Las Vegas Weekly

December 10, 2008 · 10:37 AM

Randy Jackson’s live New Year’s Eve’s telecast on the Strip gets official approval

By Robin Leach

Karina Smirnoff and Randy Jackson in party mode at Tao.

Photo: Tao

It’s an official go! A third New Year’s Eve live telecast from the Strip has won the green light -- and a press conference to announce all the details is being organized for next week to reveal the all-star music lineup. Music producer and American Idol judge Randy Jackson is co-producing the telecast, which he also will host.

It’s expected that many of the record superstars including Kid Rock and Akon who are appearing at various New Year’s Eve parties up, down and around the Strip will all team up for the music spectacular scheduled to be held at Planet Hollywood. We hope to have the full list by the end of the week after the promo teasers are shot tomorrow.

Previous hopes for Britney Spears to appear, as Vegas DeLuxe first reported, have been dashed. After all the negotiations and attempts to ease security concerns, there simply wasn’t a sufficient guarantee for her safety dealing with frenzied fans among the 300,000-strong crowd still expected to pack the Strip and party through the night Dec. 31.

Photo: Vitek Ludvik/Red Bull

Robbie Maddison.

Two other live telecasts Dec. 31 will feature stunts by motorcyclist Robbie Knievel, who will jump the new Mirage volcano, and stuntmen Robbie Maddison and Rhys Millen. Robbie will attempt to jump on and off the 85-foot-high Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas, and Rhys will attempt to back-flip his truck off a death-defying ramp in the parking lot of The Rio.

Click HERE for our video yesterday of Rhys’ near fatal crash during practice last year, and click HERE for a previous story on Knievel’s Mirage jump.

At this moment, it looks as if the two-hour music special for The CW will kick off the Strip coverage at 5 to 7 p.m. Pacific Time, with many of the stars of its shows including 90210 and Gossip Girl. That will be followed at 8 p.m. by the rival, head-to-head stunt sensations from FOX and ESPN.

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