1. CITY COUNCIL APPROVES LOS ANGELES 2024 OLYMPICS BID IN FINAL VOTE: After the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve the city’s 2024 Olympics bid, the private bidding committee hosted a news conference at City Hall that included appearances by Mayor Eric Garcetti and famous athletes. Los Angeles Times: “As the bid committee competes against rivals from Paris and Budapest, Hungary, it must reassure International Olympic Committee members around the world that it has solid government support. Hosting the Games has become a dicey proposition in recent years, with contenders withdrawing over concerns about massive deficits. This time around, L.A. became the U.S. candidate only after Boston backed out. LA 2024 has since put forth a proposal that avoids billions of dollars in construction by using existing venues such as the Coliseum, Staples Center and Pauley Pavilion. UCLA dormitories would take the place of the normally expensive athletes’ village. … Under the current arrangement, if an L.A. Olympics were to run over budget, the city would be responsible for the first $250 million, after which the state of California has said it would pay an additional $250 million. Any remaining debt would revert back to the city. Council support was all but assured last week after an ad hoc committee recommended approval. Still, LA 2024 paraded Olympic stars into City Hall for the final vote.” http://lat.ms/2jqJZ7m
2. SNICKERS TO AIR LIVE AD DURING SUPER BOWL: Snickers has joined Hyundai as another brand airing a live TV spot during Super Bowl LI. Advertising Age: “Despite the benefits of ad time in the one TV event of the year when consumers often intentionally watch commercials, marketers strive to cook up new ways to stand out in the pricey lineup. Snickers is not the only brand using fresh content the day of this year's game. Hyundai plans to film its 90-second ad during the game and air it just after the game ends. … Along with the 30-second commercial, Snickers is planning to run a 36-hour live stream from the set beginning Feb. 2 at noon ET. Snickers said it would air that content, featuring a mix of themes and appearances from celebrities and influencers, on the site Snickerslive.com and on the brand's Facebook page. ‘There's no bigger platform for capturing consumers' attention than the Super Bowl, which is the preeminent live event on television, and as this first-ever live Super Bowl spot demonstrates, innovation in advertising comes as much from outstanding creative ideas as it does from technology,’ Bruce Lefkowitz, Fox Networks Group executive VP, advertising sales, said in a statement provided by Snickers.” http://bit.ly/2ktDGxk
3. FACEBOOK INTRODUCES SNAPCHAT-STYLE STORIES FEATURE: Facebook is the latest social platform to add a 24-hour Snapchat-style live stories feature to its app. The company launched the feature in Ireland and plans to expand it to more countries in the future. TechCrunch: "The feature lets you share ephemeral photos and videos in a slideshow that disappears 24 hours later. The little circles to watch friends’ Facebook Stories appear in its main app above the feed so you can’t miss them. … While Facebook has tried to push other copycats of Snapchat, they’ve typically lived in separate apps like Poke and Slingshot, or as features buried behind the News Feed, like its revamped camera. But now it will be impossible to use Facebook without being exposed to Facebook Stories. And if there’s a space to show off in front of friends, people will use it. The fact that Instagram Stories soared to 150 million daily users in just 5 months using this exact same format hints that Facebook Stories could prove popular too. Facebook built a similar feature to Stories called Quick Updates and tested it in July, but by August said it wouldn’t launch it. Apparently Instagram Stories’ success changed its mind, and that might cause trouble for Snapchat’s upcoming IPO." http://tcrn.ch/2kjKdvp
* LOCAL NEWS *
ATLANTIC CITY: Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has announced plans to open its 18,000-square-foot Central Conference Center in May. The venue will include five meeting rooms and a 6,500-square-foot ballroom.
AUSTIN: The sixth annual Moontower Comedy & Oddity Festival, which takes place April 19-22, has announced new additions to its lineup including Chris Hardwick, Jay Pharaoh, and Matt Bellassai. The festival will have shows at venues including the Paramount Theatre, Cap City Comedy Club, and the Moontower Lounge at the Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin.
BOSTON: The National Restaurant Association and Massachusetts Restaurant Association will host the New England Food Show February 26-28 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Events include a keynote by Geoffrey Zakarian and a chef competition sponsored by Eater Boston.
LAS VEGAS: The Plaza Hotel & Casino, the Life is Beautiful festival, and global art curator Justkids have partnered with contemporary street artist Shepard Fairey and multimedia artist D*Face to debut new murals on the exterior of the Plaza Hotel on February 11.
LOS ANGELES: The L.A. Cookie Con and Sweets Show will take place February 18-19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Event sponsors include Cookie Jam and Otis Spunkmeyer.
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: The Fort Lauderdale Pizza Festival will take place April 1 at War Memorial Auditorium.
NEW YORK: The 19th annual Amfar New York gala will take place February 8 at Cipriani Wall Street. Hosted by Lena Dunham, the event will honor Scarlett Johansson and Donatella Versace and include a performance by Ellie Goulding.
This year's Product of the Year Awards will take place February 9 at the Edison Ballroom. The event will be hosted by Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer.
The inaugural BrunchCon will take place March 26 at Grand Prospect Hall in Brooklyn. The event will feature an open mimosa bar and brunch dishes from 50 restaurants including Butter & Scotch and Chalk Point Kitchen.
The Boutique Hotel Investment Conference is slated for June 7 at the Times Center NY.
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA: Citrus restaurant will close Saturday and reopen as a new Mexican concept from the owners of Seito Sushi and Osprey Tavern. Orlando Business Journal: http://bit.ly/2kpvUZj
The Downtown Orlando Food & Wine Festival will take place February 25-26 at Lake Eola. Entertainment will include Gavin DeGraw and KC and the Sunshine Band.
TORONTO: The sixth annual TIFF Next Wave Film Festival will take place February 17-19 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Festival events will include the 24-hour Film Challenge and the Battle of the Scores, which invites high school bands to create and perform original scores for an original short film.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: This year's Kennedy Center spring gala, "Come Together: A Celebration of John Legend," will take place May 8 at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
The Association for Women in Events, a nonprofit that supports gender equality and diversity in the event industry, has announced its 2017 board members. The roster can be found here: http://bit.ly/2ktTnEO
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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.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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