FiveCurrents to Produce 2011 Pan American Games Ceremonies

The Organizing Committee for the XVI Pan American Games (COPAG) today announced that they have appointed FiveCurrents as Executive Producer of Ceremonies for the Guadalajara 2011 Pan and Parapan American Games. The Opening Ceremony of the 2011 Pan American Games will take place on 14 October 2011 at Omnilife Stadium. The Closing Ceremony will bring the Games to an end on 30 October and will include a handover to the next host city, Toronto, Canada.  The Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games will be broadcast throughout the Americas and around the world.

On 12 November 2011, the Parapan American Games Opening Ceremony will commence the Games at the Pan American Athletics Stadium and the Closing Ceremony bring the Games to an end on 20 November 2011.

Scott Givens, FiveCurrents’ President said: “We are thrilled and honored to work with COPAG on the Ceremonies of the XVI Pan American Games and look forward to bringing the story of Guadalajara to life in front of a worldwide audience.”

FiveCurrents is a mega event production firm with production credits ranging from the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Ceremonies. FiveCurrents also produced the Ceremonies of the XV Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The Pan American Games is a multi-sport event between athletes from all nations in the Americas, held every four years in the year before the summer Olympic Games. Recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), the Pan American Games was established 8 August 1948 by the National Olympic Committees of the Americas.

President Clinton Secures Record Commitments

FiveCurrents wrapped production of the sixth annual Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting last week in New York City. The meeting brought together more than 1,300 attendees including current and former heads of state, CEO’s, NGOs and non-profit organizations. The closing plenary included remarks by President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and featured a discussion between President Clinton and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

President Clinton announced a record number of commitments, 291, worth more than $6 billion, at the close of the CGI Annual Meeting. Total commitment made since 2005 are up to nearly 2,000, valued at almost $70 billion.

“The reason I think people like (CGI) is that there’s a minimum amount of posturing and a maximum amount of seeking. There’s a minimum amount of talking in relationship to the commitment, to doing,” said Clinton.

For more information about CGI, please click here.

First Lady to Speak at 6th Annual Clinton Global Initiative

Today, President Bill Clinton announced the program for the sixth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). CGI brings together global leaders from all sectors of society to develop and then implement workable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. More than 1,000 members will attend, including current and former heads of state, chief executives of corporations, philanthropists, thought leaders, prominent members of the media, and directors of nonprofit organizations. Each member creates a Commitment to Action – a detailed plan for addressing a major global challenge in the areas of Economic Empowerment, Education, Environment & Energy, and Global Health. Throughout the event, members share successful strategies, forge partnerships, and gain practical insights that they can use to enhance their work.

This year, First Lady Michelle Obama will join President Clinton during the closing plenary session, which will take place on Thursday, September 23.

In addition to the First Lady, prominent participants include Jean-Max Bellerive, prime minister of the Republic of Haiti; Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, president of the Republic of Liberia; Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State; Cherie Blair, patron, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women; Richard Branson, chairman and founder, Virgin Group Limited; Laura Bush, former first lady of the United States; John Chambers, chairman and CEO, Cisco; Paul Farmer, co-founder, Partners In Health; Melinda Gates, co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Jeff Gordon, NASCAR champion and founder of the Jeff Gordon Pediatric Cancer Foundation; Ruchira Gupta, founder of Apne Aap Women Worldwide; John Holdren, director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Chad Hurley, co-founder and CEO, YouTube; Valerie B. Jarrett, senior adviser and assistant to the president for Intergovermental Affairs and Public Engagement; Andrea Jung, chairman and CEO, Avon Products, Inc.; Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company; Klaus Kleinfeld, chairman and CEO, Alcoa, Inc.; Wendy Kopp, CEO of Teach for All; Jack Ma, chairman and CEO, Alibaba Group; Shakira Mebarak, founder, the Barefoot Foundation; Robert McDonald, president and CEO, Procter & Gamble; Zainab Salbi, founder and CEO of Women for Women International; Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO, Google; Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California; Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Group; Jerry Yang, co-founder and chief-Yahoo, Yahoo! Inc; and Muhammad Yunus, founder and managing director, Grameen Bank.

