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Taking over London’s Excel Arena for three days in July 2007, Star Wars Celebration Europe will be filled with live entertainment, celebrities from all six movies, special film and video presentations, an exhibit of movie props and costumes, exclusive merchandise, pop culture tributes, interactive events, a costume contest, and much, much more.
Star Wars Celebration Europe will take place from July 13 to July 15 2007. “I’m thrilled that we’re finally going to have an official Star Wars event in the U.K., and especially to celebrate 30 years of the saga,” said Steve Sansweet, Lucasfilm’s head of fan relations. “George Lucas has referred to the London area as the “spiritual home” of Star Wars since four of the movies were shot here, making this the ideal site for our first Celebration Europe event.”
Star Wars Celebration events have been held regularly in the U.S. since 1999 and are the ultimate festival of all things Star Wars for fans and enthusiasts of all ages. Celebration III, held in Indianapolis in April 2005, attracted more than 34,000 fans from all over the world. Celebration IV, being held in Los Angeles in May 2007, is expected to be the biggest event yet.
Celebration Europe will be the first ever Celebration event held outside the U.S. and will share many of the highlights of Celebration IV in Los Angeles “Star Wars has always been a global phenomenon, and the U.K. has long been our second-largest fan base after the U.S.,” Sansweet said. “With the continuing strength of Star Wars, it made sense to extend Celebration to Europe and I’m delighted to be working with one of our top European licensees, Cards Inc., as our partner on the show.”
One of the highlights for fans at an official Star Wars event is the chance to buy unique merchandise, and Celebration Europe will not disappoint, with an exciting and comprehensive range of exclusive products being sold.
"Cards Inc. is excited to be working with Lucasfilm to bring this incredible event to Europe” said Darren Epstein, Managing Director of The Cards Inc. Group. “We will be working closely with fans, licensors, and all members of the Star Wars community to ensure that Celebration Europe is Europe’s own unique event for all things Star Wars.” Star Wars Celebration Europe will be presented jointly by Lucasfilm and The Cards Inc. Group, which will manage the convention on behalf of Lucasfilm.
Turn to starwars.com or celebrationeurope.com for updates about tickets, programming, guests, activities, entertainment, and exclusive merchandise for Star Wars Celebration Europe.
About Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world’s leading film and entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held, fully integrated entertainment company. In addition to its motion picture and television production operations, the company’s global activities include Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for visual effects and audio post-production; LucasArts, a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide for video game console systems, computers and the Internet; and Lucas Licensing, which manages the global merchandising activities for Lucasfilm’s entertainment properties. Additionally, Lucas Online creates Internet-based content for Lucasfilm’s entertainment properties and businesses. Lucasfilm’s motion picture productions include five of the 20 biggest box office hits of all time and have received 19 Oscars and 53 Academy Award nominations. Lucasfilm’s television projects have won 12 Emmy Awards. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif.
About The Cards Inc. Group
The Cards Inc. Group is a leading distributor and manufacturer of trading cards, trading card games, games, toys and collectables in the U.K. and throughout Europe.
It would be fair to say that no movie series has reached the iconic status of the Star Wars saga. A long-shot science fiction project that was rejected by multiple Hollywood studios, Star Wars (and its creator George Lucas) defied the skeptics and became one of the biggest pop culture phenomena of all time.
The saga began in the mid-1970s when George Lucas struggled to find a way to make his dream project a reality. The incredible and unlikely impact of the first Star Wars movie, brought fame to unknowns like Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. Fans around the world fell in love, first with the movie and then with the action figures, pillow cases, C-3PO cereal and everything else they could - and did - line up to buy. Manufacturers could hardly keep up with the demand for anything and everything Star Wars (swamped by clamoring fans, the official Star Wars toymaker, Kenner, at one point had to settle for selling vouchers for yet-to-be-made action figures.) The Star Wars saga was classic storytelling at its best, and was here to stay.
With the release of Episodes I, II and III, Star Wars is still as big as it has ever been, and to celebrate the oncoming 30th anniversary of this momentous chapter in cinema and cultural history The Cards Inc Group will be producing some of the most exciting merchandise ever seen.
With these and other special edition collectors opportunities Star Wars will continue to dominate the galaxy for years to come.
Feel The Force with The C.I Group
To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Gen Con LLC will throw the largest party ever for fans of the saga, taking over the entire Los Angeles Convention Center in May 2007 for five days filled with live entertainment, celebrities from all six movies, special film and video presentations, an exhibit of movie props and costumes, exclusive merchandise sold at a 24-hour-a-day store, pop culture tributes, immersive events, costume contests, and scores of additional activities.
Star Wars Celebration IV will fill the L.A. Convention Center from Thursday, May 24 to Monday, May 28, 2007. Admission to the first day of the event will be for worldwide members of the Official Star Wars Fan Club, many of whom will help plan and run special programming themselves. The convention will be open to the general public from Friday through Monday, Memorial Day.
"Generations of fans have loved Star Wars, many passing along the 'Star Wars gene' to their children," said Steve Sansweet, Director of Content Management and head of Fan Relations for Lucasfilm. "This is the first chance to celebrate all six movies in the saga-George Lucas' complete story-as well as the vibrant future of Star Wars. If you've ever been to one of our Celebrations-or if you haven't been before-this is the one not to miss."
Celebration III, a four-day event held in Indianapolis in April 2005, attracted more than 34,000 fans from all over the world. "We started getting questions about a possible Celebration IV even while the last convention was running," Sansweet noted. "So we're determined to far outstrip anything we've done before, both in size and scope, as well as introduce many first-time activities and lots of exclusives."
Lucasfilm is also working on other Star Wars-related events in the Los Angeles area just prior to Celebration IV, "so we're expecting Southern California to become 'Destination: Star Wars' from the weekend before through Memorial Day weekend," Sansweet said.
The convention announcement was made jointly by Lucasfilm Ltd. and Gen Con LLC. Gen Con will once again manage the convention on behalf of Lucasfilm and the Official Star Wars Fan Club. The Celebration IV announcement is being made a year in advance to give fans worldwide a chance to plan for a week-long "Destination: Star Wars" blow-out in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is the ideal site for a 30th Anniversary convention, Sansweet said, since there are many Star Wars roots in the area. It was also the location of the first official Star Wars fan gathering, the 10th Anniversary Convention. Star Wars opened on May 25, 1977, on just 32 theater screens in North America, including Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
One of the highlights for fans at a Star Wars convention is the chance to buy unique merchandise, including an exclusive, limited-edition action figure. Because this has led to bottlenecks and long lines in the past, the Celebration IV store will be bigger than ever, self-service, well-stocked with merchandise, have plenty of check-out lanes...and be open 24 hours a day from the opening of the show on Thursday until the close on Monday!
"Gen Con is thrilled to be working again with Lucasfilm on this very special event," said Peter Adkison, owner of Gen Con LLC, producer of Gen Con Indy and other Gen Con events. "Together I know that we will produce a convention that will not only meet, but exceed, fans' expectations. With Lucasfilm 100% behind this show, it's going to be the biggest party in the history of the franchise. We are particularly focused on dramatically improving the selection and service in the Celebration store." |
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