UNICEF Crystal Snowflake to Join Rodeo Drive Chandelier Display This Holiday Season

UNICEF Crystal Snowflake, Designed by Ingo Maurer with Baccarat Crystals Finds New Home Atop the Regent Beverly Wilshire

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Oct. 31 -- Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills will sparkle brighter than ever this year thanks to acclaimed lighting designer Ingo Maurer and luxury crystal maker Baccarat as the UNICEF Crystal Snowflake joins the twenty Baccarat chandeliers and thousands of twinkle lights that will adorn the famed street during the busy 2005 Holiday Season.

The 16-foot UNICEF Crystal Snowflake, designed and produced by Ingo Maurer with 12,000 Baccarat crystals, made its debut in New York City in 2004, where it was suspended throughout the holidays at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. This magnificent structure replaces the "Tree of Lights," which for so many years adorned the front of the Regent Beverly Wilshire and will serve as a beacon of hope, peace and compassion for vulnerable children around the world.

The UNICEF Snowflake is scheduled to arrive in Beverly Hills on November 8th via a Operation FedEx Special Delivery truck. Installation will begin on November 19th and is expected to be completed by November 21st, a week and a half before it is unveiled as part of the holiday lighting ceremony on Rodeo Drive.

For the second year in a row, the holiday lighting ceremony on Rodeo Drive, presented by Baccarat in association with the City of Beverly Hills, and this year sponsored by General Motors Corporation, FedEx and the Rodeo Drive Committee, will include the Baccarat chandelier display, a unique visual feast featuring 20 dazzling crystal chandeliers illuminating the 200, 300 and 400 blocks of Rodeo Drive. Installation of the chandeliers is scheduled to begin on November 12th and is expected to take five days to complete.

The lighting ceremony on Rodeo Drive will coincide with the first Beverly Hills UNICEF Snowflake Ball, a fundraising black-tie gala also presented by Baccarat and sponsored by the Southern California Chapter of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, to be held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel. In 2004, the First Annual UNICEF Snowflake Ball presented by Baccarat in New York City raised $1.5 million for the organization.

The unique lighting display will remain throughout the holidays, making the holiday shopping experience a truly interesting affair. For additional information about the holidays in Beverly Hills, please visit www.lovebeverlyhills.org

About UNICEF

Founded in 1946, UNICEF helps save, protect and improve the lives of children around the world through immunization, education, health care, nutrition, clean water and sanitation. UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority. To make a donation or learn more about UNICEF, please call 1-800-4UNICEF or go to www.unicefusa.org.

About Ingo Maurer

Ingo Maurer founded his own lighting company in 1965. His first design was the "Bulb" in 1966. He is often referred to as "The Poet of Light." For 40 years, he has surprised the world with technical inventions, exceptional lighting projects, spectacular installations and unusual designs, many of them in museums' collections, including the MoMa. Ingo Maurer and his team also produce and distribute his designs worldwide. The Ingo Maurer Collection is available in the U.S. at his own shop/showroom in New York, as well as at fine contemporary furniture and lighting stores. For more details, please go to www.Ingo-Maurer.com.

About Baccarat

Founded in 1764, with new headquarters in Paris designed by Philippe Starck and manufacturing in the small village of Baccarat, France, Baccarat is recognized globally as the eminent creator of luxury crystal, with a diverse product assortment that, in addition to traditional crystal giftware, now includes jewelry, watches and handbags. Baccarat is available in the U.S. at leading department stores and fine specialty and jewelry stores as well as at the company's 12 freestanding boutiques in New York, Houston, Dallas, Hawaii, Troy, San Francisco, Aspen, Palm Desert, Greenwich, Chicago, Las Vegas and Costa Mesa.

About General Motors Corps.

General Motors Corp. , the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader since 1931. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 325,000 people around the world. It has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in 200 countries. In 2004, GM sold nearly 9 million cars and trucks globally, up 4 percent and the second-highest total in the company's history. GM's global headquarters are at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.