Amateur Night Goes to London
Harlem’s world famous Apollo Theater and London’s Hackney Empire are partnering for a transatlantic Amateur Night competition set to coincide with the 2012 Summer Olympics. Up-and-coming vocalists will compete on the legendary Apollo stage and bring a taste of Harlem to London’s Hackney Empire. The final show will be “Live at the Empire & Apollo Amateur Night: Hackney vs. Harlem” on October 3, 2012
APOLLO AMATEUR NIGHT: LONDON WINNERS
Amateur Night at the Apollo is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company
Wednesday, October 3 at the Apollo Theater, Harlem
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A special edition of Amateur Night at the Apollo on Wednesday, October 3 will feature the winners of the Grand Finale Talent Competition as guest artists.
APOLLO AMATEUR NIGHT: LONDON
Amateur Night at the Apollo is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company
Wednesday, May 23 at 7:30pm at the Apollo Theater, Harlem
Top U.S. performers chosen in special auditions competed in “Apollo Amateur Night: Apollo Goes to London Semifinals” on Wednesday, May 23. Winners of this Amateur Night received an all expense paid trip to London to represent the Apollo Theater at a special show on July 14, 2012.
AMATEUR NIGHT LONDON FAN TOUR
Presented by Zenbiz Travel
Thursday, July 12 to Monday, July 16, 2012
Amateur Night fans joined Apollo in London for Apollo’s Amateur Night Fan London Tour. Individual and group packages were available for fans to experience Amateur Night’s London debut.
LIVE AT THE EMPIRE, THE QUALIFYING ROUNDS
Friday, June 8 at the Hackney Empire, London
Hosted by the Hackney Empire, the live London qualifying rounds for “Live at the Empire & Apollo Amateur Night: Hackney vs. Harlem,” featured special guest performers and judges including the 2010 winner of Amateur Night at the Apollo Super Top Dog, Ayanna Witter Johnson. Live at the Empire was the latest in a long history of shows aimed at discovering talent including, “291” and “New Act of the Year,” which have launched the careers of stars including Eddie Izzard, Alistair McGowan, Gina Yashere, Paloma Faith and Leona Lewis, to name a few.
HACKNEY VS. HARLEM
Presented by Live at the Empire & Apollo Amateur Night
Saturday, July 14 at the Hackney Empire, London
This was the grand finale when the winners from Harlem’s world famous Apollo Theater and London’s Hackney Empire competed for the grand prize.
Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in the emergence of innovative musical genres including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul and hip-hop. From its notoriously tough audience to the magic of the Tree of Hope, the Apollo Amateur Night story is the stuff that legends are made of - literally. Amateur Night has been the launching pad for some of the world’s greatest artists including Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five and Lauryn Hill. Long before Ted Mack and the Amateur Hour and American Idol, Apollo Amateur Night was, and continues to be, a primary source for discovering new talent and spotlighting up-and-coming artists, all hoping that the hallowed stage and the approval of the Apollo audience will launch their careers in the entertainment world.
About the Apollo Theater
The Apollo is a national treasure that has had significant impact on the development of American culture and its popularity around the world. Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in cultivating artists and in the emergence of innovative musical genres including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis, Jr., James Brown, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, and countless others began their road to stardom on the Apollo’s stage. The Apollo Theater’s new artistic vision builds on its legacy. New Apollo programming has music as its core, driving large scale and more intimate music, dance and theater presentations. The Apollo will continue to present historically relevant presentations, as well as more forward-looking, contemporary work. Based on its cultural significance and architecture, the Apollo Theater received state and city landmark designation in 1983 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information, visit www.apollotheater.org.
About Hackney Empire
‘The most beautiful theatre in London” -The Guardian (UK)
Built in 1901 by legendary architect Frank Matcham, Hackney Empire has been providing quality entertainment for 110 years making it one of London’s oldest and finest Victorian theatres. Since the turn of the last century, many global stars have graced the stage including Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, Houdini, Coleridge Taylor, Louis Armstrong and Cliff Richard to name a few. Now it welcomes over 140,000 people a year to its glittering programme of musicals, family shows, gigs, opera and off course the world-renowned pantomime. Situated in the heart of London’s East End, the artists who play the Hackney Empire and its audiences reflect the diversity of the global population of London. The Hackney Empire has a longstanding history of promoting African American and British artists including The Jubilee Singers in the 1900s, Louis Armstrong and Dionne Warwick, Nona Hendrix and Denise Williams. Hackney Empirealso runs regular participatory activity for the local community and young people, including workshops; a community choir, talent competitions and much more. For more information or to get involved visit the website hackneyempire.co.uk.
With Thanks to our Sponsors
Amateur Night Goes to London and all US activities around Hackney vs. Harlem are sponsored by
Amateur Night at the Apollo is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company.
The Apollo's annual season is made possible by lead support from The Coca-Cola Company, The Parsons Family Foundation, the Ronald O. Perelman Family Foundation, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, Reginald Van Lee New Works Fund, the Ford Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the Neuberger Berman Foundation.
Lead annual support is also provided by public funds from the City of New York Theater Subdistrict Council; with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
