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

Vibe Media has been the go-to source reporting on urban contemporary culture since 1993. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Vibe launched the Vibe Impact Awards, setting out to honor artists who have played a significant role developing and shaping hip-hop’s culture. In order to produce this celebrity-driven special event, Vibe turned to Empire Entertainment.The first ever Impact Award was bestowed on one of the most influential women in hip-hop, 9-time Grammy Award Winner, Mary J. Blige. The event was hosted at the infamous Sunset Tower Hotel on Los Angeles during Grammy week, drawing numerous industry moguls, celebs and high profile guests. Empire worked with the venue and vendors to design an elegant dinner setting infused with sponsor Malibu Red’s signature colors throughout the dinner and cocktail space.Following red carpet arrivals and cocktails, dinner kicked off with the CEO of Vibe, Ari Horowitz, welcoming guests and introducing the host of the evening- Andre Harrell, long-time friend and the first person to sign Mary J. to Uptown Records. Jermaine Hall, Editor in Chief at Vibe, then took the stage to share Mary’s history with the brand and even got the crowd to sing in her honor. Once dinner was served, Harrell continued the program inviting Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Sean “Diddy” Combs to recount some of their personal experiences with Mary. Queen Latifah introduced Anita Baker for a few short words, and afterwards presented the actual award to Mary J.As soon as the program ended, Empire quickly flipped the room to accommodate the additional 300 guests arriving for the after party, which had been stored inside due to weather constraints earlier in the day. The guests piled in to the sounds of DJ Homicide and a special celebrity-DJ set from Nick Cannon. Malibu Red’s specialty cocktails were flowing throughout the room as guests mingled and danced the night away.Empire congratulates Mary J. Blige on her inaugural Vibe Impact Award and becoming the most covered artist in Vibe’s history by gracing her 10th Vibe cover this month.

In January 2013 Empire Entertainment’s Tokyo-based Asia Division was honored to serve as a producer of a series of keynote speaker sessions hosted by the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office (Kantei) for the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2013, otherwise known as the DAVOS meeting.The sessions, entitled “SpeakerBox” were the Japanese Prime Minister’s office’s answer to programming a “Japan Night” event, an evening organized to accommodate the forum attendees. For this amazing event, Empire was responsible for the core elements such as content producing and stage directions. Everything from titles, themes, copywriting, speaker liaison, stage settings and production were managed by the Empire team. We also had the honor of working directly with the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Shinzo Abe, to help produce his video speech on the subject of Japan’s future and its Vision in English, which appealed to the DAVOS audience. In addition to fulfilling the audiences’ appetites with wonderful Japanese delicacies such as freshly prepared Sushi and Bento, the attendee’s minds were also stimulated by the innovative and thought-provoking ideas shared by some of the world’s greatest thinkers including the following:Mr. Yasuchika Hasegawa (President and Chief Executive Officer, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited)Prof. Muhammad Yunus (Chairman, Yunus Centre Nobel Peace Prize recipient)Ms. Sadako Ogata (Former President, Japan International Cooperation Agency)MISIA (Japanese Singer / Official Supporter of JICA-TICAD V)Mr. Akira Oshima (Honorary Executive Chef, Japanese Restaurants, Hotel Okura Amsterdam)Ms. Yoshiko Ueno-Mueller, Author and “Sake Samurai”Mr. Atsutoshi Nishida (Chairman of the Board, Toshiba Corporation)Mr. Ian Bremmer (President and founder of Eurasia Group)Mr. Yorihiko Kojima (Chairman of the Board, Mitsubishi Corporation)Mr. Klaus Schwab (Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum)Empire is proud to serve governments throughout the world with creative and production services for high level thought leadership forums and conferences and is a leading producer of Head of State level events.

On Saturday, January 26, 2013, Innovation: Africa hosted their 5th annual fundraising gala at Skylight West in NYC. After five years of bringing Israeli innovation to African villages, Innovation: Africa hired Empire Entertainment to redesign and produce their 500-person cocktail party into the organization’s first-ever seated dinner and stage program.

