Empire was excited to partner again with New Heights, a non-profit sports-based youth development and educational organization, to produce their 6th annual GameChangers Ball. The gala took place at the newly renovated Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The venue features a variety of sports facilities, classrooms, offices, and community spaces.

The gala began with a cocktail reception and live jazz performance by KingKlavé. Guests were treated to signature cocktails upon arrival and were invited to pose with friends at the photo booth.

At the close of the reception, attendees were ushered into the Ballroom by New Heights volunteers where they gathered on the facility’s basketball courts to enjoy a seated dinner from Abigail Kirsch. The room integrated existing basketball hoops into the overall stage and room design to complement the organization’s sports-driven mission.

Once guests were seated, New Heights Executive Director Ted Smith greeted attendees from the stage and invited speakers, alumni, and award recipients to join him in sharing how New Heights has positively impacted their lives. The program concluded with a live auction from Auctioneer Bobby D with items such as golf with NFL pros and courtside basketball game tickets available to be won.

Working closely with New Heights, Empire served as the overall event producer, managing elements including venue, catering, décor, programming, and technical production. Empire is a leading producer of fundraising events and has been proud to serve leading not-for-profit organizations and foundations for nearly three decades.

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athenahealth is a leading cloud-based healthcare technology company that connects clinicians, patients, payers, and partners in differentiated ways. athenahealth’s Thrive Summit is an annual event that brings together more than 2,000 of the brightest minds in healthcare for three days of keynote presentations, panel discussions, intimate breakouts, and freestyle networking opportunities, all with one simple goal in mind: Let’s thrive together to create healthcare as it could be.

It was no small feat. Empire brought this mission statement to life at the massive Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX. Working within more than 150,000 square feet of blank space, Empire crafted hundreds of networking areas, 60+ custom partner booth opportunities, a stunning Keynote stage fit for a 2,000-person audience, and a central athenahealth hub showcasing the brand’s products and services. Every element of the event was crafted in the inviting and accessible experience athenahealth strives to deliver to its customers. Empire designed every aspect of the event to bring the digital brand to life and connect attendees.

From the “Connection Lounge” filled with soft seating for casual conversations to the “Coaching Café,” where attendees could schedule 1:1 meetings with athenahealth representatives, to the lively Expo Hall mini-stages that offered TedTalk-style content, each space was created with the intention for anyone from senior leaders to prospective customers to feel welcome and excited to be a part of athenahealth.

Working hand-in-hand with the athenahealth team, Empire managed all aspects of the creative design and development, production, fabrication, budgeting, staging, talent coordination, technical production, and venue management.

To learn more please visit: https://www.athenahealth.com

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Across three cities and over the span of one month, Empire produced three private concerts for a major anniversary of one of our corporate clients in Chicago, Deer Valley, and Palm Springs.

The series opened with Alicia Keys at the Chicago Theater on Wednesday, September 21, followed by a stand-up set from Jerry Seinfeld at the Montage Deer Valley a month later on Sunday, October 22. The series was brought to a close with an astounding performance by Stevie Wonder at The Show Theater at the Agua Caliente Resort on Thursday, October 27.

Alicia Keys’ 90-minute set for approximately 1,000 guests included some of her best known hits including Fallin’, This Girl is on Fire, and Empire State of Mind, among many others. Prior to the performance, Alicia participated in an intimate meet and greet in one of the sponsored lounges for the client’s executives and guests.

Legendary standup comedian Jerry Seinfeld brought the roughly 250 guests in attendance to fits of laughter with a 45-minute set packed with jokes about family life, vacationing in the mountains, and some on-the-spot improvisations with the audience.

Ending the anniversary event series with a bang, Stevie Wonder wowed 1,200 guests with an almost two-hour set of his classics including Superstition, Sir Duke, and I Wish. Wonder and his full band received a standing ovation from the crowd after the unforgettable performance.

Empire contracted all artists and handled all aspects of logistics and onsite management and provided technical supervision for all shows.

