McDonald's to Sponsor Enrique Iglesias' 1999 ``Cosas Del Amor'' United States Tour.

MIAMI--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Nov. 17, 1998--McDonald's(R), the number one fast service restaurant in the world, announced today a partnership with the number one Hispanic singer in the world, Enrique Iglesias.

The Enrique Iglesias "Cosas del Amor" McDonald's U.S. Tour will feature 43 concerts in 33 cities across the country from January 16 through August 13, 1999.

"McDonald's is honored to be associated with Enrique Iglesias and to be able to bring this great talent to our customers across the country," said Marta Gerdes, McDonald's Director of U.S. Marketing.

The tour will include several fundraising opportunities to benefit the RMHC/HACER Scholarship Program (Hispanic American Commitment to Education Resources ), which provides scholarships to deserving high school students. HACER has awarded millions of dollars to students since 1985, and is part of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

"This tour provides an excellent opportunity, not only to raise funds for the RMHC/HACER Scholarship Program, but also to increase the awareness of HACER with Enrique's support," added Gerdes.

Enrique Iglesias has been a strong supporter of HACER in the past and is currently appearing in a series of public service announcements on behalf of the scholarship program.

The Enrique Iglesias "Cosas del Amor" McDonald's U.S. Tour begins in Orlando, Florida on January 16 and includes performances at venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Houston Astrodome, Universal Amphitheater in California, the James L. Knight Center in Miami, the Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona and Centennial Garden Arena in Bakersfield.

Enrique Iglesias is the Latin artist with the most number one hits on Billboard Magazine's "Hot Latin Tracks" list. Ten (10) of his hits are under this classification, including his single "Esperanza," from his latest album Cosas del Amor, which in the past five weeks has been the number-one selling album in the United States. Iglesias has sold more than 13 million records worldwide since his debut three years ago. In his short career, he has already won a Grammy Award and was named Billboard's Artist of the Year (1996 & 1997), Best Latin Pop Artist (1998) and received ASCAP Award for Best Composer. His first world tour, which took place last year, was attended by a total of 720,000 people in 82 countries on three continents.

"Having grown up with McDonald's, I'm delighted to be collaborating with them on this exciting project," said Iglesias. "With the help of the Golden Arches, I can bring my music to millions of people across the country."

"This tour is our way of saying `thank you' to not only our most loyal Hispanic customers but to the 25 million consumers that visit our restaurants every day throughout the U.S.," concluded Gerdes.

McDonald's is the largest and best-known global food service retailer, with more than 23,000 restaurants in 114 countries. Approximately 85 percent of McDonald's U.S. restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees.