Elvis In Hawaii
September 4, 1972 - In the morning, there was a press conference at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel to announce the upcoming worldwide telecast of an Elvis concert in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.
The announcement was made by the president of RCA Records, Mr. Rocco Laginestra. Elvis was also present and told the press he hoped he wouldn't let his fans down.
Mr. Laginestra told the press the upcoming tv-program would reach the largest audience in the history of television. The concert would be broadcast to Southeast Asia via satellite. In Europe the concert would be seen in 28 countries, the day after the concert.
The U.S.A. (mainland) would not see the program before April 1973.
Elvis attends a press conference in the Rainbow Rib Room of the Hilton's Hawaiian Village Hotel.
There he announced the concert would take place on January 14, 1973. It would be a benefit for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund. Elvis and the Colonel would start the benefit by donating a check for $1,000 to the Kui Lee Cancer Fund. RCA joined Elvis & the Colonel by also donating a check for the same amount.
Elvis' arrival - January 9, 1973 - After leaving Memphis for a flight to Los Angeles on January 7, Elvis arrives at the Honolulu Airport on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, where he is airlifted by helicopter to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel to greet his Hawaiian fans.
Elvis in concert -
January 12 & 14, 1973 - On January 7, tickets for the concert of January 14 went on sale in Honolulu. Already a large amount of tickets were sold in advance by mail orders. Tickets could only be obtained by making a donation to the Kui Lee Cancer Fund. Tickets for the dress rehearsal of January 12 would be sold as soon as the main show had sold out.
Honolulu, January 12, 1973 - Elvis performed for an audience of 6,000 people at the International Convention Center, the show was taped as an emergency backup in case of problems with the show of January 14.
Honolulu, January 13, 1973 - Some last minute soundchecks are done in the concert hall of the International Convention Center for tomorrow nights concert. Elvis attends the soundcheck in casual clothes while the musicians practice their (music) parts.
The mayor of Honolulu declares this day to be "Elvis Presley Day" ~ Honolulu, January 14, 1973 - At 12.30 am Elvis wrote history with the first world-wide telecasted concert ever. Millions of people in over 40 countries saw Elvis' live concert from Hawaii.
The total earnings of the concert, being
$75,000 were donated to the Kui Lee Cancer Fund. The original estimate had only been $25,000.
The telecast, Aloha from Hawaii, would be watched by more than 1 billion people, worldwide.
The show was the most expensive entertainment special, up to that time, with costs of $2.5 million.
Following the show, as soon as the audience had left the building, Elvis recorded 5 songs on stage, to be included in the American version of the special. The special would be aired in the U.S.A. on April 4, 1973. At the end of the show, Elvis removed his cape and hurled it into the audience. It was caught by Mr. Bruce Sprinks, a reporter of the Honolulu Advisor. The cape is now on display at Graceland.
Here's some pictures from that memorable concert.
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