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Empire was proud to produce the closing party for a three-day business conference in Las Vegas for 1,500 attendees.

The final event took place in Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas with a private headline concert by the Barenaked Ladies.

The band brought the audience together for this special evening and performed all their greatest hits including “One Week,” “If I Had a Million Dollars,” and the Big Bang Theory theme song.

The event also featured custom client branding throughout the venue, open bar and food stations catered by Blue Ribbon, a dance party by DJ Crykit, and an immersive photo booth by Pop Up Photo Op.

The evening culminated with a confetti moment immediately following Barenaked Ladies’ final song.

Empire was responsible for proposing, negotiating, contracting, and advancing all logistical and production elements at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas and Barenaked Ladies’ performance.

Empire Entertainment is a leading provider of talent for corporate events and celebrations around the world.

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Empire was honored to partner with GREENTECH once again to produce their second annual GREENTECH FESTIVAL at Truman Brewery in London on October 13 & 14, 2022.

GREENTECH, a Berlin-based group, brought their green sustainability and technology innovation summit to life over two programmed-filled days at Truman Brewery, located on London’s historic Brick Lane.

Attended by more than 1,000 visitors in total, night one featured a black-tie gala hosted by Céline Flores Willers with a seated dinner featuring a completely vegetarian & sustainable menu, dynamic video screen content, speeches, a musical performance by New Atlantis Project, and finally a cocktail reception featuring DJ Kim Kong. Stage participants included Amanda Jobbins of Vodafone, Andrew Doyle of Audi, and Illac Diaz of Liter of Light.

Day two’s festival-style conference saw over 600 unique visitors for a series of keynote remarks, panels, fireside chats hosted by Natasha Elkington, and later bootcamps and an “Investors Gourmet” networking lunch designed to connect startups and venture capitalists. Speakers included Marco Voigt and Sven Krüger, Co-Founders of GREENTECH FESTIVAL, Giovanni Sacchi of the Italian Trade Agency, world-renowned designer Sir Paul Smith, race car driver Charlie Martin, Albert Cheung of Bloomberg, Financial Times’ Finola McDonnell, and more.

Throughout both days, attendees toured multiple sponsor and exhibitor activations from various industries including an Audi electric car, an electric MINI, and Vodafone’s Extreme E vehicle. Other exhibitors included E.ON, Green Future Project, the Italian Trade Agency, Notpla, Magway, eROCKIT, Ma Petit Planéte, and Maucher Jenkins.

Empire served as the overall event producer, coordinating all logistics, technical production, sponsor management and fulfillment, and creative design and execution. The second GREENTECH FESTIVAL London was a great success and a tremendous lead-up for GREENTECH FESTIVAL Singapore on November 17 & 18, 2022.

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Empire was proud to partner with Pratham USA to produce their annual NYC Gala at Cipriani Wall Street. Over 600 guests gathered to support Pratham’s mission in improving access to quality learning opportunities for children and young people across India and beyond. We were delighted to see the Pratham NY Tri-State Chapter raise a record-breaking total on the night.

Guests were invited to a cocktail reception at 48 Wall Street where they dined on delicious South Asian cuisine by Buhkara Grill. Then they were escorted across the street lined with a red carpet and a dhol player graciously welcoming them to a seated dinner and program at Cipriani Wall Street.

The program featured remarks by Chairman of Pratham USA, Deepak Raj; CEO of Pratham Education Foundation India, Dr. Rukmini Banerji; and Pratham USA CEO and Global Executive, Manisha Bharti. The highlight of the evening was when Host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, held an incredible, inspirational and enlightening conversation with Pratham Board member and CNN Host, Fareed Zakaria.

Pratham Board Director, Ila Paliwal and Indian-American comedian, Anish Shah, kicked off a lively pledge drive followed by a successful auction with auctioneer Mark Turner.

