Got Plans ?

Where Will You Be At Y2K?

Depending upon whom you talk to, the upcoming millennium will be either the most exciting and memorable of New Year's Eve celebrations ever or the end of the world as we know it. For those who don't plan to greet the New Year from a cave in Idaho, but instead plan to party into the wee hours of the year 2000, it all comes down to location, location, location.

Arguably one of the hottest locales this New Year's Eve is the South Pacific. Reportedly, the billionaire chairman and CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates, will host a huge party on the island of Fiji, neighbor to Pitt Island, which claims to be the point on earth to first ring in the new millennium.

If you're not invited to Bill's party, and you want to be among the first to greet the New Year, check out Sydney, Australia. With its proximity just west of the international date line, the city will be warmed by the sun of the new millennium some 18 hours before frosty New Yorkers grab one another for a midnight kiss.

Competition for "Millennium City" is driving London, New York, Las Vegas, and Washington D.C. party organizers to try to outdo one another by staging elaborate celebrations. London is touting its millennium dome exhibition space and much-ballyhooed observation wheel, said to carry passengers 400 feet above the city's rooftops. The only thing missing is tea with the royal family. But fear not, regal evening can be had just a quick channel train ride away at Le Bal du Roy in Paris' Palace of Versailles, This New Year's Eve celebration is the culmination of a five-day V.I.P. tour that also includes fine dining and luxury accommodations in Paris top hotels.

Across the pond, on U.S. terra firma, organizers of New york City's. Times Square extravaganza estimate millions will participate in hourly activities and brave the cold to watch the newly renovated Waterford Crystal ball drop at the stroke of midnight. Giant TV screens will project live images from around the world to mark the New Year in each time zone.

At New York's Jacob Javits Center, organizers of what they're calling the "party of the century" estimate 30,000 revelers will attend Celebration 2000, a 12-hour event featuring numerous entertainers. Blue-chip ticket holders ($2,500) will feast on a sumptuous menu prepared by famed restaurateur / Georges Vongerichten and be entertained V.I.P.-style by Aretha Franklin, Sting, Andrea Bocelli, Tom Jones, Chuck Berry, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, to name just a few of the scheduled performers.

For many Americans, perhaps the most patriotic way to usher in the new millennium is to celebrate at the nation's capital, in Washington, D.C., along with the country's first family.

Hillary Rodham Clinton will kick off three days of events on December 31st, when she hosts opening ceremonies for "America's Millennium," unveiling a National Time Capsule and inviting the nation's most celebrated creators, innovators, and leaders to suggest ideas and artifacts to be included. Producers Quincy Jones and George Stevens, Jr. will direct a star-studded gala to be held on the steps of Washington's Lincoln Memorial, a film created by director Steven Spielberg will be shown on outdoor screens, and President Clinton will deliver a speech just prior to a sound-and-light show above the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.

Whether it's attending one of the many high-profile celebrations scheduled in New York City, London, and Paris, or chartering a private yacht and watching the first sunrise of the new millennium dance over the waters of the South Pacific, many CEOs are ringing in the millennium in high style. Others have chosen a low-key approach to all the madness, and decided to stick close to home and business just in case there's any truth to all this Y2K hysteria.

Chief Executive asked CEOs what they have planned for the big occasion.

Stephen A. "Steve" Wynn

Chairman, President, and CEO

Mirage Resorts

As chairman and CEO of some of the hottest casinos in Las Vegas--a top destination for this New Year's Eve with scheduled entertainers including Elton John, Tina Turner, and Barbra Streisand (who's reportedly earning $10 million for her performance)--Steve Wynn is sure to have a good time.

Wynn plans to make ringing in the millennium a real family affair. "I will be celebrating the millennium with my customers and colleagues at our hotels," said the casino tycoon. Wynn intends to bring along his mother, Zelma, wife, Elaine, and daughters, Gillian and Kevyn, to make the rounds of his hotels' elaborate parties and concerts with singers Harry Connick Jr., appearing at Wynn's newest property, the $1.9 billion Bellagio, and Lionel Ritchie at The Mirage.

