Empire Entertainment to produce their Upfront Party, held at SIR’s Stage 37. After check-in, guests were whisked into a room and met with a 16-ft wide curved LED video screen. To their surprise, a popular "Bravolebrity", Curtis Stone, appeared in the room to welcome them to the event and to introduce a short sizzle video of Bravo’s upcoming programming.

The video also featured a look at the past “Summer by Bravo” promos and an introduction to this year’s Summer promo and Upfront Party theme, desert island. Doors then opened to reveal a fantastical desert island paradise party filled with luxurious thatch roof lounge cabanas, 14’ high palm trees and Bravolebrities galore, including the ladies of every "Real Housewives" franchise, each member of "Shah’s of Sunset", "Vanderpump Rules", "Top Chef" hosts Tom, Gail & Padma, Andy Cohen, Patti Stanger, Tabatha Coffey, Jeff Lewis and Jenni Pulos.

It was truly an amazing turnout of Bravo star power. In keeping with the evening’s desert island theme, giant stone “Bravo Island Heads” were carved in the likeness of "Flipping Out" design maven Jeff Lewis and "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Nene Leakes. Sand mansions were sculpted for properties featured on "Million Dollar Listing" and "Flipping Out."

Guest interactions included a custom "Real Housewives" video for which guests recorded their own sassy voiceover and video to be craftily edited into the opening credits of "The Real Housewives" city of their choosing. Guests could also get their hair and makeup done under the watchful eye of Tabatha Coffey, consult with Patti Stanger on their love lives, upload a gif of themselves styled by Brad Goreski and shot with the Shah’s, or get a drink served by Jax and Tom, the bartenders from "Vanderpump Rules." Pinch Catering passed hors d’oeuvres throughout the night and set up stations with a delectable assortment of rice paper rolls suspended on copper wires, fresh cut sashimi and juicy bao-style buns filled with salmon, beef or vegetable tempura.

DJ Earworm, known for video mashups including “United State of Pop,” spun music throughout the evening and cut in video clips of Bravo’s most memorable on-air moments, expertly sliced into pop music. Empire Entertainment worked closely with Bravo’s Trade Marketing, Creative and Press teams and served as overall event producer and designer for the program. Empire’s responsibilities included overall design & management, coordination of custom scenic, decor, audio/visual, catering, activities, venue, red carpet, travel coordination for talent, graphic design, printing, permits and security.

Each year TIME publishes the TIME 100: A list of the 100 most influential people in the world. To celebrate its highly anticipated release, TIME hosts an exclusive Gala event in New York City attended by current and past TIME 100 honorees. With its extraordinary mix of world leaders, innovators and celebrities, the TIME 100 Gala is recognized as one of the world’s most high-profile annual events and for the 5th consecutive year Empire was proud to serve as the event’s producer.

The 2013 TIME 100 Gala took place at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Participants and performers included Christina Aguilera, Vice President Joseph Biden, Jimmy Kimmel, Senator Rand Paul, Gabrielle Giffords & Mark Kelly, as well as Time Warner Chairman and CEO, Jeff Bewkes, and TIME Managing Editor, Rick Stengel.

The Gala was also attended by a global who’s who of icons from industry, culture, sports, fashion and politics including Steven Spielberg, Justin Timberlake, Lena Dunham, Jimmy Fallon, Instagram’s Kevin Systrom, Jennifer Lawrence, Padma Lakshmi, Daniel Day-Lewis, Frank Ocean, Amy Poehler, Claire Danes, Harvey Weinstein, Aziz Ansari, Michael Kors, Fareed Zakaria, and Ricky Gervais.

The TIME 100 consisted of red carpets on three floors, an elegant cocktail reception, a seated dinner & program that combined keynote remarks, musical performances and toasts by the evening’s honorees, and an after party. The event was sponsored by Chivas Regal 25 and Citi.

As one of the world’s most high-stature events, the TIME 100 draws extensive global media coverage which this year included the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Today Show, Huffington Post, FOX, Forbes and many others. BizBash Media named the Gala the #1 Media Event of the Year.

With the world watching through such extensive coverage, the production of the TIME 100 requires precision execution. Empire was proud to work closely with the TIME team to deliver a flawless evening.

Empire’s responsibilities as producer included event design & décor, talent booking & coordination, venue and catering logistics (provided by Great Performances), technical production, broadcast and Internet stream facilities, stage management, staffing, front of house logistics and security.

Empire is one of the world’s leading producers of high-profile events and is proud to again have been chosen to produce the TIME 100.

