February 24, 2017: Beyoncé No Longer Headlining Coachella, Former Oscar Producers Talk Improving the Show, How Fox Is Turning Daytona 500 Into a Nascar Super Bowl

1. BEYONCE NO LONGER HEADLINING COACHELLA: Beyoncé has dropped out as the headliner of this year's Coachella, per her doctor's orders. The singer, who's pregnant with twins, will headline the festival in 2018. Associated Press: "In a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday, Beyonce's Parkwood Entertainment and festival producer Goldenvoice said the pop star had to pull out of the famed festival under doctor's orders. 'Following the advice of her doctors to keep a less rigorous schedule in the coming months, Beyonce has made the decision to forgo performing at the 2017 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival,' the statement said. 'However, Goldenvoice and Parkwood are pleased to confirm that she will be a headliner at the 2018 festival. Thank you for your understanding.' It was not clear who will perform in her absence. Radiohead and Kendrick Lamar will also headline the two-weekend festival in Indio, California. Radiohead will perform on April 14 and 21, and Lamar on April 16 and 23. Beyonce was originally set to perform April 15 and 22. It would have marked her first time she performed at the festival, and she would have been the first female act to headline Coachella since Bjork in 2007." http://apne.ws/2lwkhPD

2. FORMER OSCAR PRODUCERS TALK IMPROVING THE SHOW: Former Oscar producers including Bruce Cohen and Lili Fini Zanuck recently provided advice on how to fix the event. The Hollywood Reporter: "First, don't ignore events in the outside world. 'One of the issues any year, but certainly this year, is how to place the show in the context of the current climate, so I'm sure that's an issue Michael and Jennifer are wrestling with,' says Bruce Cohen, a producer of the 2011 ceremony. But don't ignore the audience at the Dolby. 'To me, the big rule is: Make sure it's good in the room first. You can't have someone who's too hip in that job as host, because with all those nervous people in the audience, if you have someone who has a kind of snark, it shuts something down,' says Bill Condon, who produced in 2009 with Laurence Mark, who adds, 'Never ever cut anybody off, because it seems to send a chill through the room.' Do be prepared to make cuts on the fly, though, advises Lili Fini Zanuck, who produced the 2000 Oscars with late husband Richard. "You think you have it tight and slick, but after the first couple of people win, it starts to fall apart. If you don't play them off, you're a couple of minutes over." http://bit.ly/2kRJbuE

3. HOW FOX IS TURNING DAYTONA 500 INTO A NASCAR SUPER BOWL: Fox Sports is promoting Sunday’s Daytona 500 as a Nascar “Super Sunday” event with some help from chef Gordon Ramsay. Advertising Age: “As part of the Daytona Day promotional blitz, Fox has enlisted Chef Ramsay to whip up six recipes and a lethal pitstop cocktail for racing fans looking to elevate their party game beyond the usual burgers-and-dogs fare. Among the items on the bellicose Brit's menu are pulled pork sliders, sweet potato tater tots and a chocolate cake topped with a bacon, bourbon and butterscotch frosting. On the booze front, the host of ‘MasterChef Junior,’ ‘Hell's Kitchen’ and a number of other Fox culinary-competition series has whipped up what amounts to the poor man's speedball in the Daytona Destroyer, a potent blend of Southern Comfort, Jägermeister and Monster Energy drink. In a video that clocks in at a little over six and a half minutes, an uncharacteristically chill Chef Ramsay walks hungry Nascar fans through the eight-hour process that renders a humble pork butt into a squadron of party-ready sliders. ‘Along with driving straight tune-in, another subset of the campaign is to get the Daytona Day concept into circulation,’ said Robert Gottlieb, exec VP-marketing, Fox Sports Media Group. ‘The Daytona 500 is an event that reaches beyond avid fans to more moderate and casual viewers. So the idea is, have a party, invite some friends over, and use the race as an excuse to get together.’ … Fox also has a good deal of off-air marketing in play, including a race-day promotion with UberEats. The meal-delivery service on Sunday will ferry free food to Daytona Day house parties in core Nascar markets like Orlando, Atlanta and Houston. Other Daytona marketing partners include Comcast Xfinity, which is also the title sponsor of Nascar's minor league circuit, and Smithfield Foods. The impetus behind the effort to ‘eventize’ the Daytona 500 is in many ways a byproduct of Fox's coverage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. http://bit.ly/2mf1tpS

* LOCAL NEWS *

COAST TO COAST:  Experiential marketing and live events company GES has hired Dax Callner as chief strategy officer for events.

ASPEN:  Rowland and Broughton Architecture/Urban Design/Interior Design has completed the interior design of the new Residence Inn Breckenridge, which opened in December. The hotel has 128 suites and 2,915 square feet of meeting space that includes three flexible rooms.

BOSTON:  Berklee College of Music's Electronic Production and Design Department will host its first-ever Voltage Connect Conference March 10-11. The event, which has the theme "Pioneers, Players, Thinkers, Purveyors," will focus on the history of electronic instruments. Keynote speakers include David Friend, co-founder of ARP Instruments; Marcus Ryle, president of Line 6; and Daniel Haver, C.E.O. of Native Instruments.

CHICAGO:  Italian restaurant Spiaggia has debuted Sala Privata, a 20-seat private event space adjacent to its dining room. 

LOS ANGELES:  United Airlines is the new sponsor of the Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon, which will take place October 28-29.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The second edition of Art Boca Raton will take place March 16-19 at the International Pavilion of the Palm Beaches at Florida Atlantic University. The event will showcase contemporary art, sculpture, photography, and more from more than 65 international galleries.

American eatery and pour house City Works will open at the City Place shopping center on March 17. The 8,000-square-foot venue, helmed by general manager Juan Hernandez and executive chef David Messenger, will feature an outdoor patio and private and semiprivate event spaces for groups.

NEW YORK:  Women in the World's eighth annual Women in the World Summit, in association with The New York Times, will take place April 5-7 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. Presented and co-hosted by Toyota, the event will feature speakers including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Scarlett Johansson, and Lena Dunham.

The Drawing Center's 40th anniversary gala will take place April 25.

Public, the Michelin-starred Australian and New Zealand restaurant helmed by chef Brad Farmerie, will close its doors June 3.

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

TORONTO:  The Toronto International Film Festival has announced it will scale back its festival this year. The event will screen 20 percent fewer films, and has canceled two of its curated programs and dropped two of its venues. The Globe and Mail: https://tgam.ca/2ldLV1z

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

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