Empire was honored join with renowned producers Radical Media, FremantleMedia Enterprises, and The Mark Gordon Company to help produce the HardBat Classic Ping Pong Tournament at the Venetian / Sands Expo in Las Vegas. Presented by Bud Light and billed as ”the biggest, baddest throw down in the history of table tennis” the HardBat Classic was designed to relaunch Ping Pong as a renewed sensation and to bring “old school” table tennis out of the basement and into the big time as competitors fought for the $100,000 grand prize.

The tournament featured competition among over 500 players and hustlers, all played with old school bats made of only wood and rubber, pips out instead of sponge-padded bats. This style of play levels the playing field allowing amateurs and pros to compete fairly.Empire served as the event producer managing the design and execution of the physical build-out of the enormous Sands Expo Hall C space at the Venetian. The tournament village consisted of registration and equipment pickup areas, retail locations for sponsors KillerSpin and K-Swiss, a large central Bud Light bar & lounge area, a café and VIP area, mo re than 60 competition courts, four semi-final courts, and a carefully branded championship arena seating almost 500 fans.

The three day tournament featured exclusive VIP celebrity parties at venues including Tao, Lavo and the Stadium in the Palazzo which were attended by celebrities including Anna Kournikova, 30 Rock’s Judah Friedlander and Entourage’s Autumn Reeser.The grand champion match came down to a white knuckle challenge between 23-year-old Jack Baker and 73-yea-old Wayne Oberton, who played in shorts up to his chest and suspenders. In the end, beauty triumphed over age as Jack accepted the winners robe, medal and $100,000 grand prize amid a shower of glitter confetti.

Empire handled all physical design of the space, the creation of the championship arena, all staging, sound, lighting, décor, security, logistics, staffing, production management and stage management of the main events. In addition to Radical Media, the program partner’s included the Mark Gordon Company, Fremantle Enterprises, KillerSpin and the Venetian / Sands Expo.The HardBat Classic premiered on ESPN in October 2009.

Empire Entertainment has served as a producer and production partner on many broadcast events including live sports & entertainment specials.

The annual Public Theater Gala, which marks the opening night of Shakespeare in the Park, is the quintessential New York City gala benefiting the arts, and Empire is honored to have been chosen as the event producer for the 2nd year in a row. In the rainiest June that New Yorkers can remember, the Public Theater was fortunate to have a warm and dry evening for their entirely outdoor bash. This year’s honorees included Susan Lyne, chief executive of the Gilt Groupe and former chief executive of Martha Stewart Omnimedia, and acclaimed director Mike Nichols, whose extensive credits include The Graduate and the 2001 Shakespeare in the Park production of The Seagull with Meryl Streep and Natalie Portman.

The event began with a dinner for 800 on the lawn outside of the Delacorte Theater. Gorgeous fuchsia peony arrangements topped dinner tables draped in lavender linens, and Hudson Yards Catering designed a delectable summer menu that featured Argentinean sirloin, horseradish-crusted salmon and roasted wild mushrooms. Following dinner, guests including Steve Martin and Cynthia Nixon headed into the Delacorte Theater for a performance of Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night starring the very beautiful and talented Anne Hathaway. Capping off the evening was an after-party for the cast and guests, held at the Belvedere Castle overlooking Turtle Pond. Partygoers danced under the stars and strung twinkle lights while DJ Marlon Morris spun pop favorites, both old and new.

Empire served as overall event producer, coordinating guest registration logistics with the Public Theater’s development team, catering with Hudson Yards Catering, decor & floral design, red carpet & signage as well as staging & production with the Public Theater's own exceptional production team. Empire also managed the production schedule, show flow, layouts, budget and production roles to ensure that everyone's efforts were tightly integrated and coordinated with the operations of the Public Theater and the Central Park Conservancy. Empire Entertainment has over 15 years of experience producing public, private, not-for-profit and outdoor events in New York City and around the world. Many thanks to the Public Theater for choosing Empire to produce their gala once again. To learn more about the Public Theater and their programs and to become a member and supporter, visit http://www.publictheater.org/

The World Science Festival, co-founded by Brian Greene and Tracy Day has a mission "to cultivate and sustain a general public informed by the content of science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future."Following a successful inaugural Festival in 2008, Empire was thrilled to once again team up with the 2009 World Science Festival to produce and manage production of over twenty-five major programs throughout six different New York City venues in a span of just four days.