On April 24, 2013, Empire delivered legendary rock and roll band Foreigner for a financial services company’s annual incentive program in San Diego. With 2,000 guests in attendance, it was all about the hits and Foreigner delivered. With more than a dozen major radio hits to their name, there was no need for the band to start slow. They opened with the one-two punch of “Double Vision” and “Head Games” and had the entire crowd on their feet from the opening chords. There was no let-up in the entire set, which also included classics “Cold As Ice”, “Feels Like The First Time”, and “Jukebox Hero”. The band was having so much fun with the crowd that they invited several of the attendees up onstage to be the backup “choir” on the blockbuster #1 hit, “I Want To Know What Love Is”. With the crowd roaring for one more, the band didn’t disappoint, breaking out “Hot Blooded” as the final encore of the evening. Empire also arranged a private meet and greet with some of the client VIP’s and the band, where guests were able to meet the stars, and get autographs and photos as well. As a final gesture, the band also autographed a guitar and presented in to the client’s event planner.Empire has been recommending, contracting, and producing headline entertainment since its inception in 1993. We pride ourselves on delivering the best possible artists for our clients based on their budgets and their audience demographics. Foreigner was yet another tremendous success in this regard.

Createdin celebration of the brand’s 310th anniversary, Mount Gay, the oldest rumin the world, released Mount Gay Black Barrel on February 20, 2013. Tocommemorate the launch and educate press on this new premium rum, BlackbirdPublic Relations called on Empire to deliver an educational and refined experienceto 75 top media influencers at the Soho Grand Hotel.

Guestswere invited to walk through an interactive event experience mirroring the premiumrum’s “Road to Refinement” brand story, illustrating the four distinct stagesof the rum making process.

Setagainst large, beautiful and classic photos of the rum making experience,guests had a unique opportunity to taste the raw ingredients, learn more aboutthe distillation process and engage with Master Blender Allen Smith, whoshowcased the art of blending to create Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum.

Mastermixologists served Mount Gay Black Barrel “neat,” “on the rocks,” and in classiccocktails that included the “Black Barrel and Ginger Ale” and the “PerfectMount Gay Black Barrel Manhattan” to highlight the refined taste of this smoothspirit.

EmpireEntertainment served as the overall event producer and assisted with siteselection and contracting, logistics, catering, décor, technical production,and onsite management.

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For the highly anticipated launch of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue 2013, Sports Illustrated again selected Empire Entertainment to provide celebrity entertainment for their marquee event in Las Vegas. At Club SI Swimsuit, the final night of launch week at 1OAK at the Mirage Hotel, Empire secured the "The Bachelor's" Chris Harrison to host the Swimsuit Model reveal and Latin Grammy Award-nominee Pitbull and his band to perform for an audience of swimsuit models, Sports Illustrated guests and sponsors. Following the stage program and Swimsuit model reveal, Pitbull and his band took the stage to perform a 60-minute set of his hits including "Hey Baby," "International Love," "Calle Ocho," "On The Floor," "I like It," "DJ Got Us Falling In Love," and "Hotel" that had the entire club on their feet. Working under the direction of Sports Illustrated's Executive Director of Event Marketing & Talent Relations, Christine Rosa, Empire was responsible for securing Chris Harrison and Pitbull and handled all details relating to their performances with the Sports Illustrated Events team. Empire also worked closely with Team Epic who staged all of the launch week events.Empire is a leading provider of high-profile talent for media events.

To help bring about the end of the AIDS pandemic, Empire Entertainment partnered with The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation to serve as producer of their inaugural Global Champions of a Mother’s Fight Awards Dinner in New York.Originally scheduled in November 2012 but postponed because of Hurricane Sandy, the rescheduled event was held at New York's Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the Grand Ballroom. Over 500 guests were treated to spectacular views of Central Park and the midtown skyline while dining on a menu designed by celebrity chef Cat Cora.

Chair, President and Editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, Arianna Huffington, acted as the evening’s host and also led a rousing Q&A session with the event’s three honorees. Amy Towers, Founder of the Nduna Foundation, accepted the Humanitarian Award. Cookie Johnson, Board Member of the Magic Johnson Foundation received the Global Advocate Award, and Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson, accepted the Corporate Champion Award on behalf of Johnson & Johnson. Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo was on hand to present all three awards.

Speakers for the evening included Charles Lyons, President and CEO of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Willow Bay, Co-chair, and Jake Glaser, son of Elizabeth Glaser, along with Florence Ngobeni-Allen, Global Advocate.Two-time Grammy award-winning Canadian R&B recording artist, Melanie Fiona, performed twice during the evening, singing her new single, “Wrong Side of a Love Song” and “L.O.V.E.” to close out the night.

Empire served as the overall production company, managing all aspects of the event, as well as the creative partner working with Jason Wu and Karlie Kloss to design inspired tabletops and stage set decor. The stage set incorporated a photograph of a mother and child from world famous photographer Nigel Barker, and Jason Wu designed furniture from his collection for Canvas.

At the event, Johnson & Johnson announced that they will match all contributions to the Foundation up to $1 million between the event date and Mother’s Day. With Johnson & Johnson’s match, the foundation raised over $1.8 million.

Empire is a leading producer of high-stature fundraising events and has assisted in the fight against HIV / AIDS since our founding two decades ago.

