www.SustainabiliTank.info wonders if this is good use of New York tax-exempt property? Following is a release by UNICEF and we will want to know eventually what UNICEF, or the UN, get out of this event. We are aware that the UN tried in the past to expand its New York City holdings by asking to take over further New York City parkland. We suspect that had Gucci rented space from the city and paid for it - larger funds could have become available for good causes then what will result from this sweetheart deal. Sorry for being so skeptic about it.

Gucci and Madonna announce “A NIGHT TO BENEFIT RAISING MALAWI AND UNICEF” with special performances by Alicia Keys, Timbaland and Rihanna.

NEW YORK, New York (January 17, 2008) — On February 6, 2008, the United Nations will serve as the location for an exclusive fundraising event hosted by Madonna and Gucci: A NIGHT TO BENEFIT RAISING MALAWI AND UNICEF. The event will celebrate the opening of Gucci’s New York 5th Avenue Flagship store in February 2008.

Co-chaired by Gucci’s Creative Director, Frida Giannini, the evening will be dedicated to raising funds and awareness for orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS in Africa. Joining Madonna and Frida Giannini is a list of distinguished co-chairs, including Drew Barrymore, Adrien Brody, Arpad Busson, Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matthew Broderick, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Sting, as well as UNICEF Ambassadors Téa Leoni, Lucy Liu, Sarah Jessica Parker and Trudie Styler.

The evening’s program will include guest speaker Professor Jeffrey Sachs, a live auction hosted by Chris Rock and special musical performances by Alicia Keys, Timbaland and Rihanna.

The United Nations headquarters, an 18-acre site that extends from 42nd Street through 48th Street and from 1st Avenue to the East River, is international territory belonging to no one country or government. UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946 to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II.

Gucci and Madonna selected this prominent location because of its connection to UNICEF and to represent neutral ground where people of different nationalities, religions and backgrounds can come together under one impartial roof to support a global crisis that affects all nations: the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Both together and individually, Gucci and Madonna share a history of commitment to the fight against AIDS, as well as support for orphans and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Beginning in 1997, Madonna served as Honorary Co-chair of the record-breaking Gucci fundraising event for AIDS Project Los Angeles. Gucci and Madonna have both since responded to the global circumstances of the AIDS pandemic, pursuing interests on behalf of orphans and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Gucci has been a UNICEF corporate partner since 2004, starting with a local holiday event in Los Angeles, and growing to a global campaign in over twenty countries in 2005. The Gucci campaign supports UNICEF programs in Malawi and Mozambique, where over one million children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Since 2006, Raising Malawi has been dedicated to bringing an end to the extreme poverty and hardship endured by Malawi’s one million orphans, over half of whom have been orphaned by AIDS.

For additional information, please contact:

Gucci
Charlotte Blechman, Gucci Public Relations, 212.379.8594

Madonna
Liz Rosenberg, Warner Brothers Records, 212.707.3256

U.S. Fund for UNICEF
Marissa Buckanoff, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212.922.2485

Inner City Press having inquired about how is the UN used for such commercial events - was told:

“UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said she would look into it, and later replied by email that “the UN decides who may use the lawn or other facilities. The sponsor is asked to pay the UN upfront prior to the event for all cost incurred (Security, Plant & Engineering, Custodial, Event Coordination, Lawn Repair, etc.) In this instance there is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the sponsor Gucci and the UN.”

Furthermore, having left a message for Marissa Buckanoff of UNICEF, he has not received a reply.