8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards to be Held in Las Vegas

Press release
Source: Rogers & Cowan

The Latin Recording Academy®, Univision Network, Mandalay Bay and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced today that the 8th Annual Latin GRAMMY® Awards will take center stage at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Thursday, November 8, 2007. This marks the first time Las Vegas will host the international showcase of Latin music. The Latin GRAMMY Awards ceremony previously has been held in Miami, Los Angeles and New York. This important event — which recognizes and celebrates excellence in Latin music — will feature performances from the hottest names in the genre. Nominations for this year's Latin GRAMMYs will be announced Wednesday, August 29.

"This is a very exciting time for the Latin GRAMMY Awards as we continue to evolve and take important steps toward encouraging the continued growth of Latin music and our telecast," said Gabriel Abaroa, President of The Latin Recording Academy. "We are thrilled to be working with Mandalay Bay and Las Vegas, and we look forward to embracing its growing Latin community. And we thank our great friends at Univision who will help to ensure that the 8th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards is once again a great experience for millions of music lovers around the world."

"Since the Latin GRAMMYs moved to our network two years ago, Univision has clearly established itself as the rightful home of one of Hispanic television's biggest and most spectacular nights," said Alina Falcón, Univision Executive Vice President and Operating Manager. "Setting new viewership records in each of our previous telecasts, we are confident that this year's Latin GRAMMYs will result in even higher ratings. And we are particularly excited to broadcast one of the foremost Latin music events live from not only the world's most exciting entertainment city, but from one of this country's fastest growing Hispanic communities as well."

"We are extremely excited to host the 8th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards at Mandalay Bay in November," said Bill Hornbuckle, President and Chief Operating Officer for Mandalay Bay.  "The opportunity to bring the Latin GRAMMYs to Las Vegas allows us to create a stronger international presence on property as well as showcase Mandalay Bay to the fans and our guests worldwide. We look forward to a fabulous relationship with both The Latin Recording Academy and Univision Network."

"No other destination knows entertainment better than Las Vegas," said Terry Jicinsky, Senior Vice President of Marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "As Las Vegas continues to set the standard for world-class entertainment, we are proud to host this year's Latin GRAMMY Awards."

According to a recent survey conducted by the Travel Industry Association of America, Las Vegas ranks as the nation's top destination for Hispanics. Last year, approximately 2.4 million U.S. Hispanics visited the city and spent about $1.7 billion on non-gaming activities, making it the ideal location for the Latin GRAMMYs.

In 2005, the Latin GRAMMY Awards aired for the first time on Univision — and entirely in Spanish — to explosive ratings. Last year, broadcast live for the very first time from New York City, the Univision telecast reached 11.3 million viewers and was the No. 1 program in its time period in a number of major markets among key demos including all Adults 18-34, 18-49, and Teens 12-17, not just Hispanics.

The 8th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards will air live on the Univision Television Network on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. Additionally, the telecast will be seen globally in more than 100 countries.

The Latin Recording Academy is an international, membership-based organization comprised of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking recording artists, musicians, songwriters, producers and other creative and technical recording professionals. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for Latin music and its makers. For more information about The Latin Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. 

Univision Communications Inc. is the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States. Its operations include Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 99% of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 88% of U.S. Hispanic Households; Galavisión, the country's leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 62 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group which owns and/or operates 70 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and 5 stations in Puerto Rico; Univision Music Group, which includes Univision Records, Fonovisa Records, La Calle Records and Mexico-based Disa Records as well as Fonomusic and America Musical Publishing companies; and Univision Online, the premier

Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S. located at www.univision.com. Univision Communications also has a 50% interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa's pay television channels in the U.S., and a non-voting 14.9% interest in Entravision Communications Corporation, a public Spanish-language media company. Univision Communications has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States. For more information, please visit www.univision.net.

Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, a AAA Four Diamond Award-winning destination resort, is set on 60 lush acres and offers 3,644 rooms and suites including 424 accommodations managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Mandalay Beach, an 11-acre tropical pool environment, features real California sand, a wave pool and lazy river. The property also features the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center, award-winning restaurants, Shark Reef and the 1.5-million-square-foot Mandalay Bay Convention Center, the largest convention center on the Las Vegas Strip. Mandalay Bay's brands include THEhotel, an all-suite hotel which features 1,117 luxurious one-bedroom suites and the BATHHOUSE Spa, and Mandalay Place, a collection of 41 unique boutiques and restaurants. Mandalay Bay is a wholly owned subsidiary of MGM MIRAGE™.   For more information and reservations, visit the web site at www.mandalaybay.com, or call toll free at 877.632.7000.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is charged with marketing Southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide, and also with operating the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center. With approximately 133,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas alone and 9.5 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space citywide, the LVCVA's mission centers on attracting everincreasing numbers of leisure and business visitors to the area. For more information, go to www.lvcva.com or www.visitlasvegas.com.

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