ABC 2000 Today Logo

ABC 2000 Today was ABC News's coverage of the millennium from 1999-12-31 to 2000-01-01. Peter Jennings anchored the 25 hour broadcast in Times Square Studios in New York. ABC temporarily converted the Good Morning America marquee broadcast studio into a type of "millennium command center" that included a desk, where a standing Jennings spent most of his time, two lounge chairs, where Jennings would interview guests, a large screen with a time-zone included map of the world, a wall of clocks, and a make-shift newsroom where ABC News staffers would follow the latest developments. Dick Clark did the countdown in Times Square, as always since his Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve shows first aired in 1972, and was credited as a correspondent. Diane Sawyer and Jack Ford were stationed in Times Square during the daylight hours. Other correspondents were Charlie Gibson in London, Barbara Walters in Paris, and many other ABC News personalities stationed around the world to cover the new year in every time zone. They included Sam Donaldson at the Y2K Command Center in Washington, Cokie Roberts at the Vatican, with her mother, the then U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, along with Carole Simpson in Chicago Connie Chung in Las Vegas, Deborah Roberts at Walt Disney World, and Morton Dean in Moscow. Then ABC correspondent, Aaron Brown narrated many segments. Guests included veteran actor Alan Alda, famed British comedian Dame Edna, and comedian Al Franken. Musical performances included Enrique Iglesias, Kenny G, Charlotte Church, Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt, *NSYNC, James Taylor, and Aerosmith. Image File history File links ABC2000. ... Image File history File links ABC2000. ... This article is about the American news organization. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM (July 29, 1938 – August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-American news anchor for the ABC network. ... Times Square Studios is located in Times Square in New York City, New York. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is a television and radio network in the United States. ... Good Morning America or GMA is the weekday morning news talk show of the American Broadcasting Company television network (ABC). ... There have been multiple notable individuals of the name Dick Clark. ... Times Square, named after the one-time headquarters of The New York Times, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, which centers on 42nd Street and Broadway. ... Dick Clarks New Years Rockin Eve is a television program, which airs every New Years Eve on the United States television network ABC. It has been hosted by Dick Clark since its first airing on December 31, 1972, also titled Three Dog Nights New Years’ Rockin... Diane Sawyer Diane Sawyer (born December 22, 1945 as Lila Diana Sawyer) is a television journalist for the U.S. network ABC News and co-anchor of ABCs Good Morning America along with Charles Gibson and Robin Roberts. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Times Square, named after the one-time headquarters of The New York Times, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, which centers on 42nd Street and Broadway. ... Alternate meanings: Charles Dana Gibson, artist. ... Barbara Ann Walters (born September 25, 1929 (see)) is an American media personality (early 60s to present) first known as a popular TV morning news anchor for over 10 years on NBCs Today show, where she worked well with anchors Hugh Downs and Frank McGee. ... This article is about the American news organization. ... Samuel Andrew Donaldson (born March 11, 1934 in El Paso, Texas) was a news anchor for ABC News, known for his persistence in questioning senior government officials up to and including the President of the United States. ... Martha Mary Coreen Morrison Claiborne Boggs Cokie Roberts (b. ... Connie Chung at the announcement of the start of her CNN show, Connie Chung Tonight Constance Yu-Hwa Chung (Chinese: ; pinyin: Zōng Yùhuá; born August 20, 1946) is an Asian-American journalist. ... Deborah Roberts B.1960 is an American television journalist. ... Cinderella Castle, at the center of the Magic Kingdom, is Walt Disney World Resorts most recognizable icon Introduction Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company, the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, USA is home to four theme parks, two water parks, several resort hotels and golf courses... Aaron Brown at ABC, mid-1990s Aaron Brown (November 10, 1948) is the former host of NewsNight with Aaron Brown on the television network CNN. Education Aaron Brown went to the University of Minnesota. ... Alan Alda as Benjamin Franklin Hawkeye Pierce Alan Alda (born Alphonso Joseph DAbruzzo on January 28, 1936) is an Oscar-nominated American actor, writer, director and sometimes political activist. ... Dame Edna Everage is a character played by Barry Humphries. ... Al Franken entertaining at Ramstein Air Base, December 2000. ... Enrique Iglesias (born Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler on May 8, 1975, in Madrid, Spain) is a Miami-based singing sensation and multi-million-album seller. ... Kenneth Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American saxophonist whose fourth album Duotones brought him to fame in 1986. ... Charlotte Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed on February 21, 1986) is a Welsh pop singer who rose to international fame in childhood as a popular classical singer. ... William Martin Billy Joel (born May 9, 1949 in Bronx, New York) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. ... Bonnie Raitt on the cover of her album Silver Lining Arbonna Bonnie Raitt, (born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Broadway musical star John Raitt. ... *NSYNC is a five-part pop music vocal group, sometimes referred to as a boy band, formed in Orlando, Florida, USA. The group members are Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Justin Timberlake. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Aerosmith is a prominent American rock band, often regarded as Americas Greatest Rock Band. Although they are known as a Boston, Massachusetts band, none of the members are actually from the city. ...

Originally, the name of the broadcast was ABC 2000, but it was officially known as ABC 2000 Today because ABC joined 60 other nations, all celebrating the dawn of the new millennium. The network was part of the 2000 Today consortium that included PBS, the BBC, ABC in Australia, TV Asahi in Japan, RTL in Germany, and the CBC in Canada. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is a television and radio network in the United States. ... 2000 Today was an internationally-broadcast television special commemorating the beginning of the Year 2000. ... PBS re-directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, sometimes also known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, founded in 1922. ... The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australias national non-commercial public broadcaster. ... TV Asahi building in Roppongi Hills TV Asahi Corporation (EX, 株式会社 テレビ朝日, Kabushiki Gaisha Terebi Asahi) TYO: 9409 is a television network operating in Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan. ... RTL Television (formerly RTL plus) is Germanys biggest commercial television company. ... Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Cipher-block chaining ...

Trivia

The main reason for sending so many correspondents abroad but having Jennings stay and anchor for the entire duration was to make sure ABC got on the air first with any news of Y2K or related news. NBC's coverage with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric and CBS's coverage with Dan Rather started at 11pm. Like Jennings, Brokaw and Rather were stationed in Times Square; Couric in NBC News Headquarters in Rockefeller Plaza. Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (born February 6, 1940) is a popular USA television journalist, presently working on regularly scheduled news documentaries for the NBC television network, and is the former NBC News anchorman and managing editor of the program NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. ... Katherine Anne Katie Couric (born January 7, 1957) is an American media personality and the future anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News. ... Dan Rather, from a telecast in October 2004. ... NBC News Logo NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. Its current president is Steve Capus. ...

Peter Jennings stayed on the air for the entire duration without a break using only commercial breaks and correspondent pieces to rest, eat, or change suits.

At least 175 million Americans tuned into some portion of ABC 2000 Today. The broadcast won a Peabody Award. The George Foster Peabody Awards, more commonly known as simply the Peabody Awards, are annual international awards given for excellence in radio and television broadcasting and cable television. ...

Theme music for ABC 2000 Today (which was also used for ABC News' election coverage that year) was from Epcot's IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth live show. The music was composed by Gavin Greenway, who won an Emmy award for the work. This article is about the American news organization. ... Spaceship Earth is the symbol of Epcot. ... An Emmy Award. ...

See also

• 2000 Today

2000 Today was an internationally-broadcast television special commemorating the beginning of the Year 2000. ...

External links

• ABC News Store
• ABC 2000 Promo (from Network News Music)
• ABC 2000 Theme (from Network News Music)
• ABC 2000 Today at the Internet Movie Database