DJ Rehka, who was the trendsetter who established Basement Bhangra, turned the volume up with a high energy set that had everyone on the dance floor with Bhangra, international hip-hop and drum beats. It was a wonderful night of sharing, learning, and giving, where thousands of children and young people’s lives will be changed through learning with Pratham’s programs.

Working closely with Pratham USA, Empire served as the overall event producer, managing elements including venue, catering, program development, and technical production. Empire is a leading producer of fundraising events and has been proud to serve leading not-for-profit organizations and foundations for nearly three decades.

For more information on Pratham, please visit https://prathamusa.org/

Joby Aviation, Inc. is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft which it intends to operate as part of a fast, quiet, and convenient service in cities around the world.

Empire was honored to produce Joby’s inaugural “Field Trip” at the Marina Municipal Airport pilot production facility in October 2022. This private event was a full-day venture for guests introducing them to the process behind the revolutionary aircraft with on-stage talks from Joby’s CEO, CFO, and Head of Aircraft OEM.

Joby invited guests to start the day with breakfast and coffee before the program began. Following breakfast, guests were led through a tour of Joby’s pilot eVTOL aircraft manufacturing line and took an early look at what future skyports may look like. Guests also got a chance to pilot a virtual Joby aircraft in a flight simulator.

Besides being a public airport, Marina Municipal Airport is used as Joby’s Flight-test site and home to the pre-production prototype aircraft. Joby Field Trip guests had the grand opportunity to witness a test flight themselves while Joby’s Chief Test Pilot talked through its route and the aircraft’s notable attributes.

At the end of the day, Joby’s executive staff hosted a Q&A session for their guests, opening the floor to questions about the company, process of aircraft evolution, and passenger experience. Empire was thrilled to be a part of the inaugural Joby Field Trip coordinating logistics, creative presentation design, and technical production.

To learn more about Joby Aviation, please visit: https://www.jobyaviation.com/

Empire was proud to partner with UNITAS to produce their 5th Annual Gala at Cipriani South Street. Over 450 guests gathered together for the first time since 2019 to support UNITAS' mission to disrupt human trafficking and to provide opportunities for survivors to thrive.

Held during the height of Fashion Week, there was a packed red carpet and a cocktail reception with gorgeous florals, generously donated by Sunshine Bouquet. Then guests sat down for a delicious dinner and program hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist and WABC-TV News Anchor, Sade Baderinwa.

The program featured remarks by UNITAS CEO Tonya Turner, Executive Vice President Lamont Heibert, and three distinguished honorees: President and Founder of ESD Global Self Defense, Yehudit Zicklin-Sidikman; Human Trafficking Survivor and Educator, Jessica Kay; and Lieutenant Amy Capogna of the NYC Police Department Detective Bureau, Vice Human Trafficking Unit—Human Trafficking Squad. All were honored for their courageous work in the fight against trafficking and advocacy for a safer and violence-free tomorrow. A live auction then followed with high energy auctioneer, Harry Santa Olalla, where overall they raised $1 million to continue UNITAS' vital work.

Evening highlights included an incredible live performance by multi-platinum singer Natasha Bedingfield, who performed four songs including a cover of Prince’s classic “Purple Rain,” the Grammy-nominated “Unwritten,” “These Words,” and “Pocketful of Sunshine", plus performances by Pharell-produced recording artist/singer Cris Cab and violist David Carpenter of The Carpenter Trio.

Working closely with UNITAS, Empire served as the overall event producer, managing elements including venue, catering, décor, program development, and technical production. Empire is a leading producer of fundraising events and has been proud to serve leading not-for-profit organizations and foundations for nearly three decades.

For more information on UNITAS, please visit https://www.unitas.ngo/

After a two-year interval due to Covid-19, Empire's Japan office resumed its work with Ian Bremmer's Eurasia Group to bring back the "in-person" version of the most elite geopolitical event in Japan—the Zero Summit. The high-level conference brought together corporate, political, and civic leaders in a dynamic forum to discuss the greatest risks and opportunities facing our world today.

