The Star Wars Celebration IV Opening Ceremonies were held on Friday, May 25, 2007 at the Los Angeles Convention Center during the first full public day of the convention. The ceremony took place on the exact 30th anniversary of the original theatrical release of Star Wars, which opened on May 25, 1977. Although Celebration IV had opened to Fan Club members the previous day, the Opening Ceremonies served as the formal anniversary event for the full convention audience.

The published Celebration IV schedule listed the event from 7:30 to 9:00 PM as part of the Behind-the-scenes Stage programming. Official live coverage placed the ceremony in Hall K, where thousands of fans entered as a classical pianist performed music from John Williams’ Star Wars scores. The stage screen displayed the triangular Celebration IV logo against a Coruscant-style fireworks background, and fans in the front rows raised lightsabers as the room filled.

Opening and Los Angeles Proclamation

The ceremony began with Tom Warner, Lucasfilm’s Senior Director of Marketing, welcoming attendees to Celebration IV. Warner referenced the earlier U.S. Celebrations in Denver and Indianapolis, then explained that the 30th anniversary made Los Angeles the natural location for the event. He introduced Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who came on stage wearing a Star Wars tie and welcomed fans to the city.

Villaraigosa addressed the crowd as “delegates of the New Republic” and announced that the city was officially declaring May 25, 2007 Star Wars Day in Los Angeles. Councilwoman Jan Perry also appeared, welcomed attendees to downtown Los Angeles and quoted from the city proclamation.

Musical Opening and Costumed Gag

After the civic welcome, a video recapped the Star Wars presence at the 2007 Rose Parade. The video transitioned into the USC Marching Band entering the hall and marching down the aisles while playing the Imperial March. Members of the 501st Legion accompanied the band in armor, carrying flags from their countries of origin.

The opening sequence then moved into a costumed comedy bit. Ewok music began, stormtroopers took the stage, and an Ewok appeared with a spear and chased them off. Indiana Jones then entered to the Raiders March, cracked a whip at the Ewok and revealed Steve Sansweet under the Ewok costume head. Sansweet joked, “Now I know why I’m not a costumer.”

Steve Sansweet and the 30th Anniversary

Sansweet used the reveal to move the ceremony into its anniversary theme. He spoke about the original 1977 release of Star Wars, noting that the film opened on only 32 screens in North America. He framed the anniversary around the fans who supported the film from the beginning and remained part of the community 30 years later.

Sansweet passed along George Lucas’ regrets that he could not join and introduced a recorded video message. In the video, Lucas said he was away working on “a man with a hat and a whip,” a reference to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Lucas said he hoped the 30th anniversary would lead to future 40th and 50th anniversary celebrations.

Sansweet followed the video with a comedic “live satellite interview” from London using a paper bag puppet stand-in for Lucas.

Celebrity Parade

The ceremony continued with a celebrity parade, continuing a format used at Celebration III. More than 50 guests joined Sansweet on stage, representing original trilogy actors, prequel performers, voice actors, Lucasfilm artists, LucasArts talent, production crew, effects artists, creature performers and costumed performers.

The parade included performers from across the saga, including Peter Mayhew, Jeremy Bulloch, David Prowse, Temuera Morrison, Daniel Logan, Amy Allen, Orli Shoshan, Matthew Wood, Dave Filoni, Sam Witwer, Nathalie Cox, John Knoll, Lorne Peterson, Norman Reynolds and many others.

Birthday Cake and Anniversary Moment

At about 8:25 PM, Jay Laga’aia led the guests and audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to Star Wars. A commemorative cake was presented on stage, and cake was distributed to attendees in the hall. Fans received small pieces of cake, some decorated with plastic character rings.

Attendees also received a USPS commemorative envelope with one of the Star Wars stamps as they entered the ceremony. One attendee account specifically mentions receiving an X-wing stamp envelope.

USPS Star Wars Stamp Segment

Howard Roffman, President of Lucas Licensing, spoke about the growth of Star Wars over its first 30 years, including publishing, comics, video games, toys and licensed merchandise. He discussed the relationship between Lucasfilm and fans, including debates over changes to the films and reactions to characters such as Jar Jar Binks.

Roffman then introduced the United States Postal Service’s 30th anniversary Star Wars stamp program. He explained that the campaign included 15 stamps, 400 R2-D2 mailboxes, two contests and a dedicated promotional website. Anita J. Bizzotto, Chief Marketing Officer of the United States Postal Service, joined him on stage to discuss the stamp designs.

The stamp artwork featured Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, Yoda, Emperor Palpatine, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Millennium Falcon, stormtroopers, an X-wing, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker and Darth Maul. Bizzotto announced that Yoda had won the public vote for favorite stamp, and the pianist played Yoda’s theme after the reveal.

Live Performances and Stage Previews

Sansweet returned in a tuxedo and previewed other Celebration IV programming. Charles Ross performed a condensed segment from One Man Star Wars Trilogy, moving through part of A New Hope and ending around the Binary Sunset sequence.

Jay Laga’aia then performed “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang, turning the ceremony into a more participatory audience moment.

The ceremony also included previews for several projects and programming tracks. Sansweet introduced the premiere trailer for Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, the trailer for Fanboys, a new trailer for LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and an abridged web documentary for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. He described The Force Unleashed as the next chapter of the Star Wars saga and the first step into the next 30 years.

Stage hosts Scott Chernoff, Doug Steves and Dave Collins appeared to preview programming on their respective stages. Chernoff discussed pop culture programming, including scheduled appearances by Seth MacFarlane and the Robot Chicken team.

A tribute reel honored people who had contributed to the Star Wars saga in front of and behind the camera. The cast of Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes also performed a three-minute version of Lucasfilm history, moving through Star Wars, The Star Wars Holiday Special, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, the THX sound standard, Return of the Jedi, the Ewok television films, Captain EO, Labyrinth, Willow, the Indiana Jones sequels and the prequel trilogy.