The festival culminated with an all-day outdoor Street Festival in and around Washington Square Park.This year's diverse programming appealed to all demographics and included moderated panel discussions with some of the most brilliant scientific minds today, original theatrical productions with major stars such as Anna Deavere Smith and Emily Levine, and musical performances by artists such as Bobby McFerrin. Some of the many participants in this year's World Science festival programs included Dean Kamen, Edward O. Wilson, Irena Schulz with Snowball the dancing cockatoo, John Hockenbery, Sylvia Earle, Majora Carter, Lawrence Krauss, Robert Krulwich, Charlie Rose, Oliver Sacks, Alan Alda, Bill Blakemore, Brian Greene and many others.

The response to this year's World Science Festival was phenomenal. More than 165,000 people participated in the Festival's events and programs, with lines again wrapping around city blocks for possible stand-by tickets to the sold-out programs.As was done for the inaugural World Science Festival in 2008, Empire's support on the project included management of numerous venues staging and set requirements, sound, lighting, video playback, stage management and technical direction as well as many other production elements required for such extensive and, elaborate productions. Empire also tracked all production expenses paid directly by the not-for-profit World Science Festival to ensure the foundation stayed on budget and could adhere to rigorous financial reporting standards.

The World Science Festival is an ideal example of Empire's capability to act as a behind the scenes partner on all types and sizes of programs, including multiple-day festivals, as well as our unique ability to mold our services to the client's special needs and to act as a team player to help execute flawless events. Empire Entertainment was once again proud to serve as the production partner for the annual World Science Festival.

In June 2009 Empire Entertainment produced the 13th Annual Webby Awards, marking the 5th consecutive year Recognition Media LLC chose to partner with Empire on the project which has been referred to as "the only award show for Internet sites that matters" by The Los Angeles Times. The myth of the number 13 bringing bad luck was quickly put to rest, as the event was the best Webby Awards yet. The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence in web design, creativity, usability and functionality, and the coveted awards have been called "the Internet's" Highest Honor" by the New York Times. On the night of the event, more than 850 of the best and the brightest minds on the net came to Cipriani Wall Street to honor and be honored for their contributions to the World Wide Web.

This evening kicked off with a cocktail reception, during which over 100 Webby winners were invited to film their five-word speeches (a distinguishing characteristic of the event), which would be uploaded to the Webby Awards YouTube channel later that same evening - - check them out at www.youtube.com/webby Empire secured Seth Meyers from Saturday Night Live to host the event for the second straight year. In his opening remarks, Meyers proved why he is head writer for SNL, quipping that "on the internet you can see any type of bizarre sex act anytime you want, you can get prescription drugs without seeing a doctor, and you can lose yourself in role-playing games. So in a lot of ways the internet is the future, but in a lot of ways, it's the '70's." Meyers' charisma and razor-sharp ad libs throughout the night kept the ceremony light and entertaining, as did some hilarious videos created especially for the event by The Onion and some of the cast from the VH1 hit show, "Best Week Ever".

Meyers introduced many winners to deliver their brief speeches from the stage, including supermodels Alessandra Abrosio and Doetzen Kroes from Victoria's Secret, actress/model Molly Sims, Arianna Huffington, Beaker from the famed "Muppet Show", and a winner from the Netherlands who used his five words to deliver a marriage proposal to his girlfriend, which she promptly accepted. The biggest winners of the evening were Lisa Kudrow, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Sarah Silverman, Biz Stone (the founder of Twitter, who was introduced by the iconic Martha Stewart), and Tim Berners-Lee, who has been credited with inventing the World Wide Web. But the best 5-word speech of the night was arguably by Jimmy Fallon, who after being announced by Cameron Diaz, said simply, "Thank God Conan got promoted", a reference to having recently taken over the "Late Night" talk show from Conan O'Brien.

Empire Entertainment again provided oversight of nearly every element of this complex event, including signage, catering, décor, registration, staffing, audio, video, & lighting designs, stage management, and more.

