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Sports Illustrated and Medium Rare announce star-studded "SI Beyond The Pitch" events in four FIFA World Cup cities
Many media companies have increased their focus on hosting premium in-person events lately. The event business is anything but easy, but it does leverage areas media brands can excel at (including brand prestige and connections to high-profile figures), and it can be a nice diversification in an era where both advertising and subscription revenues are frequently being battered. It seems to have been a particular success for famed magazine brand Sports Illustrated, often in conjunction with renowned events company Medium Rare, and that long-running partnership is now being tapped for "SI Beyond The Pitch" events in four FIFA World Cup host cities this summer. SI and Medium Rare announced that news Monday morning, with the magazine calling it their "biggest move yet in live events." Here's more on that from a release:
Sports Illustrated is launching SI Beyond the Pitch, a first-ever, multi-city event series staged across four World’s Soccer Championship host cities this summer as the eyes of the world turn to the United States for the most consequential soccer tournament of our generation. Marking the brand’s biggest move yet in live events, the series is produced in partnership with Medium Rare and Authentic Live. These are premium, ticketed experiences open to the public, bringing together world-class performers and globally recognized brand partners including Verizon (all markets), Marriott Bonvoy and BetMGM (NYC), Velocity Black (NYC), and Champion (LA). SI Beyond the Pitch is especially proud to have Lenovo on board as our Presenting Partner, officially powering the Los Angeles and Miami markets with their cutting-edge technology and innovation. Tickets and VIP Tables are on sale this Friday, May 15th, at 10AM ET for all four cities - fans can preregister for tickets now at SIBeyondThePitch.com.
“SI has firmly established itself as the place to be on sports’ biggest weekends,” said Matt Goldstein, EVP of Authentic Live. “Whether it’s Travis Kelce and Justin Bieber or the next generation of athletes and icons, the guest list reads like a who’s who of sports and culture. That’s what we build toward every time.”
The specific events here will include a Nelly-headlined one at Los Angeles' Hollywood Palladium on June 12 (the kickoff weekend of the World Cup), a Gordo-headlined one at Dallas' SILO on June 20, a Chainsmokers-headlined one at Miami's DAER on June 26, and a finale at New York's Cipriani Wall St on July 18 (the night before the final) headlined by 50 Cent and Diplo. More talent is to be announced, but those are certainly some big names. And it speaks to the success of the past Medium Rare and SI combinations (particularly SI The Party at the Super Bowl since 2023) that prominent artists like The Chainsmokers and Diplo (who have both performed want to keep working with them.
It says something too that SI is billing this as their "biggest move yet in live events." They've done a lot on that front in the past decade, especially following their 2019 sale to Authentic. In addition to SI The Party at the Super Bowl since 2023, some of their other recent moves include Club SI at Churchill Downs (with big parties around the Kentucky Derby in particular), Club SI and the SI Circuit Series at the Circuit of the Americas F1 track in Austin, and Tight End University with George Kittle and Travis Kelce at the Super Bowl. And Medium Rare has done countless big events of their own, as I explored in a feature on their three Super Bowl events (SI The Party, Shaq's FunHouse, and Guy Fieri's FlavorTown Tailgate) last year. But the comments from Medium Rare's Joe Silberzweig in this release speak to how important this World Cup event sounds to them as well:
“This isn’t just a tournament; it’s the most significant sporting event of a generation to hit American soil,” said Joe Silberzweig, Founder and CEO of Medium Rare. “The scale of this moment is reflected in the unprecedented demand we’re seeing across the board. We are leaning into that energy to introduce the most high-octane nightlife experiences the global soccer community has ever seen, creating a cultural epicenter in each host city that matches the gravity of what’s happening on the pitch.”
There are of course going to be countless parties and events around the World Cup this summer. But the history and star power associated with the SI and Medium Rare combination does seem to give these ones a chance of breaking through. Four events across four cities in a month is a lot, and will certainly present some planning challenges, but this feels like a good way for SI to keep their brand visible at some of the World Cup cities, and to continue the events success they've found.
