The 2002 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Ceremony was held in the magnificent surroundings of the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. The awards celebrate entrepreneurial skill and endeavour, and the Riverdance Flying Squad was an ideal choice to entertain the guests and represent the ideals of the awards.

The Flying Squad performed a 25-minute programme with 22 dancers and five musicians who were supported by a production team of seven. The programme included Thunderstorm, Firedance, Trading Taps, Slow Air and Tunes and Riverdance. The stage dimensions were 26 ft wide x 14 ft deep, with a separate area (10ft x 6ft) for the band. The Flying Squad had five hours for rehearsal before the performance began.

"The Riverdance Flying Squad returned to the Entrepreneur Of The Year program for the second time, this year as the featured entertainment at Ernst & Young's World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Monte Carlo. This troupe of gifted dancers gave a beautiful performance rich in Irish tradition. Their talent and beauty in executing their craft was matched by the passion in their performance. It was a thrill for me and the entire audience to experience."

Gregory K. Ericksen
Global Director
Entrepreneur Of The Year
Ernst & Young

" It was a thrill and a delight to have the Riverdance Flying Squad perform at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Monte Carlo this past June. The show's producers handled advance preparation and behind-the-scenes coordination seamlessly and with little effort from me, the event planner. With a front row center seat that night, I became mesmerized by the talent, flair, beauty and flawless performance on stage. A truly exciting performance and one of the highlights of our weekend in Monte Carlo."

Nancy Clark
Associate Director
Entrepreneur Of The Year
Ernst & Young

"It was indeed a 'great to be Irish' moment and event in Monte Carlo, to see the Riverdance Flying Squad take center stage in wowing my Ernst & Young Colleagues from around the globe and to see their guest Entrepreneur of the Year country winners sit enthralled throughout. The music, the dance, the costumes the 'experience' - the troupe are absolutely a fit for prestigious corporate events and relationships. There will be few, if any, of the Ernst & Young Executives and Guest Entrepreneurs from around the world that will forget the experience and will indeed long associate that experience with our event in Monte Carlo."

Enda Kelly
Partner-in-charge Entrepreneurial Growth Markets,
Ernst &Young - Ireland

"…This year's event had a distinctly Irish feel. Just before a ceremony in which each country winner was inducted into the World Entrepreneur of the Year, the Riverdance troupe gave a special performance.
In scenes reminiscent of the Eurovision song contest in Dublin in 1994 which spawned the world famous show, the performance was received with rapturous applause from the assembled guests."

Ciaran Brennan
Irish Times

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