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Elevating a world-class grand opening for 55,000+ guests

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A grand opening event that engaged the public without compromising the elegance of the venue.

Challenge

The client wanted to make an entrance worthy of a future local landmark and thank the community for their support during development and construction. The building would feature two main performance halls: one designed for theatrical performances, and one designed to feature musical performances. The client wanted to present them each separately, and planned to spread their grand opening over the course of a weekend. The challenge, then, was to maintain the opening day enthusiasm over the course of multiple days and create equal hype for each performance hall individually, and the venue as a whole.

Solution

We started the weekend with a black tie reception to celebrate the unveiling of the theatre. The event welcomed the Kansas City Symphony as the inaugural performance. Following the performance, guests were then immersed in an entertainment experience including custom 360-degree video. The big ‘wow’ moment for the evening was a custom video projection on the new performing arts center, accompanied by aerialists and fireworks.

The next day, a reception was held for 1,600 guests to unveil the new symphony hall, followed by an inaugural concert and a salute to Kansas City jazz. Following the performance, the theatre stage was transformed into a post-performance dinner for 320 Platinum Donors. Each dining table was paired with a dedicated high definition video projector showcasing custom video content onto the table surface – including iconic images of the arts. Dinner and dancing on the stage topped off the night.

The weekend finale was a free public open house. Event elements featured gourmet food trucks and tours of the center for more than 55,000 guests. Six different stages simultaneously showcased a total of 45 performance groups and over 400 performers and celebrity emcees.

Results

The weekend never lost steam, and the guests were showered with extraordinary experiences perfectly suited to a unique setting. The guest turnout of 55,000 far exceeded the anticipated 25,000 much to the delight of our client. The two distinct areas of the new center were the talk of the town and the building quickly became a local landmark.

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