2010 ELAN Awards

NEW YORK, NY & VANCOUVER, BC December 15, 2009 - Newly appointed Chairman and Co-Founder of the ELAN Awards US/EU (United States/Europe) Justin Townsend (IGA Worldwide) alongside Founder and CEO Holly Carinci are very excited to officially announce the dates and new Host City for the 2010 ELAN Awards today. The awards ceremony for video games, animation and visual effects which has been held in Vancouver for all three of its previous years will be relaunching itself into a three-day celebration in San Diego beginning on Saturday, July 17th with two days of parties and ending on Monday July 19th, the evening prior to Comic-con.

""Keeping the culture while building on the respect" is the ELAN'S motto and this show will do just that," says Carinci. Building on the huge success of three Canadian shows hosted by William Shatner (Star Trek), Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) and Tom Kenny ("SpongeBob SquarePants"), Townsend and Carinci will now launch the 4th ELAN Awards onto center stage in the United States.

The 2010 ELAN Awards will be starting it all off with a splash by throwing a Welcome Pool Party Saturday afternoon on July 17th. 1,000 VIPs will arrive at the 4th floor of the beautiful Manchester Grand Hyattwhere  they will flow through to the vast space in the center of the two towers and onto the gorgeous pool area with amazing views of San Diego and Coronado Island. Sumptuous Food Stations and Hosted Premium Bars will be everywhere and so will the suits ... BATHING SUITS that is.

Read more for full details.

Sunday night's Nomination Celebration-in-the-Streets, tagged the "Sexiest party ever thrown

Gaslamp District Party for Video Games" is ALL about the 2010 ELAN Final Nominees celebrating with friends and peers as well as media and celebrities who just want to share their night. With opening acts such as this year's Grammy-nominated "Splitting Adam", 2,000 stars will enjoy a party unlike anything they've ever experienced before. Happening on Fifth Avenue and utilizing the Historic Gaslamp Quarter for its backdrop, the 2010 ELAN Awards' street party will undoubtedly make the top-ten-parties-of-the-year list.

On Monday, July 19th Video Game, Visual Effects and Animation Luminaries will walk the red carpet alongside Film, Television and Music Celebrities to be greeted by throngs of fans and the media. The heady environment of the 2010 ELAN Awards Gala Reception will be heightened by expensive champagne and delectable appetizers served in the luxurious foyer of the Elizabeth Ballroom encircled by the evening's nominated clips.

1,000 Nominees and their guests joined by both industry and Hollywood stars will enjoy an unforgettable 4-course ELAN Awards Dinner in the elegant Elizabeth Ballroom in the Manchester Grand Hyatt prior to the 2010 ELAN Awards Ceremony. Two stars, one from Hollywood and the other from the Video Game Industry will share the Hosting duties of the awards ceremony which will be as glamorous as anything seen before but with a uniqueness reflective of the digital arts industry.

000 VIPS will celebrate their wins and drown their losses at the 2010 ELAN Awards After-Party held in one of San Diego's most posh and lavish destinations "ON BROADWAY". Like the finale of a great fireworks show, the guests, nominees and winners of the 2010 ELAN Awards will wrap up their 3 day celebration with an explosive party at the high-energy dance club, complete with a computerized light show and 90,000 watt sound system.

"Music has the Grammy's; Television the Emmy's; Movies the Oscars and Golden Globes," says Carinci. "Video Gaming is the fastest growing sector of the Entertainment Industry and is now bigger than all of them and as the number one industry in entertainment it deserves an awards ceremony that celebrates this magnificent industry's growth and position, and yet it has nothing close to these esteemed ceremonies. Justin and I are working to change that."

Based out of New York but originally from London, England, Justin Townsend is one of the figureheads in the in-game advertising industry. A pioneer of digital advertising, before founding IGA Worldwide Townsend worked in a number of senior roles including one in which he launched the first-ever interactive division for global advertising conglomerate McCann-Erickson from their Berlin office in Germany. Since founding IGA Worldwide in 2005, Townsend has helped raise over $46 million in funding as well as to see IGA Worldwide recognized separately as the 'Breakout Company of the Year 2006' and as a 'Top 100 Private Company' in the media and entertainment sector for four consecutive years. Townsend has also seen IGA Worldwide partnered with leading game companies such as Activision, Atari, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, id Software and Valve Software, and in 2008 IGA Worldwide was selected by Sony Computer Entertainment as the first in-game advertising provider for the PLAYSTATION® 3.

Regarding his partnership with the ELAN Awards, Townsend says: "With gaming recognized now as the fastest growing sector within the entertainment industry, new games sales eclipsing movie box office opening receipts, and gaming platform audiences in the hundreds of millions, bringing the ELANS to the USA, and building upon the superb pedigree that the ELANS has generated in Canada ... This is an organization that is going places and one that I am proud to be aligned with and to support."

The only 1,000 tickets available for the 2010 ELAN Dinner and Award Ceremony includes all parties however they are on an invite-to-purchase-only basis.

The Official Website for the 2010 ELAN Awards will launch in January 2010. In the meantime links for all Award Submission Criteria and Judicial information such as Award Categories, Application to Judge, Rules & Regulation Manual, etc., will be posted on the site's temporary welcome page www.theelans.com once they have been announced officially on Thursday, December 17th.

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