John Legend Performs Live in Vietnam for Inaugural VinFuture Prize Award Ceremony
Working with our long-time partners in Asia, Empire delivered multiplatinum and Grammy Award-winning artist John Legend for his first-ever visit to Vietnam.
The inaugural VinFuture Prize Award Ceremony took place on January 20, 2022 at the historic Hanoi Opera House before a live audience of 250 VIPs including the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Phạm Minh Chính, and was broadcast live throughout Southeast Asia and the world on Vietnam Television (VTV).
John Legend’s world-class performance included his hits “You Deserve It All" and “All of Me“, and for the finale, a special rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine”. The event also featured performances by the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra with acclaimed Conductor Honna Tetsugi and Vietnamese-Canadian classical pianist Đặng Thái Sơn.
The VinFuture Prize Foundation is an independent and non-profit organization in Vietnam. The Foundation was established with the vision of catalyzing meaningful changes in the everyday lives of millions of people by honoring transformational technological innovations at a global scale. https://vinfutureprize.org/
The first global award of its kind from Vietnam, the VinFuture Prize presented US$4.5 million to international scientists to support breakthrough scientific research and technological innovation. In addition to the the Grand Prize, three special prizes recognized female innovators, outstanding achievements in emerging fields, and in developing countries.
In addition to artist booking and contract negotiation, Empire advanced all technical and creative aspects of John Legend’s participation for the event, including staging, sound, lighting, LED screen graphics, teleprompter, run of show, schedule, and dressing room hospitality. Empire also provided consulting on all matters regarding artist interactions with press and media, television interview, press releases, broadcast / livestream, and music licensing concerns.
Empire coordinated all air transportation, hotel accommodations, ground transportation, and visa acquisition. For this unprecedented event, Empire worked closely with the client team to confirm changing border restrictions and PCR testing requirements for travel to and from Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, and the United States, and to arrange a private charter into Vietnam where no commercial flights were available.
Empire Entertainment is proud to deliver global musical artists for events by forward-looking organizations such as VinFuture Prize in Vietnam and Asia.
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