Once again, Empire helped a corporate client achieve a phenomenal concert success by welcoming a truly international star to Japan.On February 3, 2013, one of Empire’s top multinational corporate clients presented Jennifer Lopez, performing live at an award ceremony for an audience of 37,000 at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan.For this high profile, international project, Empire’s Tokyo-based staff played several roles, providing stage direction & technical liaison between Jennifer Lopez’ team and Japanese vendors and crew, as well as arrival-to-departure local co-ordination for Jennifer Lopez and her musicians and crew during their stay to ensure the most comfortable and satisfying experience in Japan.From advance client / artist liaison to logistics, hospitality, negotiations and onsite management, Empire managed every aspect of the tour. From first class catering to perfectly-scheduled transportation, no detail was overlooked to meet the artist’s every request. One of the challenges of delivering headline artists and large entourages oversees are the many visa, customs and other legal requirements. This is as true for the world’s best-known artists as it is for lesser-known performers. Empire was responsible for handling visas for all 45 members of the touring party. For the artist’s private aircraft flight charter arrival to the Kansai International Airport (KIX), Empire worked closely with an aircraft charter company and airport authorities to ensure the smoothest experience, and arranged top-level security personnel to safeguard the artist’s privacy and safety. Jennifer Lopez’ exciting and energetic performance of her many world-renowned hits attracted rave reviews from the client and a standing ovation from its audience. Empire is honored to have helped deliver Jennifer Lopez in Japan and to add her spectacular performance to the growing list of international artists that Empire has produced in Asia and around the world.

When event designer, Thomas Noel received a request from his international client for a special musical performance at his fiancé’s intimate birthday celebration, he turned to Empire Entertainment to secure the perfect artist. With the show being a week away, taking place in the cozy dining room in a TriBeCa restaurant, with a very limited amount of time for set up, Empire was charged with recommending current headliners who were available on short notice and who could perform to track with minimal technical set-up.Within a very limited time, Empire was able to secure British singer-songwriter and three-time Billboard Music Award winner, Taio Cruz to perform his top-five singles before the international crowd. Following an 8-course meal served by a world-renown chef, and DJ and live music by D&E Entertainment, Taio Cruz took to the stage.As Taio began his performance, the birthday girl, and her guests flocked to the dance floor, where they danced and sang along to “Break Your Heart,” “Hangover,” “Higher,” and “Little Bad Girl.” The conclusion of his set featured an a cappella intro & sing-along into “Dynamite,” which in 2012 became the second best-selling song by a British artist in the digital era.Immediately following his set, waitstaff entered the room with birthday cakes, and Taio Cruz led the guests in a rendition of “Happy Birthday.” It was truly an once-in-a-lifetime experience. Empire was responsible for proposing, negotiating, contracting, and advancing all logistical and technical elements for Taio Cruz, as well as working with the design team to coordinate all schedules and layouts of the tight event space.Empire Entertainment is a leading provider of talent for private events and celebrations in the U.S. and around the world.

On February 7, 2013 Empire Entertainment was proud to produce the 2nd annual TRANS4MATION EXPERIENCE event on behalf of seven-time Grammy winner will.i.am and his charitable organization, the i.am.angel Foundation that supports trans4mation and revival in distressed communities like will.i.am’s hometown in east Los Angeles. This year, the event was named TRANS4M AMERICA and included as its goal the promotion of S.T.E.M. Education (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics). Held at the AVALON Hollywood on the eve of the Grammy Awards, over 1,400 guests came out to support the i.am.angel Foundation including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Estelle, Mark Ballas, Bobby Brown, the Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo & apl.de.ap, Coco Lee, Paris Hilton, Shaggy, Shepard Fairey, Kimberly Cole, David Arquette, Derek Hough, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and astronaut Leland Melvin among many others. will.i.am is best known for being a multi-platinum music artist, producer and front man for The Black Eyed Peas, though he is an innovator, entrepreneur and philanthropist as well. As the evening’s host, his message of trans4ming lives through education, opportunity and inspiration was driven home by an emotive program of speakers and videos. Following the speaking program, will.i.am and an incredible band of backing players delivered a non-stop dance concert experience featuring will.i.am and guest performances by Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Estelle, Mark Ballas, Bobby Brown, the Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo & apl.de.ap and Coco Lee. The 90 minute concert had everyone on their feet throughout. Guests were welcome to explore the multi-level venue including the VIP artists lounge, two levels of balcony, and an open-air club, known as Bardot. Bardot was also the hot spot to be for the post-concert after-party where DJs rocked the party until 2am. Keeping in the STEM theme, NASA provided several real-life exhibits at the event that guests were able to use as photo ops. A scale model F-117 fighter jet, hover craft, and lunar rover were big hits with the crowd. Another added element this year was an auction of original art pieces by artists including Shepard Fairey, Os Gemeos, and Retna. With pieces valued at upwards of $35,000, guests were encouraged to bid on these unique works to raise additional funds for the Foundation’s programs. All told, the event raised over three million dollars to support i.am.angel Foundation’s programs to transform communities. Empire Entertainment served as overall event producer for the i.am.angel Foundation TRANS4M AMERICA, managing all aspects of the event including venue contracting, logistics, catering, décor, stage, production, parking, security and onsite management, collaborating with the i.am.angel Foundation, partners, and donors.To find out how you can get involved with i.am.angel Foundation and help trans4m communities around you, visit their website at iamangelfoundation.org