Nokia New Year's Eve Celebrations from Around the World to be Webcast on MSN

[Nikos Kartalis]

Nokia announced MSN as the exclusive online distributor of the highly anticipated Nokia New Year's Eve, a global music celebration which will take place in five party capitals of the world on December 31. Exclusive performances from international artists including the Black Eyed Peas, Scissor Sisters, Nelly Furtado, John Legend, and Atomic Kitten will be streamed live and on demand at no cost to viewers through a Nokia-branded experience at http://www.nokianewyearseve.com.

"Nokia New Year's Eve embodies our objective of connecting people to their passions. We expect this will be the biggest global New Year's Eve music celebration with more than 1.3 million expected to attend," says Jo Harlow, senior vice president, marketing for Nokia. "With MSN, we are greatly expanding the global reach of Nokia New Year's Eve. Now, music lovers around the globe can enjoy their favourite artists -- live, as they countdown the final seconds of 2006, or on demand when the moment strikes them."

"We're pleased to collaborate with Nokia as they share our passion for connecting people and creating exceptional community experiences," said Gayle Troberman, senior director of MSN Branded Entertainment and Experiences Team. "The platform we created on MSN for Nokia's New Year's 'Five cities, One party' celebration delivers an even more entertaining experience for our global audience of more than 465 million monthly unique visitors, while deeply integrating the Nokia brand in a unique way."

Nokia New Year's Eve will bring viewers on a journey from east to west; starting in Hong Kong's Harbour City Ocean Terminal, followed by Mumbai's Andheri Stadium, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro and rounding off the night in New York. Each venue will feature a strong lineup of local and international musicians.

In addition to the live concerts on December 31, beginning today, the online webcast will offer exclusive artist content, including interviews with the Black Eyed Peas, Scissor Sisters and many other international artists to view on demand. Other Nokia New Year's Eve content, including artist lists and updates, will also be available through Windows Live Messenger beginning today. A customized Windows Live Messenger tab will be integrated into every Windows Live Messenger application in the five host cities, where fans will be able to connect directly to the Nokia New Year's Eve site by clicking the tab.

The services of Harvey Goldsmith CBE, the producer of Live Aid and Live8, were enlisted to orchestrate artist involvement in this unique global celebration. Nokia New Year's Eve concerts in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Berlin and Rio de Janeiro will be Webcast live on MSN and can be viewed on http://www.nokianewyearseve.com, starting Dec. 31 evening from Hong Kong.

For the latest information and lineup of artists performing at each venue, visit http://www.nokianewyearseve.com.