[NEWSFLASH] KANYE WEST & MOBY x NIKE+ HUMAN RACE!

Music takes center stage on the heels of the official registration opening for the Nike+ Human Race, the world’s biggest one-day running event taking place on August 31, 2008.  The race brings together the power of sport and music to inspire and connect runners from every corner of the planet.  Participants in this unprecedented event will experience an exclusive music performance by some of today’s top artists in each of the 25 designated race cities.

In Los Angeles, nine-time Grammy Award winning artist Kanye West will headline the run’s post race concert for the grand finale of the 25-city Nike+ Human Race.  Runners will take to the streets passing the city’s most famous landmarks before ending at the LA Coliseum to see West take the stage.  
“I’m hitting the stage in Los Angeles for the Nike+ Human Race, Nike's dopest 10k run ever. This race is bringing together hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world to run and listen to some great music while serving a higher cause, and I’m excited to perform in L.A. as part of the grand finale.”
West’s performance will bring to a close, an unprecedented day of races and activities around the globe starting in Taipei, ending in LA and including cities across Europe, Asia and North and South America. 

In London, runners will be treated to an exclusive performance by world-renowned American DJ, songwriter, musician and singer Moby in the city’s famed Wembley Stadium.  Other all-star artists confirmed to play at the Nike+ Human Race include chart-topping rock band All-American Rejects in NY; hometown favorite Fall Out Boy in Chicago; R&B songstress Kelly Rowland in Paris; dance-electro-pop duo The Pinker Tones in Madrid, Turkish pop sensation Kenan Dogulu in Istanbul; the Fantastic Four in Munich; Beijing-based singing duo Yu Quan in Shanghai and American rock band Boys Like Girls in Singapore.  

Beyond running and music, the Nike+ Human Race is also an opportunity to give back. Participants will be able to run for a worthy cause and support the three official Nike+ Human Race charitable partners: the Lance Armstrong Foundation – uniting people in the fight against cancer; WWF - the global conservation organization addressing the causes and impacts of climate change; and the UN refugee agency's ninemillion.org campaign – bringing sport and education to refugee youth.  Together, Nike and runners will raise funds to donate at least USD $3 million to the Nike+ Human Race charities.  Money will be raised via givebacks from registration fees, a percentage of Nike+ Human Race t-shirt sales and a donation of USD $1 million from Nike.
The Nike+ Human Race will also feature an online pledge tool so individual runners can donate additional funds to the cause of their choice and invite friends and family to contribute on their behalf.

“As a committed runner and a cancer survivor, I’m proud to be participating in the Nike+ Human Race,” Lance Armstrong said. “The race offers the best of both worlds by bringing together a global community to run together and support worthy causes like the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the UN refugee agency’s ninemillion.org and WWF in our combined efforts to have a positive impact on the world.

Other Nike athletes will also be joining the movement to run with the world and for a cause.  Like Lance Armstrong, they will serve as honorary athlete ambassadors for the charities and join in Human Race activities.  Six-time marathon winner and current NY Marathon Champion, Paula Radcliffe and middle distance runner Kara Goucher will be running to support WWF, while marathoner Meb Keflezighi will be representing ninemillion.org.

Nikeplus.com will be the official destination for the Nike+ Human Race and for all pre-race training needs. Here, runners can create a personal profile page or stay motivated by sampling and downloading the latest in Nike+ Sport Music offerings. Sport Music offers runners the best in original Training Run and Coaching Mixes designed specifically for treadmill and road runs.  Beginning June 15, runners will also be able to visit Race City pages covering local race info and news, Training pages for information and links to in-city training runs, events with official race partners including 24Hour Fitness and Starbucks and Nike+ Coach training.  Gear pages covering the latest in Nike performance training gear and Nike+ product will also be offered.