A wide range of topics on the current and ever-changing geopolitics of the world were discussed over the course of the day, with appearances from Yoshimasa Hayashi, Foreign Minister of Japan, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister of Economics, Trade, & Industry, and Kono Taro, Minister of Digital Affairs. Also Yuiko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, joined to present a keynote speech about current undertakings and future plans of the city of Tokyo. Many other speakers and participants shared their insight both on the stage and via livestream to deliver an engaging and important thought leadership event.

Now in its second year, Unfinished Live convened more than 3,000 in-person and virtual attendees to explore and focus on the solutions needed to build a more equitable internet, economy, and society.

The event featured a world-class lineup of 188 speakers with main stage programming, live podcast recordings, interactive workshops, engaging masterclasses, dozens of dynamic discussions, artistic expressions, and unparalleled networking opportunities.

The discussions during Unfinished Live explored a decentralized future where new technology can support a stronger democracy and fairer economy. It also celebrated the networks, movements, and people challenging the status quo. From owning and controlling personal data, to protecting trust and privacy, to repairing social media and what it has broken, Unfinished Live looked towards what’s possible through innovation and collaboration.

Returning as host was Baratunde Thurston and program highlights included Maria Ressa’s conversation with Vivian Schiller on the rising threat of disinformation to democracies around the world. Frank McCourt and Kevin Roose examined how Project Liberty is using breakthrough technology to create a healthier internet and more equitable future. A masterclass, led by Tristan Harris and Maria Bridge, explored how wisdom can protect humanity from technology. Cleo Abram interviewed Iddris Sandu who shared his latest innovations that bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds. Cory Doctorow hosted a live recording of his Craphound podcast, Seize the Means of Computation: A Big Tech Disassembly Manual.  Nina McNeely stunned audiences with a choreographed exploration of the unconscious mind in The False Mirror.

Also hosted at The Shed during Unfinished Live was The Project Liberty Experience in collaboration with Refik Anadol, a provocative and fully immersive environment that actualizes a society where people hold the power and control over their personal data. Free and open to the public, visitors were invited to step into this future-forward spectacular to explore and interact with the technologies, art, organizations, and ideas that are actively working together to shape a better future. Empire worked closely with the Unfinished team and various Unfinished partners to deliver an inspiring and seamless run-of-show and broadcast for this high-profile convening. Empire oversaw show running for the main stage programs as well as the Podcast Stage, the Forum, and Collaboratory stages for the live show days as well as broadcast to a virtual audience. Empire worked closely with T Strategy and Plan Experiential on all aspects of show production as well as Chilean strategy and creative design agency, Felicidad, to deliver an extraordinary display of Unfinished Live’s design assets and imagery within the live program. Empire is a proud production partner for Unfinished Live.

About Unfinished Live: Unfinished Live is an annual convening of technologists, journalists, thought leaders, artists, and change-makers focused on harnessing the power of ethical technology and civic engagement to build a more equitable and sustainable future for all. Unfinished Live examines viable solutions to tackle the most urgent problems created by our current digital landscape.

About Project Liberty: A critical part of the Unfinished ecosystem is Project Liberty—a first-of-its-kind initiative to create a web optimized for democracy. Project Liberty’s comprehensive approach combines three tracks—Technology, Governance, and Movement—to reset and rebuild our digital civic infrastructure for the public good. At the core of Project Liberty is a groundbreaking, open-source technology called the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP) that was designed to serve as a foundational layer of the next generation of the internet and to enable users to own and control their data.

The McCourt Institute, launched with founding partners Georgetown University and Sciences Po, is supporting new research and bringing together technologists and social scientists to ensure that digital governance is prioritized in the development of new technology and embedded in tomorrow’s web. To realize the transformative potential of DSNP and Project Liberty, Unfinished catalyzes movement leaders, social impact organizations, and a diverse network of partners with the goal of creating a thriving, multiracial democracy and fairer digital economy.