The 2003 Pirelli Calendar to be auctioned on eBay
From 23rd to 28th October, starting from 1 asking price. The proceeds will be used to finance an educational project in Africa, managed by ActionAid Alliance.
Milan, October14, 2002 - The Pirelli Calendar 2003, the latest of a long series of world-wide celebrated icons of photography, artistic beauty, communication, style and of sophisticated sensuality goes on a on-line sale, for the first time, to support an humanitarian cause in Africa. This true symbol of fashion and glamour, awaited by millions of fans and collectors around the globe, is now more special than ever.
For the fourth consecutive year, Pirelli engaged with MSN (Microsoft Network) and today with its partner EBAY - the No.1 online marketplace organization for the sale of goods and services on the Net - to promote this initiative. The Cal 2003 will be sold starting from the symbolic base auction price of one Euro (or one US dollar) to stimulate frenetic real time bidding by collectors, enthusiasts and fans for a noble cause, the building of a school in Sierra Leone, Africa, costing an average of 25,000 Euro, which can accommodate pupils struggling to learn and to give a better future to their country.
A unique occasion for the over 200,000 registered members of the official Calendar Club (www.pirellical.com) to join the MSN and EBAY community (estimated around 65 million combined users world-wide) to buy the only copy autographed by the author, american photographer Bruce Weber and by our chairman, Marco Tronchetti Provera.
This international internet initiative will last only five days, from the 23rd to 28th October 2002, and will be promoted by Ebay sites in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany Holland, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA and, last but not least, Italy.
The Calendar proceeds will be used to finance one of the numerous educational plans that ActionAid Alliance (www.actionaidalliance.org), the international Network of humanitarian organizations, has put in place to fight poverty in almost every corner of the world. After this year auction, Pirelli is already studying the possibility of engaging in another on-line initiative the following year, together with eBay and ActionAid Alliance, to auction an invitation for two people, to the exclusive 2004 Calendar Launch.
Coming back to the 2003 Calendar, this edition is a true celebration of Italy and italian beauties, both female and male models. 1997 was the year in wich Monica Bellucci appeared on the calendar: now is the time of Eva Riccobono (testimonial of Telecom Italia mobile operator TIM), acclaimed model Maria Carla Boscono (testimonial for Chanel) and Valentina Stilla, the jung winner of this year Pirelli-MTV competition " The Cal Contest 2003. Female conoisseurs of the Pirelli calendar have also reasons to appreciate the 2003 edition, as the male representation is quite remarklable, with Alessandro Gassman, son of one the greatest Italian actors Vittorio, Enrico Lo Verso, who recently featured in Ridley Scott's movie " Hannibal" and muscular boxers Stephan Ferrara and Richie La Montagne, who is also middleweight champion in America.
As the 2003 Pirelli Calendar approaches its on-line launch on the 4th November on twenty MSN web portals (Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and USA), an humanitarian flavor enriches this year expectations. Pirelli and its partners eBay and MSN could not think a better way to " put beauty at work" .