New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The
Music of The World Games announces the addition of global superstar
Lionel Richie as a featured performer at this year's event. The Tuskegee, AL-native is set to return to his home state and headline the The World Games 2022 Closing Ceremony presented by Coca Cola, set for July 17th at Protective Stadium. This performance marks Richie's first performance in his home state in over two decades.
"I'm honored to be joining all the talented artists performing at The World Games Closing Ceremony, and to be headlining the closing ceremonies is truly special. I am so excited to be coming home to perform in Alabama," says Richie.
Serving as the grand finale of The World Games 2022 - One World-One People: Celebrating Legacy, Achievement & Unity- will commemorate The Games with incredible performances and the opportunity for athletes, fans and volunteers to bid farewell to Birmingham. Richie will headline the evening, joining some of the most iconic performers from the state of
Alabama for a series of once-in-a-lifetime moments, including: the legendary group Alabama; a special duet between
Blind Boys of
Alabama and Jamey Johnson; Alabama's American
Idols Taylor Hicks,
Ruben Studdard, and
Bo Bice on stage together for the first time; the renownedMartha Reeves performing "Dancing in the Streets," plus performances by The Voice's mother/daughter trio Worth The Wait, gospel musician & 5x
Stellar Award winner Pastor Mike Jr., and rising rap sensation Yung Bleu. The Closing Ceremony will cap with the ceremonial passing of The World Games flag to representatives of the 2025 host city: Chengdu, China.
Funk legend and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Bootsy Collins will still serve as Master of Ceremonies for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and guide audiences through a musical and theatrical presentation celebrating the rich musical and cultural history of Birmingham, AL. Featured during each ceremony will be a series of performances and can't-miss moments from some of Alabama's biggest stars. The Opening Ceremonies - set for July 7th at Protective Stadium - evening will be a colorful celebration of sport and Birmingham history. Titled Unlocking The Magic: Celebrating The Power of The One, this presentation will celebrate Birmingham's past, present and future.
Spoken word artist, musician, educator, and Birmingham native Sharrif Simmons will be delivering a poem in the Opening Ceremonies as well as performances by Alabama, Nelly, Sara Evans,
Sheila E., Tony! Toni! Tone!, and Yolanda Adams.
Featured throughout both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be the The World Games 2022 official theme song, "Hope Of Alabama." Available everywhere now, the star-studded track encapsulates the strength and power of a moment where athletes, teams, coaches, entertainers and fans from all different walks of life and cultures will come together with Birmingham, AL's presentation of The World Games 2022. Produced by World Games Artistic
Director Dr. Henry Panion III and penned by ALABAMA's Randy Owen, his daughter
Allison Owen, and Panion, "Hope Of Alabama" features some of Alabama's most iconic musical stars, including Randy Owen of the Group ALABAMA, Yung Bleu, Sara Evans, Jamey Johnson, Pastor Mike Jr., Worth the Wait, Chuck Leavell,
Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks, Bo Bice, Martha Reeves,
Blind Boys of Alabama, with the combined youth and adult choirs of The World Games 2022.
The World Games is an extraordinary, international sports event held every four years, in the year following each Summer Olympic Games. Staged over 11 days, The Games represents the pinnacle of competition for 3,600 of the world's best athletes in 30+ unique, multi-disciplinary sports. The World Games generates worldwide exposure for participating sports and provides a highly visible stage on which athletes from more than 100 countries compete for gold. More than 600 medals will be awarded to the competing athletes, including 200 gold medals for the ultimate champions in each discipline.
The World Games is led by the International World Games Association (IWGA), a non-profit organization that is composed of 37 International Sports Federations and recognized by The International Olympic Committee (IOC).
International superstar
Lionel Richie has a discography of albums and singles that are second to none. His music is part of the fabric of pop music. With more than 125 million albums sold worldwide, an Oscar®, a Golden Globe®, four Grammy Awards®*, the distinction of MusicCares Person of the Year in 2016, and Kennedy Center Honoree in 2017. In March 2018, Richie put his handprints and footprints in cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood, one of the oldest awards in Hollywood. He recently received the Ivor Novello PRS for
Music Special International Award. This year, Richie received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by the Library of Congress in 2022. He was the 12th recipient of the prestigious award. The Tuskegee,
Alabama native is a true music icon.
Lionel Richie is known for his mega-hits such as "Endless Love," "Lady," "Truly," "All Night Long," "Penny Lover," "Stuck on You," "Hello," "Say You, Say Me," "Dancing on the Ceiling," and co-wrote one of the most important pop songs in history, "We Are the World," for USA for Africa. His song catalog also includes his early work with The Commodores, where he developed a groundbreaking style that defied genre categories, penning smashes such as "Three Times a Lady," "Still," and "Easy." Richie has had 11 consecutive years where he wrote #1 songs*.
Richie sold out arenas worldwide with a set list of his brightest and best anthems on his All The Hits, All Night Long Tour. In recent years, he also headlined festivals including Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, and Glastonbury, drawing the festival's biggest crowd ever with more than 200,000 attendees.
Richie took fans on a spectacular musical journey with his latest album, Live from Las
Vegas along with his most recent tour, the "
Hello" tour, which kicked off in Summer 2019. The album, which was released on August 16, 2019 was #1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart. The album also marks the legendary artist's first release on Capitol Records.
Richie is a judge on ABC's American Idol and has been for the past 4 seasons, and is back in the 'Judge's' chair for the show's 20th season this year. He launched his Las
Vegas headlining residency show, Lionel Richie—All the Hits in April 2016. In an unforgettable evening featuring his brightest and best anthems which have defined the music icon's unparalleled career, Richie took his fans on a spectacular musical journey, performing a variety of his seminal hits. Richie recently extended his "Back to Las Vegas" residency at Wynn Las Vegas' Encore Theater in 2022.
Website: lionelrichie.com
Facebook: facebook.com/LionelRichie
Twitter: twitter.com/LionelRichie
Instagram: instagram.com/lionelrichie
YouTube: youtube.com/c/lionelrichie/featured
Facebook: facebook.com/The-World-Games-2022-Opening-and-Closing-Ceremonies
Instagram: instagram.com/musicoftwg2022
Website: theworldgames.org
Purchase Tickets: am.ticketmaster.com/twg2022/ceremonies
Facebook: facebook.com/TWG2022
Instagram: instagram.com/twg2022
Twitter: twitter.com/TWG2022
Hashtag: #RoadtoBHM #TWG2022 #NewGenofSports