“I’m so pleased that such a distinguished group of global citizens will be coming to CGI’s sixth Annual Meeting,” President Clinton said. “The challenges we face in the world today can only be overcome if we work together to develop and implement innovative solutions. CGI members have already improved the lives of more than 220 million people around the world, and I look forward to learning more about the progress they have made and their plans for the future.”

CGI will also feature the 4^th annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards and CGI Exchange, an exhibition that allows members to feature their ongoing commitments and explore new partnership opportunities. For more information, please click here.

2 Weeks Until LiveCity Vancouver

During the 2010 Winter Games, the City of Vancouver, with support from the Government of Canada, will host LiveCity Vancouver – two exciting and distinct outdoor celebration sites (LiveCity Yaletown and LiveCity Downtown) in the heart of the city. LiveCity Vancouver will offer free, fun and family Games-time memories, offering top local, Canadian and international entertainment, big-screen Olympic Winter Games sporting coverage, Olympic sponsor and partner pavilions and much more.

FiveCurrents is thrilled to be producing this event in concert with Live Nation and the teams are currently gearing up for the opening of LiveCity Downtown and LiveCity Yaletown as the Olympic Games approach. FiveCurrents’ Chris Laue, the Creative Producer of both sites, said, “I’m looking forward to bringing LiveCity Vancouver to both the people of Vancouver and visitors alike, offering them two free sites where they can celebrate the Olympic Games.”

• LiveCity Yaletown – on the water’s edge at David Lam Park. LiveCity Yaletown will feature live local, national, and international entertainment on the main stage in the afternoon and into the night, culminating each evening with a dynamic nightly closing show. Giant screens will show highlights of Olympic Winter Games sport coverage and visitors can enjoy the interactive Olympic sponsor pavilions, Vancouver House, and much more. LiveCity Yaletown will be open the evening of February 11 and throughout the Olympic Games February 12 – 28 from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. daily.

• LiveCity Downtown – an urban gathering place in the heart of the city at Georgia and Cambie Streets. LiveCity Downtown is all about the spirit of sport and competition. A giant screen will show live coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games events as they unfold. Visit 2010 Canada Pavilion and the Province of Manitoba’s pavilion; enjoy the best in local food and drink and cheer our athletes on to gold. Just steps from BC Place and General Motors Place (Canada Hockey Place), this is as close as you’ll get to the action without having a ticket. LiveCity Downtown will be open February 13 – 28, 11 a.m. until 12:30 a.m. daily, and again March 12 – 14 and March 18 – 21, from 1 p.m. until 9 p.m. to celebrate the Paralympic Winter Games.

There will be something for everyone on stage at LiveCity Yaletown. The following groups are representative of the wide range of talent from across Canada and around the world that will perform nightly at LiveCity Yaletown: Alexisonfire, Allez Ouest, Blue Rodeo, Crystal Shawanda, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Deadmau5, Jim Byrnes, Steve Dawson and The Sojourners, Johnny Reid, Jully Black, Malajube, the Sam Roberts Band, Wilco and Wintersleep.

For more information on LiveCity Vancouver, please click here.

Reveillon 2010 Underway

The festivities are beginning on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro as the FiveCurrents team, led by Scott Givens, prepares to ring in the New Year with 2 million revelers. FiveCurrents is producing Reveillon 2010 which includes live entertainment, a samba performance, “New Year’s Wishes,” and a fireworks spectacular that will be broadcast live, internationally, on TV Globo. The entire 4 kilometer beach has one sound system, simulcast on radio, and synched to a huge fireworks show from nine ocean barges.

News reports from Rio say that Brazil hosting the 2014 World cup and Rio, the 2016 Olympic Games, will positively impact this year’s Reveillon, making it bigger than ever before. For more information on Reveillon 2010, please visit http://reveillondecopa.com.