Events & Celebrations

Oprah Winfrey's 25th Anniversary Party

How do you say farewell to a legend? In style, of course.

After 25 years of showing up in our living rooms every day across 175 countries, Oprah Winfrey, in all likelihood the most influential woman in the world, decided to end The Oprah Winfrey Show. The producers planned a two hour special featuring some of the biggest names in entertainment including Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Aretha Franklin, Maya Angelou, Michael Jordan, Alicia Keys and Jerry Seinfeld at the United Center for 30,000 guests. It was a tribute of love for all that Oprah has done for not only these entertainers' careers, but for many of the people whose lives she changed and to whom she gave hope.

With such luminaries in Chicago for this special tribute, Oprah turned to Colin Cowie to design and produce a fabulous farewell party. After the show, 500 guests were invited to the Four Seasons Hotel. What awaited them was a ballroom magically transformed, and a series of spectacular food stations each paired with its own beverage story.

Instead of straight walls, scalloped walls were created in grey sheer fabric. The food stations, clad in suede with purple python tops, were illuminated with eggplant chandeliers. For seating, a series of large round elevated platforms in the shape of an 'O' were placed around the room with slick white leather furniture.

Every party has to have a JDM--a jaw dropping moment. For this party, it was the large over-scaled '25' created out of pavéd carnations to mark the entrance and signify 25 magnificent years.

This was not the first time that Oprah turned to Colin for such a milestone occasion. Over the years, the two have successfully collaborated on other important events such as her Legends Ball, a three-day celebration held by Oprah Winfrey honoring twenty-five African American women in art, entertainment, and civil rights, and the opening of her Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Opening of Atlantis Dubai

When Kerzner International, widely recognized as a global leader in creating and operating luxurious integrated destination resorts, asked Colin Cowie to create the ultimate celebration to launch the opening of Palm Island and Atlantis in Dubai, we set out to design and produce the most talked about party of its time. The Kerzner approach, like ours, revolves around attention to detail and a unique service ethic to create a richly layered and authentic experience.

We used the iconic hotel towers as a screen to project the story of Atlantis Rising. This was coupled with a fireworks show that rivaled any other as the world’s largest and most spectacular. To put it into perspective, at the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing they used 13,000 pyrotechnic devices. For the Atlantis Dubai opening we used over 100,000. This not only showcased the perimeter of the entire Palm Island, but also showcased the building with pyrotechnics attached to every balcony. To create an optimal viewing experience for all 2,000 guests, we built a 75,000 square foot floating deck that was beached and attached to the hotel pool. The effect was mesmerizing and guests were left in awe.