Empire is a leading producer and/or partner on many Awards events each year, including the The Gotham Awards, The PR Week Awards, and The Executive Council Ten Awards. We take pride in clients such as Recognition Media who choose to work with us annually on their most important projects.

Each year, one of the world's top food and beverage companies flies its highest sales achievers and their spouses from around the world to its New York headquarters to celebrate their achievement and recognize their accomplishments.The trip includes sightseeing, business programs and an evening at Ellis Island. The highlight of the annual trip is the awards dinner, held inside a state-of-the-art tent built temporarily on the grounds of the corporate headquarters. And for the past several years, this company has consistently turned to Empire Entertainment to deliver a program of interstitial performances and post-awards ceremony entertainment.

This year, Empire was charged with creating a program of entertainment that translated over the multinational attendees that were present and that could segue naturally into a night of dancing and celebration.Empire presented the modern circus ensemble Cirque Dreams to perform a series of dynamic segments that inspired and entertained the audience. Performances included a father and sons diabolo juggling trio, a shape-shifting act, a low-slack wire balancing performance and an acrobatic duo on a Risley seat.The Eturnity Band, New York City's best R&B, Funk & Motown dance band, kept the audience dancing until the end of the night.

Empire Entertainment is the leading producer of talent and performers for corporate events.

The TriBeCa Film Festival once again turned to Empire Entertainment to produce the festival's largest single event - the TriBeCa Family Festival. The multi-faceted street festival pulled in an estimated 200,000 visitors throughout the day and served as a focal point for the growing celebration of the revival of Lower Manhattan. Just as in previous years, this year's Family Festival offered more than 50 tents of entertainment, activities, and food and stretched across 12 city blocks. Four outdoor stages presented a diverse collection of New York-based performers and community talent, including Shrek The Musical, National Double Dutch League and The New Jersey Nets Dancers.

Highlights included an arts and crafts pavilion, a BMX street course from X-Games, a basketball shooting court sponsored by the New York Knicks, hundreds of street performers, face painters, kite-making, sidewalk chalk art, and numerous other kid-friendly activities. The event also included the participation of dozens of restaurants and merchants in lower Manhattan and the spontaneous participation of schools, community groups and all manner of special interests and institutions in TriBeCa. Empire Entertainment served as Executive Producers and managed all production and logistics elements of the entire event and coordinated all services including tenting, integration with city agencies, security, generators and electrical power distribution, decor, staging, sound, lighting, labor, decor, bathrooms, street cleanup, video and A/V, event design and layout, stage management and overall event management.

Empire is a major producer of public events and is proud to be a partner of TriBeCa Productions in the TriBeCa Film Festival.

Each year, TIME identifies the 100 most influential people in the world in special issue called the Time 100. In conjunction with this highly-anticipated editorial event, Time Magazine hosts an ultra high level dinner gala attended by the year's Time 100 honorees as well as past honorees. Empire Entertainment was chosen to serve as the overall event producer for this most prestigious of events which featured Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, John Legend, AR Rahman, Jimmy Fallon, the Twitter Founders and a host of others.

The Time 100 gala took place on May 5, 2009 at New York’s Jazz @ Lincoln Center; the event commenced with grand entrance to the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle and a red carpet treatment that passed through the multi-level lobby that allowed the general public to view the arriving dignitaries and honorees. Honda, one of the evening’s sponsors, presented one of their newest vehicles on the red carpet.The Jazz @ Lincoln Center Atrium hosted the cocktail reception and bar, with catering provided by Great Performances. This area featured music and interactive stations where guests could explore the Time 100 issue on HP’s new TouchSmart PC. This star-studded reception gave politicians and movie stars the opportunity to mingle with moguls, performers, and Nobel laureates.

Some of the guests who attended the event included Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler, Claire Danes, Gayle King, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Barbara Walters, Ann Coulter, Whoopi Goldberg, Diane Sawyer, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Steve Schwarzman, Meredith Whitney, Zhang Ziyi, and Billie Jean King.Guests then moved into the Allen Room for dinner where guests enjoyed a sumptuous meal on tables intricately decorated by Empire’s design team as they looked out on Central Park. The Time 100 program began with an introduction by Managing Editor Richard Stengel, followed by a Time 100’s Sizzle video created by Empire Entertainment’s multi-image team. After the video, the First Lady and Honored Guest Michelle Obama spoke of the importance of public service in her own life, and subsequently announced that the President's budget proposal for the next year would include $50 million to support nonprofit groups and promote national service.

