- Forever First Lady Michelle Obama Made First-time Headline Appearance at Sold-Out Superdome - - Seven 2020 Presidential Candidates Took the Stage to Address the Largest Annual Gathering of Black Women in the Nation - - Inaugural Global Black Economic Forum Brought Attendees Together with CEOs from Walmart, JPMorgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente, Square, TDJ Enterprises and more - - Festival Name Officially Changed to the ESSENCE Festival of Culture -

(Black PR Wire) NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The 2019 ESSENCE Festival presented by Coca-Cola® attracted more than half a million attendees to New Orleans this Fourth of July weekend (July 4-7) for an historic 25th anniversary celebration representing one of the largest gatherings in the event's history. Forever First Lady Michelle Obama commanded the main stage at the sold-out Superdome on Saturday, July 7 for her first ESSENCE Festival headline appearance. Throughout the weekend, seven 2020 Presidential candidates joined Power Stage segments at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to directly engage the influential audience of Black women in attendance and share plans and policies to address some of their most pressing issues. In addition, the debut of the ESSENCE Global Black Economic Forum connected attendees with accomplished leaders and chief executives including Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Chase Consumer Banking CEO Thasunda Duckett, Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard Tyson, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey, and TDJ Enterprises CEO TD Jakes, among others.

“The 25th anniversary ESSENCE Festival represented a truly transformative global homecoming celebration for Black women and the Black community,” said ESSENCE Chief Executive Officer Michelle Ebanks. “This year’s extraordinary turnout reflects ESSENCE’s uniquely powerful engagement of Black women around personal empowerment, community, and culture as only ESSENCE can. With the debut of 10 new Festival experiences, activations at more than 40 venues across New Orleans, and engagement with more than 300 small businesses and local vendors, we have redefined the Festival as the largest and most impactful destination at the epicenter of Black culture.”

Ebanks continued, “Lastly, in honor of us embodying all that Black excellence and culture represent – beyond entertainment and beauty, we were thrilled to reveal the Festival’s official rebrand to the ‘ESSENCE Festival of Culture,’ with a mission to inform, inspire and uplift Black women and provide a holistic approach to how we offer and deliver Black culture in every way.”

Additional highlights of the 25th Anniversary ESSENCE Festival include:

• Live broadcasts of Power Stage ‘Presidential Spotlight’ and “Candidate Conversations” segments on MSNBC and CNN, featuring keynote addresses from Senator Michael Bennett, Senator Cory Booker, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Senator Kamala Harris, Former Representative Beto O’Rourke, and Senator Elizabeth Warren. In addition, exclusive live to tape segments on MSNBC’s PoliticsNation with Rev. Al Sharpton.

• New, stand-alone consumer experiences including the ESSENCE Global Black Economic Forum, ESSENCE Fashion House,ESSENCE Wellness House, ESSENCE After Dark, and ESSENCE Passport25, among others, as well as the return of reimagined live content platforms and experiences including Beauty Carnival, Entertainment All Access, business & career summit E-Suite and ESSENCE Honors.

• Over 100 performing artists across the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Many of the biggest names in the entertainment industry including Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, H.E.R, Nas, Pharrell, Patti LaBelle, Teyana Taylor and others performed at the event's concert series and dozens of others across ESSENCE's Center Stage and All-Star Gospel Celebration.

• More than 300 influencers, leaders, creators and celebrities participated in the Festival's daytime experience – featuring powerhouse speakers Rev. Al Sharpton, Ava Duvernay, Yara Shahidi, Tyler Perry, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Marsai Martin, Valerie Jarrett, Iman, Common, Mona Scott-Young, Miles Brown and Iyanla Vanzant, among many others.

For a full recap of all the exciting moments from the 25th Anniversary ESSENCE Festival, visit ESSENCE.com and log in to the ESSENCE Festival News Center for photo and footage highlights.

The 25th Anniversary ESSENCE Festival is executive produced by ESSENCE Festivals LLC, a division of ESSENCE Communications Inc. (ECI).

Sponsors of the 2019 ESSENCE Festival include presenting sponsor Coca-Cola and major sponsors AT&T, Ford, Disney, McDonald's, State Farm and Walmart.

About Essence Communications Inc. 
Essence Communications is the number one media company dedicated to Black women and inspires a global audience of more than 24 million through diverse storytelling and immersive original content. With a multi-platform presence in publishing, experiential and online, ESSENCE encompasses its signature magazine; digital, video and social platforms; television specials; books; as well as live events, including Black Women in Music, Black Women in Hollywood, Street Style and the ESSENCE Festival. Essence Communications is owned by Essence Ventures, an independent Black-owned company focused on merging content, community and commerce to meet the evolving cultural and lifestyle needs of people of color.

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Source: Essence Communications Inc.