Major New York Gala Event with Earth, Wind & Fire
When a global investment bank wanted to shake up their Annual Global Investment Conference Gala, they called on Empire Entertainment to produce the event. The three-day Conference took place at The Palace Hotel in New York City and kicked off with a keynote address by former President Bill Clinton. For the entertainment portion of the conference, the client invited all conference attendees to a blowout gala at the Hammerstein Ballroom in midtown Manhattan.
Empire's original productions division transformed the space into a beautiful, chic lounge environment. From the red carpet entrance, to the lobby, to the entire performance space inside, Empire created an atmosphere that made the venue unrecognizable to those who are accustomed to seeing it as a concrete-floor concert hall. The interior space was completely altered into a sea of sensual red, with wall-to-wall carpeting, lounge furnishings and sleek black lacquer accents.
Dramatic food stations with ice sculptures were set on all three floors of the space, with high-end items including oysters on the half shell, tuna tartare, sliced muscovy duck breast, pulled barbecued lamb sandwiches, and abalone mushroom carpaccio. Servers also passed small plates of miso roast black cod, slow cooked short ribs, yellowtail ceviche "ice cream cones" and more.
Given the tremendous ceiling height at the venue, Empire recommended and secured the world-renowned aerial troupe Antigravity to perform interstitial entertainment segments prior to the headline concert that evening. Incredibly beautiful and talented women performed breathtaking feats of contortion, aerial hammock routines, and a jaw-dropping bungee-jump piece that stunned the crowd. These performances, set to DJ music, built up the energy and excitement in the room as the evening went on.For the grand finalé, Empire produced a headline concert performance by the legendary Earth, Wind & Fire. The band had the crowd on their feet and dancing to mega-hits including "Boogie Wonderland", "Let's Groove Tonight", and "September" and sent guests out on a tremendous high note.
Empire prides itself on producing special events worldwide from conception to completion, as was the case with this gala.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
