President and First Lady of the United States' United Nations General Assembly Reception
Every year, the President and First Lady of the United States host a reception in connection with the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. The event is attended by heads of state from around the world and is a keystone annual event in American diplomacy. This year, the event was held in the iconic New York Public Library.The distinguished guest list, necessity to observe diplomatic protocol in every detail, and extraordinary security precautions imposed by a host of agencies make the project one with many unique challenges. On the night of the event, heads of state, foreign ministers and other high profile guests arrived at the Library in a tightly-choreographed ballet of over 100 individual motorcades. Guests were met at Library entrances by an Honor Cordon representing all of the United States Armed Forces. Once inside, guests moved into a cocktail reception in the McGraw Rotunda and Edna Barnes Salomon Room where their conversations were accompanied by the United States Marine Band’s string ensemble.
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama met the world leaders and distinguished guests in a receiving line, spending one on one time with each of them.Following the receiving line, guests made their way into the grand Astor Hall where, following, a rousing performance by the Bergen County Cadets marching band, and the standard ruffles & flourishes and “Hail to the Chief” the President and First Lady took the stage in front of a backdrop of American Flags to deliver remarks. Following remarks the President greeted more guests along a rope line and then departed while attendees remained to enjoy dessert and more musical accompaniment by the Marine Band Jazz Ensemble.The event was followed by an after-party for heads of Protocol from many nations featuring music by the Todd Londagin Trio.
Empire Entertainment was proud and honored to serve the United States and our President as producer and production company for this singular event. Photos courtesy of Paul L. Mertikas.
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
