Nokia NYE draws 2 mln music lovers to 5 “party capitals”

On December 31, Nokia New Year’s Eve connected millions of people around the world through five spectacular events held as part of the biggest New Year’s party of 2006. Five party capitals — Hong Kong, Mumbai, Berlin, Rio and New York — all played their part to celebrate the beginning of 2007. Those in attendance at the live show, or watching the global broadcast on television or online saw some of the biggest names in music celebrating a truly unforgettable night.

It all began at Hong Kong‘s Ocean Terminal with Atomic Kitten topping the bill and making their first international appearance since splitting in 2004. They performed hits such as Whole Again and Tide Is High after an impressive roster of local stars. Despite the massive Internet challenges created by the recent earthquake in Taiwan, Hong Kong music fans were also able to stream the live concert footage directly to their mobile thanks to a select group of local operators.

Moving west, Mumbai’s Andheri Stadium played host to a star-studded celebration that featured performances by Grammy Award-winning Nelly Furtado, Indian music maestro A.R. Rahman, and Bollywood superstars Priyanka Chopra, Shahid Kapoor, Koena Mitra, among others. As the clock closed on midnight, Rahman, also known as the “Mozart from Madras“, got the crowd into the party spirit with his all-time hit Humma Humma as well as his Oscar-nominated single Khalbali.

Berlin‘s Brandenburg Gate was the largest Nokia New Year’s Eve celebration with an estimated 1.2 mln party-goers in attendance. In front of this massive audience, headline act Scissor Sisters played their hit singles I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ and Comfortably Numb in a 90-minute set that wowed the audience before a spectacular 10-minute pyrotechnics display erupted at midnight. Sugababes then took to the stage to carry on the party well in to the night.

In Rio, Brazilians showed that a bit of rain would not stand in the way of an amazing night. More than 1 mln people celebrated Nokia New Year’s Eve in a nine hour concert on Ipanema beach. The crowd was treated to unforgettable performances by the Black Eyed Peas, John Legend and Brazilian music legend Sérgio Mendes as well as local artists Funk’n Lata and DJ Marlboro, amongst others.

The night rounded off in New York with performances from Rihanna, Ludacris and KT Tunstall appearing in “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2007”.

Nokia offered music lovers several innovative ways to use their mobile phones, including the opportunity to send in messages (and a few marriage proposals!) that were displayed on screens around each stage throughout the night. Party-goers could also send messages to the other Nokia New Year’s Eve cities as well as use the bluetooth “beam-zones” on site to receive a host of free content including wallpapers, links, gig guides, ringtones and artist content.

Those unable to watch their favorite artists in person were able to view performances from the five events via a global television broadcast, as well as online at www.nokianewyearseve.com . To orchestrate this enormous global celebration, Nokia enlisted the services of Harvey Goldsmith CBE, the producer of Live Aid and Live8. The estimated total television and Internet audience is expected at more than 150 mln.