Once More With Feeling: Oprah Wraps Big Opener
By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on Sep 9, 2009 4:00PM
Around 20,000 people showed up on a stretch of the Mag Mile to help Oprah film the season premiere for her upcoming 24th season. After all the arguments over how disruptive it would be versus how good it is for the city's image, it's all over. The Tribune reports things got a little hairy early in the day with people pushing and shoving at times, but for the most part, the event seemed to go off without a hitch and the city continued pushing this as a great marketing opportunity, not to mention something to pad the city's resume in the last push for the 2016 Olympic bid.
"For us to have this kind of marketing to get people to think twice about Chicago in their travel plans is huge," said John Chikow, president and CEO for the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association, noting that officials from Winfrey's Harpo Productions reached out to the city in mid-August.
The show is scheduled to air tomorrow.