Uniplan Hong Kong, China

Name of Organization / Company: Uniplan Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Category: Award for Innovation in Business-to-Business Events

Entry Title: The Grand Opening of Parisian Macao

Entry:

Objectives & Challenges:

Sands China approached us to create a unique grand opening event celebration for the all-new The Parisian Macao, with the goal of generating global buzz and immersing the guests into Paris.

Macao is known as the World of Casinos. Audiences have seen a multitude of celebrity performances, they have been witness to spectacular shows, Cirque-style acts and so on. Given this landscape, how do we create an opening event that stands head and shoulders above the rest? We set the bar high with one of the largest integrated resort openings in Macao's history.

Over 1300 VIP guests experienced a journey to “Become Part of Paris” through a romantic story of life and love in Paris, brought to life by over 70 dancers and world-famous performers combined with stunning fireworks and an electrifying light show. We turned what could have been a conventional casino launch into a powerful and engaging story of Paris that immersed our guests into the brand and turned spectators into participants for the night.

Solution:

The grand opening event consisted of a series of events across eight venues, including a media press conference for over 400 international media partners, red carpet moment for government dignitaries, long-time business partners and celebrities, followed by a pre-activation cocktail, the official outdoor opening show, a gala dinner with over 150 tables and a poolside after-party.

The theme of the evening was a romantic tour, with the magic of The Parisian brought to life through characters Paris and Francois, who guided us throughout the show. Guests were immersed in their love story told through stunning customized animation and amazing orchestral and dance performances.

Our characters met and fell in love on our stage under the Eiffel Tower. For the night, we transformed the base of the Eiffel Tower into one of the largest event stages in the world. We created a customised 30-minute show, integrating the grandest activation moment seen to date, a tailor-made eight-meter hot air balloon flying over the guests to deliver the main characters to the stage and a multimedia finale complete with a performance by the internationally renowned Belgian singer Lara Fabian. A choreographed fireworks and light show on the tower, which stands at approximately half the height of the 324-meter Paris original, closed the performance.

Guests continued their experience in the Parisian Ballroom, with Paris and Francois cavorting and exploring traditional classic French entertainment on the streets of Paris while the guests enjoyed a magnificent dinner followed by a spectacular performance by Lara Fabian and Chinese pop star Karen Mok. The evening ended on a high note with a pool-side afterparty with a live band and roaming performances including caricaturists and magicians.

Results:

The grand opening event received over 1600 traditional media impressions with PR value of over $ 83 million HKD. By the end of September, the reach of #PaisianMacao on Weibo achieved an astonishing 1 billion views. Moreover, the brand generated over 750 million impressions across the Parisian Macao digital channels.

After 5 months of work and over 700 international cast and crew, we were thrilled to help celebrate the realisation of Mr. Sheldon G. Adelson’s vision of transforming the Cotai Strip into Asia’s entertainment capital- by creating one of the most memorable evenings in the history of Macao.

Gene Capuano, Sands China’s Vice President of Convention & Exhibition Operations, and the internal project manager for the opening, said: “The opening celebration for The Parisian Macao went incredibly smoothly, and the feedback from our guests was extremely positive – it was truly an awe-inspiring event. For all of us on the ground who worked on making it happen, hearing Mr. Adelson say that this was the most spectacular opening in the company’s history was very gratifying.”