Hospital Grand Opening

A hospital visit, but make it a party

Nobody likes going to the hospital. Especially a child. But going to the hospital to celebrate the grand opening of a brand-new, $340 million, 610,000-square-foot children’s hospital equipped with the latest advances in caring for the children of Memphis? Now THAT’S a celebration we could kick our heels up for. LEO Events designed, coordinated, and implemented a public celebration for more than 2,000 people on a tight urban site with a fully operational hospital next door – all smack dab in the middle of the 100-degree heat of Memphis in June.

Recognized by Special Events Magazine for Best Event Produced for a Non-profit, LEO warranted the grandest celebrations by:

Managing consecration, public tours, participant coordination and logistics, communications and branding, staging and production, environmental design, entertainment, food and beverage, décor, VIP ceremony, fundraising gala, and donor reception
Incorporating a parade with 300+ participants and banner groups representing Le Bonheur’s history and stakeholders – narrated by Sesame Street’s Gordon and Maria
Providing guests with plenty of water and frozen towels, because there’s no need for a hospital visit during this hospital visit
Preparing detailed plans, maps, and additional parking communications to guests and hospital patients to ensure smooth arrivals and wayfinding
Helping boost the hospital’s media and online presence (the Grand Opening Event resulted in more than four hours of local TV coverage; 56 print media stories; 975 hospital tours; a 24 percent increase in Facebook fans; and more than $750,000 in donations for the week)