smart Canada announces its official support of WorldPride 2014 Toronto
smart Canada is pleased to announce its exclusive automotive sponsorship of WorldPride 2014 which will be hosted in Toronto, Ontario from June 20th to 29th. The event will be held simultaneously with Toronto's annual Pride Week – one of the largest festivals in the world that celebrates Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex (LGBTI) and other communities of emerging sexual identities. Previously held in Rome, Jerusalem and London, this event will be the first WorldPride celebration ever held in North America and will highlight Toronto’s broad diversity, embracing multiculturalism and infectious dynamism.
WorldPride is a natural partner for the smart brand, which has been at the forefront of change for decades by challenging the status quo in providing intelligent and forward-thinking urban mobility solutions coupled with maximum comfort, agility, safety and ecology.
This partnership will include extensive exposure for smart through a variety of unique initiatives. The brand’s involvement kicks off with the title sponsorship of the opening ceremonies held on Friday, June 20th, that will include performances by Melissa Etheridge, Deborah Cox and Steve Grand. The festivities will continue on Saturday, June 28th from 8 pm to 11 pm at Yonge & Dundas Square with a concert hosted by smart Canada featuring a surprise guest DJ.
In addition, smart will have a prominent interactive display located at the intersection of Church and Maitland Street on June 28th and 29th. Festival goers will be invited to tweet using #smartforworldpride to receive a pride-themed bumper sticker distributed by Twitter-activated vending machines. Participants will also have the opportunity to be photographed in a smart fortwo cabriolet that will make them appear to be in the WorldPride parade. These initiatives were designed to help individuals share their vision and message for WorldPride.
On Sunday, June 29th, smart will show its full colours and celebrate 34 years of Pride in Toronto by marching along a fleet of ten smart fortwo electric drive vehicles in the parade, which will travel from the corner of Church and Bloor Street to Yonge-Dundas Square.
"Our employees and our smart division are excited to be supporting this event and we very much look forward to working in close collaboration with WorldPride as they set the stage for this international celebration," said Tim Reuss, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada. "As the first successful microcar to make inroads around the world, smart has paved the way to significantly change transportation paradigms. For the millions of people who have already welcomed the smart brand in their lives, they have, in many ways, benefited from an entirely different yet very rational and pragmatic approach to urban mobility."
About smart Canada
smart Canada is responsible for the sales, marketing and service for the smart brand in Canada. Produced in one of the most modern and environmentally friendly plants in the world in Hambach, France, the smart fortwo is a safe, comfortable and extremely versatile vehicle. Since the launch of the smart fortwo in Canada in the fall of 2004, smart Canada's nationwide network of 57 dealers across the country have sold more than 27,000 smart fortwo vehicles.
Further information about the smart fortwo can be found online at www.media.mercedes-benz.ca, www.smart.com, facebook.com/smartCanada and twitter.com/smartCanada.