Should he feel the need to really party-hop, Wynn can check out what's happening at his other Vegas casinos: The Golden Nugget and Treasure Island.

Preston Robert "Bob" Tisch

Co-Chairman

Loews Corp.

Even though he recently opened the Loews Miami Beach Hotel and the Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando, Bob Tisch prefers to spend this New Year's Eve in New York City, dose to his recently acquired hometown team--The New York Giants--and in a city that's sure to get hot with millennium fever.

Tisch is accustomed to spending lots of time with family and this New Year's Eve will be no exception--brother Larry is co-chairman of Loews, nephew James is CEO, nephew Andrew is chairman of the executive committee, and son Jon is president and CEO of Loews Hotels and a member of the office of the president of Loews Corp. Surrounded by some 50 close friends, his wife of 51 years, Joan, and other family, he'll be toasting the millenium of Jon's apartment overlooking New York's Central Park. How quintessentially New York can you get?

Robert W. "Bob" Selander

Chairman and CEO

MasterCard International

"New Year's Eve marks the culmination of our six-year Year 2000 readiness effort, and I am awaiting the arrival of the millennium with tremendous relief and pride in our accomplishments," said Selander, who echoes the sentiments of many CEOs whose companies have been hard at work getting ready for the new millenium.

Like many of his peers, Selander has chosen to forgo personal travel this New Year's Eve and instead to be on-site at Master Card headquarters to oversee the company's transition into the Year 2000. "After dinner at home with my family and a few close friends," he said, "I will join other senior managers at the office to monitor our internal systems and obtain updates from around the world, covering business operations as each time zone changes. In fact, monitoring will begin earlier in the day, when the Pacific Islands first greet the new millennium."

Since Selander won't be toasting this New Year's Eve on Florida's Marco Island or in Scottsdale, AZ--two of the locations where he's celebrated in the past--will he still find time to have some fun? "Rest assured," he said, "the champagne will flow for my colleagues and me on January 5th, when our formal monitoring process is complete."

Jim P. "Jim" Kelly

Chairman and CEO

United Parcel Service of America

"More than a year ago, my family and I started tossing around ideas about how we'd like to celebrate the upcoming millennium, realizing this is, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. At first, we thought we might go to Florida. Then we started thinking a bit farther west--California and then Hawaii became possibilities. Before we knew it, we'd gone so far west we'd ended up in the Far East and wound up selecting Australia as our destination.

"Since Sydney will be one of the first major cities to ring in the New Year, I'm told the celebration planned is second to none. On New Year's Eve, my family, including my wife, Jean three sons and a daughter as well as two daughters-in-law, and I will have dinner together. Then we'll join the Sydneysiders watching the ships and the fireworks overlooking Sydney Harbor. Although all the details aren't yet finalized, we hope to welcome the millennium at the Sydney Opera House, where there are several festivities taking place.

"Over the rest of our vacation, my family and I will tour local sites. UPS is one of the primary sponsars of the Sydney 2000 Games so my family and I certainly plan to become familiar with the terrain and various intended Olympic venues."

Samir G. "Sam" Gibara

Chairman, President, and CEO

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

One might wonder if he's piloting the Goodyear blimp to ring in the New Year. No, he'll be spending the evening in his company's home town, Akron, OH. For the third consecutive year, Gibara, his wife Salma, and other family members will celebrate the millennium at "Akron First Night," an alcohol-free, family-oriented New Year's Eve celebration of the arts.

Held in downtown Akron, First Night will host more than 33 locations, featuring food, music, entertainment, and activities to keep Gibara and his family busy--including taking in performances by the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Ohio Ballet.

Gibara and his family will be among an estimated crowd of 35,000 expected to participate in the First Night festivities, which will conclude with a special fireworks display to welcome the millennium.