CANNES, France (MIDEM Official Website) - On Monday 23 January a day of special events and festivities will mark the 40th anniversary of MIDEM - the World's
Music Market, Cannes, France.
The town of Cannes will see that the celebrations get off to a sparkling start on the evening of Sunday 22 January with a fireworks display organised on the sea-front, also as part of the commemorations, they have posted an impressive billboard display throughout the town-centre for the duration of MIDEM. The following day, MIDEM and Cannes officials will jointly host a special luncheon at the sumptuous Villa Domergue for music industry veterans who have attended MIDEM since its debut event in 1967.
The same day, to celebrate Mozart's 250th birthday anniversary Austria, with the support of the Austrian Ministry for Business and Culture, will present a pyrotechnical musical extravaganza entitled "Mozart Music Cloud". The show is open to MIDEM participants and the general public and takes place at 7:00 p.m. opposite the Noga Hilton.
One of the day's highlights will be an exclusive gala dinner in which MIDEM will honour Live Aid founders and Live 8 co-producers, Bob Geldof, Harvey Goldsmith and John Kennedy. During the evening the trio will receive the "Personality of the Year" award, for their determination and commitment in bringing the music industry together to make a stand against Africa's poverty and famine crisis.
The celebrations will come to a close with the 40th anniversary concert, co-organised by MIDEM and the Montreux Jazz Festival. The show will feature an intoxicating cocktail of musical sounds from the Anglo-Indian, Talvin Singh; Cuba's, Raul Paz; Britain's, Nizlopi and the Spanish phenomenon, Bebe. The concert will take place at 9:00 p.m. in the Palais des Festivals' Grand Auditorium.
For this significant birthday MIDEM has also created a monthly web magazine "40midem.com", which traces the market's 40-year history, providing a nostalgic yet memorable selection of exclusive articles, interviews, anecdotes, photos and music clips. A special edited version of this publication will be given to participants attending the market in January.
Midem's 40th anniversary day is sponsored by Microsoft. Chad Hodge, Entertainment Industry and Consumer Electronics Marketing at Microsoft comments, "Microsoft is thrilled to be sponsoring MIDEM's 40th anniversary day. Over the past 40 years, MIDEM has strongly influenced the entertainment business, and continues to play a major role in the development of the music industry as a whole. "