About Nike+ Human Race
On 08.31.08, Nike hosts a run like no other before with the Nike+ Human Race - the World’s Largest One Day Running Event.  Nike’s first global race will take place over the course of one day, with a goal of one million runners, across 25 cities and featuring 25 top musical acts.  The 10k event celebrates runners and their sport, offering participants across the globe the chance to run and compete together in an unprecedented race experience.  Spanning multiple continents, Nike+ Human Race cities will include LA, New York, London, Madrid, Paris, Istanbul, Melbourne, Shanghai, São Paulo and Vancouver among others.  Following races in each city, participants will be treated to an exclusive music concert featuring one of today’s top artists.  Participants will be able to run for a cause as a portion of funds raised will be donated to three Nike+ Human Race beneficiaries: WWF, the global conservation organization, Lance Armstrong Foundation and UN refugee agency's ninemillion.org campaign.  The race will be open to anyone, anywhere. Runners outside of the 25 race day cities can join by logging into nikeplus.com.  With the help of Nike+ and the Nike+ SportBand, every city and every road can become a race-day course.  For more information, visit nikeplus.com.  

After the ceremony, everyone of your wedding guests is in a great mood and want to start letting their hair down and enjoying the rest of the day. First thing after the wedding ceremony usually comes the wedding photographer's main time to snap the happy couple. This means plenty of standing around for all the wedding guests, just waiting for their call to jump into one or two of the official photographs.

Why not hire a magician to wander round entertaining the wedding guests whilst they are standing around waiting for the photos to finish ? This is a great time for a close up magician to really show off his (or her) skills - gathering small groups of guests together and making the guests that don't know each other have something to discuss already. Assuming the wedding photographer spends an hour or so on the official photographs, the magician could also spend a further hour entertaining the wedding guests once they have taken their seats for the wedding breakfast.

If a magician is not your cup of tea, why not consider hiring a live musician to entertain the wedding guests during the meal. A solo guitarist or harpist can really set a beautiful scene and make perfect background ambience for your special day. Pianists are also a very popular idea for music to entertain your guests also. And once the drinks are flowing, the wedding guests will find themselves requesting their favourite songs from the pianist.

Without being obtrusive or in the face of any wedding guests, a live musician playing soft music during your meal will make a perfect accompaniment and allow the conversations to keep flowing during your wedding day.

After the meal, come the inevitable speeches from the bride's father, the best man and the groom himself. Even the groom's father gets involved quite often these days. If you really want to make the speeches have that extra special touch, then consider hiring a professional toastmaster to introduce the speeches. A toastmaster's role at a wedding not only covers the speech introductions, but they will ask the wedding guests to be seated and guide them through the meal. Not only that, a toastmaster on your wedding day makes a fantastic photo opportunity as well as adding a touch of class to your big day.

During the speeches, you may want to think about your younger wedding guests - kids really don't have the patience to listen to schoolboy stories about the groom from his best man, or how the bride's father spent years worrying about his daughter. Hiring children's entertainment such as bouncy castles or children's mobile crche can keep all the kids entertained leaving the adults to enjoy themselves and not worry that the young children are bored and moaning at the wedding.
After the speeches, the evening guests will arrive and the wedding party really begins to start. The bride and groom need to decide whether they want a wedding DJ to keep the guests dancing the night away or maybe a live wedding band or duo to play great cover versions of popular music. Make no mistake, the Wedding DJ or Wedding band can really make or break your wedding reception. Which ever one you choose, they will be
entertaining your wedding guests for around 5 hours of the day - this is the longest part of your wedding day, so ensure you choose your wedding DJ or wedding band wisely. Don't just ask "how much do you charge" really try to get some background on these entertainers. Have your friends used the DJ for their wedding disco ? Try and see the wedding band play live music at a wedding or other function before you book them.

You want to be confident and relax knowing that your wedding reception will go with a bang and keep all the wedding guests entertained.

Alongside the buffet for the guests, a fantastic little touch is to hire a chocolate fountain. These can stand up to 50" tall and the cascading chocolate is enough to make any of your wedding guests want to try.

Pure indulgence, but they look fantastic and give your wedding guests something to try and certainly something to talk about. Hiring a chocolate fountain from a professional chocolate fountain company will ensure you receive smartly dressed staff to assist with the fountain as well as a range of premium dipping options from fresh strawberries and other fruit, as well as chocolate fudge brownies and a variety of other tasty ideas! Give your wedding reception a little wow factor and hire a chocolate fountain to treat the wedding guests.

Hopefully these are a few ideas to help keep your wedding guests entertained throughout your special day. There really are dozens of great wedding services to help ensure your wedding planning runs smoothly and provides a lasting memory of your wedding day for all the guests.

The author runs Essex Wedding Services a website that can help you find a great Mobile DJ in Essex or locate wedding venues in Essex