#1 Entertainment Industry Event
During Upfront Week, television networks and content providers host star-studded presentations and parties to unveil their upcoming programming schedule to media buyers, advertisers, and marketers. As much as 80 percent of the year’s advertising inventory is sold before the week is over. Events take place at the largest and most storied venues throughout the city, which last year included Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. Next: Spring 2019
#2 Entertainment Industry Event
The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing present the Tony Awards each year to celebrate achievements in the live Broadway theater. The event is broadcast live on CBS, and viewership reached 6.3 million in 2018, a 5 percent increase over the prior year thanks in part to the popularity of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and a performance by special Tony winner Bruce Springsteen. Next: June 9, 2019
#3 Entertainment Industry Event
Founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff as a vehicle to revitalize lower Manhattan in the wake of 9/11, the Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, has grown into a premier platform for storytelling in all of its forms. The 12-day event, which features screenings, discussions, and events, drew more than 140,000 people in person in 2018, with 1.85 million additional fans participating online via Facebook Live. Highlights planned for 2019 include programming celebrating the 35th anniversary of This Is Spinal Tap and the 25th anniversary of Reality Bites. Next: April 24-May 5, 2019
#4 Entertainment Industry Event
In 2019, the Film Society of Lincoln Center hosts its 57th annual New York Film Festival, which celebrates world cinema from both established and emerging filmmakers. Over 17 days, 68,000 guests will attend screenings, panel discussions, filmmaker Q&As, parties, and related programming. The 2018 festival highlighted works including the Coen brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, and Barry Jenkins’s If Beale Street Could Talk. Next: September 27-October 13, 2019
#5 Entertainment Industry Event
Founders Entertainment presents the Governors Ball Music Festival, which began in 2011 as a one-day event and has since grow into a three-day, multi-stage music bonanza. The festival will return to Randall’s Island in 2019, where 150,000 attendees will enjoy performances by more than 60 bands and artists, including Florence and the Machine, Lil Wayne, the Strokes, and Nas. Next: May 31-June 2, 2019
#6 Entertainment Industry Event
Actress Helen Mirren was honored at the 2018 Chaplin Gala, which traditionally recognizes one notable figure in the film industry. In 2019, the Film Society of Lincoln Center will change the event’s format, hosting a 50th Anniversary Gala that will celebrate the history of the organization as a whole. More than 1,000 guests are expected to attend the star-studded evening at Alice Tully Hall. Next: April 29, 2019
#7 Entertainment Industry Event
At its 2018 gala, the Museum of the Moving Image honored actress Glenn Close, who joined the ranks of past honorees including Tom Hanks, Al Pacino, and Steven Spielberg. The black-tie event recognizes outstanding American actors and directors while raising money to support the museum’s exhibitions, screenings, education, and community engagement programs. Next: Winter 2019
#8 Entertainment Industry Event (up from #9)
The Interactive Advertising Bureau presents the Digital Content NewFronts, a five-day marketplace focusing on digital video programming. Founded in 2012 by AOL, DigitasLBi, Google/YouTube, Hulu, Microsoft, and Yahoo, the event offers advertisers alternative ways to reach audiences outside of the confines of traditional broadcasting. Building its success in New York, the bureau added a West Coast edition in Los Angeles in 2018. Next: April 29-May 3, 2019