Nearly 300 guests joined Innovation: Africa for an evening of special guests featuring a keynote address from the Tanzanian Minister of Education, Dr. Shukuru Kawambwa. Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ron Prosor was honored as well. To help break up the speaking program, Innovation: Africa engaged a costume designer to specially design pieces creatively depicting their work through an entertaining fashion show. Not all was new though when one staple of past years’ events returned, African dance troupe Batoto Yetu performed again accompanied by live drummers, bringing the guests to their feet. Even the I:A volunteers took the stage for one dance.

Following the dinner, the guests were invited to join an ever-growing crowd back downstairs at the after party. Up and coming DJ JPatt of The Knocks kept the crowd dancing late into the night, as guests were welcome to wander and experience interactive installations exhibiting the organization’s work- including an energy generating arm bike, a larger than life slide puzzle, and art installations of solar panels.

Empire is proud to partner with Innovation: Africa to celebrate their 5th anniversary, and congratulates them in their continued success bringing light and energy to rural African villages. To learn more about their work and get involved please visit http://www.innoafrica.org/

On Monday, December 10th, 2012, charity: water hosted their 7th annual charity: ball gala at the 69th Regiment Armory in NYC. Nearly 2,000 guests joined charity: water Founder Scott Harrison and host Seth Meyers, of Saturday Night Live, to help raise over $3 million in a single night. To produce this fast-growing, star-studded event, charity: water brought Empire Entertainment onboard. charity: water has made a name for themselves by always doing things differently and, from the beginning of the planning process, charity: water and Empire set out to innovate the event in order to bring it to the next level. Through months of creative discussions and design meetings, this objective was achieved by utilizing an in-the-round stage, a circular Waterwalk, an innovative live pledge auction experience, dimensionalized water project installations, and RFID wristbands for guests to streamline check-in and pledges. The Waterwalk, a constant at every charity: ball, was redesigned this year to frame the circular stage in the middle of the room. Here guests have the chance to experience first hand a mere fraction of the daily walk that people in developing countries journey to bring water home to their families. Thanks to the generous support of W Hotels and TOMs, every person who walked raised an additional $500. 100% of the money raised from the Waterwalk will fund water projects in India. When complete, these projects will give 19,400 people clean water.The live auction has also been an annual feature of the event, but this year it was re-imagined to be more inclusive, enabling more guests to donate starting at lower, more affordable levels. charity: water asked guests to pledge by moving through a series of bid zones surrounding the stage where their RFID bracelets registered successively higher bids. The auction began with guests bidding at just $200 with opportunities to move up to levels of up to $100,000. It worked, and in a short 25 minutes, charity: water had raised more than $800,000 in pledges from more than 300 people while each bidder’s name appeared on monumental projection screens along with the rising total.Throughout the evening, guests were free to explore a series of innovative installations celebrating charity: water’s work. Guests were invited to pump water at a working well that displayed live data on the water pressure; interact with a fundraiser canopy that was built to showcase hundreds of people from around the globe who have campaigned for charity: water; purchase yellow helium balloons to help fill a giant, inverted Jerry Can (charity; water’s logo); wander an explorable maze of blue pipes highlighting charity: water's recent focus on gravity-fed well systems in Rwanda; and examine charity: water's drilling rig- Yellow Thunder, which was reconstructed inside the venue with large prints and a live twitter feed sharing the rig’s history.With over $3 million raised at the event, charity: ball's goal of taking the annual gala to the next level was reached both in terms of money raised and also by re-imagining the guest experience of this talk-of-the-season event. Empire is proud to partner with charity: water to deliver this one-of-a-kind event, and congratulates them in their success both as an action-oriented charity and an innovative leader in fundraising.To learn more about their work and get involved please visit: www.charitywater.org