Time President Mark Ford then took the podium to thank the evening’s sponsors – Honda, Cartier, HP, and Verizon Wireless. Next, Deputy Managing Editor Josh Tyrangiel introduced Slumdog Millionaire’s A.R. Rahman and his band who performed two sings including the film’s hit ‘Jai Ho.’ Rahman had arrived from Mumbai only a few hours prior to the start of the event and still managed to wow the guests. Following this performance a series of toasts to the honored guests were delivered by Oprah Winfrey, writer Paul Krugman, designer Stella McCartney, human rights activist Somaly Mam, and the Twitter Founders Biz Stone, Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey. These toasts were interspersed with a performance and hilarious tribute remarks by Late Night host Jimmy Fallon who also performed an uproarious original song “Carwash for Peace.”

Following dessert, Time Warner Chairman and Chief Executive Grammy Jeffrey Bewkes took the stage to introduce Grammy Award winner John Legend and his band who delivered a 30-minute set of hits that brought the audience on their feet. The event was heavily covered by worldwide media, with Empire Entertainment providing a live feed and online B-roll posting later that evening. For this exceptionally complex and highly anticipated project, Empire served as overall event producing managing all aspects including venue coordination, catering coordination with Great Performances, design & décor of all spaces, sponsor fulfillment, branding, step & repeat, printing, design & production of video and graphics packages, staging, sound, lighting, video projection, video documentation, live media feed, coordination with all presenters and speakers, talent booking & coordination, stage management, staffing, security, Secret Service integration, and coordination with the White House Advance Office.

Empire Entertainment is a leading producer of high-level programs and events and is proud to have been chosen to produce this remarkable program.

On April 27 and 28, 2009, the world's foremost nutrition, health and wellness company, Nestlé S.A., in conjunction with the United Nations Office for Partnerships and the Swiss Mission to the United Nations, collaborated to present the First Annual Creating Shared Value Forum in New York City. They partnered with a globally recognized communications consulting firm who selected Empire to serve as Production Company for this prestigious program. The objective of the forum was to help advance solutions to the serious problems facing the world in the areas of water, rural development and nutrition.

The forum kicked off with an elegant dinner held at the UN Delegate's Dining Room in the United Nations, with panoramic views overlooking the East River. Invited guests included United Nations, Development, Humanitarian and Relief Organizations, distinguished academics, representatives from a host of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other participants in the Forum's discussions. Leaders from the three hosting organizations welcomed the guests while they announced three new initiatives and introduced the topics for the following day's forum. They also debuted the Nestlé Creating Shared Value Report, entitled "Nutritional Needs and Quality Diets," which profiles Nestlé's global efforts to improve quality diets, support weight management, address specific dietary needs and improve knowledge, awareness and understanding about nutrition.

The following day, the world's leading experts in business strategy, nutrition, water, and rural development held multiple panel discussions at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel. United Nations representatives, members of various development organizations, esteemed academics and government officials contributed their thoughts on the intersection of critical issues in their fields with corporate social responsibility and sustainable development.Moderated by Maria Livanos Cattaui, former Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, the forum included a who's who of experts including: Jeffery Sachs, Special Advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on the UN Millennium Development Goals and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University;Amir Dossal, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships;Jane Nelson, Director of the CSR Initiative at Harvard University's JFK School of Government;Nancy Birdsall, founding president of the Center for Global Development; Georg Kell, Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact; andJohn Elkington, co-founder of SustainAbility, and founding Partner & Director of Volans.

Throughout their discussions, questions and comments were welcomed from the participating attendees who were also leaders on these issues and a spirited discussion ensued. The Forum was also webcast live through various channels all over the globe: See link below for webcast:(http://clients.world-television.com/nestle/Nestle_Global_Forum09/) The incredible day of collaboration, discussion and knowledge-sharing on a wide range of topics helped to suggest strategies and best practices for addressing these issues and promoting a shared responsibility to create a better world. "Creating shared value is essential for the good of business and for the safety of our world. More than 2 billion people go to bed hungry. It's not just awareness, it's our necessity to fix," Jeffrey Sachs said. Empire served as Production Company for this program, designing, managing and overseeing the provision of all technical production, conference logistics, décor and the design and creation of all branding and signage.

