Ford announces exclusive concert starring 10 up-and-coming artists from across Europe

Ford announces exclusive concert starring 10 up-and-coming artists from across Europe taking place at 21:00 CET, Feb. 26, in Barcelona. It will be broadcast live on Spotify and streamed live on Ford of Europe’s YouTube channel The event, featuring such acts as Mickael Miro, Nina Zilli, and Natalie McCool will mark the launch of “EcoSport Live!” an innovative social media campaign built around the all-new Ford EcoSport For “EcoSport Live!” Ford will loan 100 new Ford EcoSport SUVs for up to six months to music, fashion, food and sport bloggers from 10 European countries; they will share their experiences through social media The bloggers will test out the innovative new Ford SYNC with AppLink, which allows customers to voice-activate smart phone apps such as Spotify, Radioplayer and Audioteka from behind the wheel Ford will formally announce “EcoSport live!” at Mobile World Congress, also in Barcelona, on Feb. 26

Cologne, Germany--Feb. 20, 2014: Ford Motor Company has announced an exclusive showcase of Europe’s freshest musical talent that will kick-off the company’s “EcoSport Live!” campaign.

Hosted by U.K. TV and radio star Sarah-Jane Crawford, the concert will feature 10 up-and-coming acts and takes place at 21:00 CET, Feb. 26 in Barcelona. The line-up of talent, which includesMickael Miro, Nina Zilli, and Natalie McCool will be broadcast live on Spotify and live-streamed through the Ford of Europe YouTube channel.

For “EcoSport Live!” Ford will loan up to 100 new Ford EcoSport SUVs for up to six months to music, fashion, food and sport bloggers from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the U.K.

The bloggers – who will share their experiences of the car on social media – will test Ford’s new in-car connectivity system Ford SYNC with AppLink, which enables drivers to voice-activate apps from such providers as Spotify, Radioplayer and Audioteka while on the move. Ford also will announce special “EcoSport Live!” events in each of the 10 countries – including local challenges and celebrity drives – that will take place throughout the year.

“We’re excited about ‘EcoSport Live!’ because it puts our new EcoSport SUV and SYNC with AppLink in the hands of some of the most creative and socially connected people in Europe and they decide what they create and share,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “A concert with 10 great up-and-coming new acts that is available to everyone online is a great way to kick off ‘EcoSport Live!’”

A growing number of service providers have already confirmed they are enabling their apps to work with Ford SYNC with Voice Control and AppLink in Europe. Ford has previously announced apps from ADAC; Audioteka; Cityseeker by Wcities; DIE WELT; Eventseeker by Wcities; Glympse; Hotels.com; Kaliki; Spotify; Radioplayer and TomTom.

The line-up of acts confirmed to perform at Esferic, Plaza Dante, Montjuic, Barcelona will include:

France; Mickael Miro, male singer-songwriter Germany; Hello Gravity, four-piece indie-pop band Italy; Nina Zilli, female soul-pop diva U.K; Natalie McCool, singer songwriter

The “EcoSport live!” campaign will be formally announced by Paul Mascarenas, Ford chief technical officer and vice president Research and Innovation, at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, on Feb. 26.

Earlier in the week Ford will be premiering at Mobile World Congress a new global car featuring advanced connectivity, safety and driver assist technologies.

The new Ford EcoSport is now on sale in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K.