STORY:
Chicago New Year's Eve Goes Worldwide

It started with an idea from an Italian city worker from Milan. Now it's turned into a major Millennium event in Chicago. City officials are inviting one person from every country on earth to dinner with Mayor Daley. So far, the city has invited guests from 194 of the identified 223 countries, leaving only 29 seats open at Mayor Daley's New Year's Eve table.

According to Reuters, seats are available for guests from Algeria, American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua-Barbuda, Aruba, Brunei, Christmas Island, Cocos, Equatorial Guinea, French Guiana, the Falkland Islands, Guyana, Libya, Martinique, Mayotte, Mongolia, Montserrat, Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, San Marino, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Tokelau, Tonga, and Western Samoa.

The only criteria is guests must be older than 21 and have can understand and speak some English and they have never been to Chicago. Each guest can bring one additional guest for the four day, all expenses paid trip.

The guests will join some 3500 other ticketed guests at the Mayor's New Year's Eve dinner. They will also be invited to the city's 2000 minute party and other New Year's activities.

The idea to invite someone from every country came from Bernardino de Vincenzi of Milan. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, he wrote the city telling them they should invite two simple citizens from every country in the world for New Year's Eve dinner with Mayor Daley at a typical Chicago restaurant. Mayor Daley liked and adopted the idea. The dinner will be held at McCormick Place Lakeside Center with the show a New Year's Eve show at the Arie Crown Theater.

Six airlines have agreed to fly the international contingent here at no cost for a four-day stay at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, which is providing free rooms. Other costs are expected to be covered by corporate donations.

People interested in submitting name and represent their country can contact the city's website.

Source: Chicago Sun Times / Reuters

DATE: 6/07/99

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