Empire is a leading producer of global conferences and forums and a supporter of initiatives promoting global sustainability.

Each year, America's pre-eminent film presentation organization, The Film Society of Lincoln Center presents its annual Gala Tribute honoring legendary stars and industry leaders of our generation at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The Film Society's Annual Gala Tribute began in 1972 and honored Charles Chaplin – who returned to the US from exile to accept the commendation. Since then, the award has honored many of film's visionary talents, including Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Laurence Olivier, Federico Fellini, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton and, in 2008, actress Meryl Streep.This year's Gala, the 36th annual, honored two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks. The star-studded event featured remarks by many of Hanks's friends and collaborators, as well as film clips commemorating his celebrated career.

The evening culminated in the presentation of the Gala Tribute award – named the Chaplin Award. This year's gala evening started with VIP cocktails with the honoree in the Hauser Patron's Lounge in Alice Tully Hall and was followed by a seated dinner in the glass-walled atrium. The dinner décor was provided by designer David Stark. Following dinner the 1000+ guests entered the Starr Theater for the all-star program produced by Empire Entertainment. The program began with remarks by this year's event committee chair Ann Tenenbaum and then remarks by Film Society Executive Director Mara Manus and Program Director Richard Pena. Then came a career retrospective montage featuring work from most of Tom Hank's past films and ending with a clip of his newest release, Angels & Demons which served to introduce director Ron Howard who delivered the first tribute of the evening. This was followed by film clips and tributes by writer/director Nora Ephron, actress Sally Field, director Jonathan Demme, writer/director Mike Nichols, actress Julia Roberts, writer/director John Patrick Shanley, actress Charlize Theron, a performance based on the Chopsticks scene in "Big" by up-and-coming Julliard pianist Aaron Diehl and a tribute by director Robert Zemeckis.

Two highlights of the evening were a live performance by Bruce Springsteen & wife Patti Scialfa, followed by remarks by director Steven Spielberg and his presentation of the award to Tom Hank who then delivered his moving and hilarious acceptance remarks. Following the tribute program the guests returned to the atrium for a DJ's party sponsored by 42 Below Vodka.For this high stature event Empire served as producer and were responsible for overseeing creative and coordinating program participation for all participating presenters and talent, working with Lincoln center to provide necessary production design and supervision, creating the run of show and stage managing the event and working with the various film clips provided by the studios to integrate them into the program. The program was immensely successful and the client, all of the participating presenters and Tom Hanks were ecstatic with the results.

Empire is a leading producer of high-profile award and tribute programs and is frequently engaged to present programs with international stature talent & celebrities like Julie Roberts, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks.

When a leading software company was planning to bring corporate customers, partners, team members and industry experts together in New Orleans for a giant, week-long global conference, they asked Empire to provide the entertainment. In keeping with the flavor of New Orleans, Empire proposed and eventually secured local musical legends, The Radiators, to provide the soundtrack for the conference. This New Orleans musical institution has a sound described as a convergence of R&B, jazz, country, soul, swing, gospel, and New Orleans Rock n' Roll.

The Radiators are a featured mainstay of the "New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival" but on this week the band was a mainstay at the Ernest Morial Convention Center - acting at the house-band entertainment for three days of meetings and keynotes for a community of top software executives. The Radiators played live music as the eight thousand attendees entered the hall and supported keynote presenters as they took the stage. The Radiators' lively blend of upbeat, cross-genre New Orleans' rock brought energy and pacing and kept attendees engaged and surprised as the event unfolded. Having only wet the appetite of conference attendees, The Radiators took the stage at a local nightclub on one evening where they performed a full-length, high-energy concert that had the crowd electrified and cheering late into the night.

Like the diverse conference attendees themselves, The Radiators' perfect mixture of New Orleans jazz and rock ensured a steady flow for the tightly scripted conferences during the day, and a loose vibe for the guests to unwind to at night.

Empire is a leading provider of entertainment for large scale corporate meetings and events and is always able to deliver local flavor talent whether in New Orleans, Paris or Hong Kong.