M E D I A  A D V I S O R Y

Richmond Symphony, Rayvon Owen Highlight Opening Ceremony for UCI Road World Championships
Free Event Also Features Team USA, UCI and Elected Officials

RICHMOND, Va., August 13, 2015 – Richmond 2015, the organizer of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships, announced today that the Richmond Symphony will play a free concert as part of the Opening Ceremony that kicks off the nine-day cycling event taking place in Richmond in September.

The free celebration will take place on Friday, Sept. 18, from 6:30-8 p.m. on Brown’s Island in Richmond’s downtown. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. While the event is free, tickets are required and can be obtained online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uci-road-world-championships-opening-ceremony-tickets-18135981208.

“American Idol” finalist and Richmonder Rayvon Owen will perform the national anthem before the Richmond Symphony takes the stage. The ceremony will include state, federal and local elected officials in addition to UCI President Brian Cookson and feature a parade of flags representing each participating country; the flags will be carried by youth from around the Richmond Region, and the Armstrong Cycling Corps will lead in members of Team USA.

“We’re excited to showcase a part of the fabric of the Richmond community as we open the World Championships with a free festival on Brown’s Island,” said Wilson Flohr, CEO of Richmond 2015. “What better way to do that than with a concert from the Richmond Symphony? We’re grateful to have the Symphony and Rayvon Owen performing for all of our guests.”

“The Richmond Symphony is thrilled to be a partner in the Opening Ceremony for the 2015 Road World Championships,” said David Fisk, executive director of the Richmond Symphony. “We join Richmond 2015 and the region in welcoming the cycling teams and international attendees. The Symphony is proud to provide our world-class musicians to help kick off what will be an exciting two weeks of world-class events. We also thank Dominion and our other sponsors for making the Symphony’s and Richmond Symphony Chorus’ participation possible.”

The UCI Opening Ceremony will be the inaugural use of the Richmond Symphony’s Big Tent – a project made possible through a $500,000 matching grant from The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation to support the purchase of a large mobile outdoor performance space. The Big Tent soon will be showing up throughout the Richmond Area and Central Virginia, bringing with it exciting multi-day community festivals and Symphony performances.
The Richmond Symphony’s participation in the Opening Ceremony is made possible by support from Dominion. The Opening Ceremony is produced with assistance by Venture Richmond.
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About Richmond 2015, Inc.
Richmond 2015, Inc., is the independent nonprofit corporation responsible for the organization, management and promotion of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships. Partners of Richmond 2015 include Altria, Anthem, CarMax, ChildFund International, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, Davenport & Company, Dominion, Genworth, Hourigan Construction, Hunton & Williams, Kings Dominion, Lansing Building Products, MARTIN’S Food Markets, MWV, McGuireWoods, Norfolk Southern, PIASCIK, The Community Foundation, TowneBank, University of Richmond, VCU Medical Center and Williams Mullen.

In addition to its corporate partners, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Richmond, Hanover County and Henrico County are all key partners of Richmond 2015. For more information about Richmond 2015 visit www.Richmond2015.com and connect on Twitter and Facebook.

About the 2015 UCI Road World Championships
The 2015 UCI Road World Championships, cycling’s pinnacle event, will be held Sept. 19-27, 2015 in Richmond, Va., and is expected to attract as many as 450,000 onsite spectators from the Richmond region and across the globe over the course of the nine-day event as well as a worldwide TV audience in the hundreds of millions. More than 1,000 cyclists – Elite Men and Women, Under-23 Men and Junior Men and Women – from more than 70 countries will compete in three disciplines: the traditional Road Race, Individual Time Trial and Team Time Trial. The event, which is being held in the United States for the first time since 1986, culminates with the traditional road races on Sept. 26 (women) and Sept. 27 (men).

About the Richmond Symphony
Founded in 1957, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and more than 260 students in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs. Each season, more than 200,000 members of the community enjoy concerts, radio broadcasts, and educational outreach programs. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. www.richmondsymphony.com

About Venture Richmond
Venture Richmond is a non-profit organization which engages business and community leaders in partnering with the City of Richmond to enhance the vitality of the community, particularly Downtown, through economic development, marketing, promotion, advocacy, and events. Venture Richmond also produces Easter on Parade, Friday Cheers, TEDxRVA, the 2nd StreetFestival, and the Richmond Folk Festival, and partners with the Richmond Sportsbackers to produce Dominion Riverrock. For more information visit www.venturerichmond.com.