Near the end of the ceremony, belly dancer Amira Sa’id appeared on stage. Sansweet then delivered closing remarks about the first 30 years of Star Wars, its impact on popular culture, global friendships and fan identity.

Boba Fett Jetpack Finale

The ceremony ended with one of the defining moments of Celebration IV. At about 9:56 PM, a performer identified in the official live coverage as “Rocket Man” flew into Hall K using a real rocketbelt-style jetpack and landed on stage. The performer was Dan Schlund, who later identified the Celebration IV stunt as his first jet-pack flight as Boba Fett at the 30th anniversary celebration of Star Wars.

Sansweet closed the ceremony immediately after the jetpack landing.

Bomb Threat and Evacuation

While the Opening Ceremonies continued inside Hall K, a bomb threat or suspicious package response unfolded outside the hall. The official Star Wars Blog live coverage included an editor’s note stating that “an entirely different story unfolded outside” while the ceremony was taking place inside.

Fans waiting outside Hall K were held at the doors, then ordered to leave the building. Some attendees had already checked lightsabers or bags before being moved out, which created confusion when they were told to evacuate before retrieving their belongings. Several fans outside the hall were told the event had been canceled, even though the ceremony continued for the audience already inside Hall K.

The incident centered on a suspicious package. Attendees outside described being moved away from the building and told to cross the street while police tape went up. People inside Hall K remained in the ceremony and many did not learn what had happened until afterward.

The suspicious package turned out to be a toy left in a restroom. Jay Laga’aia joked the next day that any suspicious package at Celebration should be called a “Hasbro.”

The evacuation became part of the event’s lore because it created two very different experiences at the same time. Inside Hall K, fans saw the full anniversary program, birthday cake, USPS stamp presentation, trailers, performances and Boba Fett jetpack finale. Outside Hall K, fans dealt with crowd-control confusion, evacuation instructions and uncertainty about whether the ceremony was still happening.

Guests, Performers and Groups

Hosts, Speakers and Presenters

• • Tom Warner: Lucasfilm Senior Director of Marketing, opening speaker

• • Antonio Villaraigosa: Mayor of Los Angeles, civic guest

• • Jan Perry: Los Angeles City Councilwoman, civic guest

• • Steve Sansweet: Lucasfilm fan relations executive, primary host

• • Howard Roffman: President of Lucas Licensing, speaker for licensing and USPS stamp segment

• • Anita J. Bizzotto: United States Postal Service Chief Marketing Officer, speaker for Star Wars stamp program

• • Scott Chernoff: Celebration IV stage host and presenter

• • Doug Stevens: Celebration IV stage host and presenter

• • Dave Collins: Celebration IV stage host and presenter

• • Jay Laga’aia: Actor, Captain Typho; stage host, singer and ceremony participant

Recorded Appearance

• • George Lucas: Star Wars creator, appeared by recorded video message only

Stage Performers and Specialty Acts

• • Charles Ross: Performer, One Man Star Wars Trilogy

• • Amira Sa’id: Belly dancer and stage performer

• • Dan Schlund: Rocketbelt pilot, Boba Fett jetpack performer

• • Jay Laga’aia: Actor, Captain Typho; performed “Celebration” and led the birthday song

Celebrity Parade Participants

• • Robert Watts: Producer and production manager, original trilogy production veteran

• • Mary Apostagos: Performer, Ewok

• • Richard Bonehill: Actor and stunt performer, stormtrooper and other roles

• • Lightning Bear: Performer, stormtrooper

• • Jon Berg: Visual effects artist and stop-motion animator

• • Mike Edmonds: Actor, Ewok performer

• • Paul Blake: Actor, Greedo

• • Dermot Crowley: Actor, General Madine

• • Michael Carter: Actor, Bib Fortuna

• • Richard LeParmentier: Actor, Admiral Motti

• • Rusty Goffe: Actor, Ewok performer

• • Kenneth Colley: Actor, Admiral Piett

• • Don Bies: Lucasfilm archivist, droid operator and effects crew member

• • Julian Glover: Actor, General Veers

• • Shawn Crawford: Actor and performer

• • Jerome Blake: Actor, Rune Haako and other prequel roles

• • Anthony Forrest: Actor, Fixer and stormtrooper

• • Garrick Hagon: Actor, Biggs Darklighter

• • Andy Secombe: Voice actor, Watto

• • Barrie Holland: Actor, Lieutenant Renz, known for the “You Rebel scum” line

• • Colin Higgins: Actor, Wedge Antilles performer in the Celebration listing

• • John Knoll: Visual effects supervisor, Industrial Light & Magic

• • Gerald Home: Actor, Tessek and Mon Calamari officer

• • Peter Mayhew: Actor, Chewbacca

• • Matthew Wood: Sound editor and voice actor, General Grievous

• • Dave Filoni: Director, Star Wars: The Clone Wars

• • Rena Owen: Actor, Taun We

• • Tom Kane: Voice actor, Yoda in animated Star Wars projects

• • Dave Elsey: Creature effects artist

• • Lou Elsey: Creature effects artist

• • George Roubicek: Actor, Commander Praji

• • Amy Allen: Actor, Aayla Secura

• • Michonne Bourriague: Actor, Aurra Sing

• • Shannon McRandle: Model and actor, Mara Jade reference model

• • Orli Shoshan: Actor, Shaak Ti

• • Howard Kazanjian: Producer, Return of the Jedi

• • Jeremy Bulloch: Actor, Boba Fett

• • Temuera Morrison: Actor, Jango Fett

• • Daniel Logan: Actor, young Boba Fett

• • Debbie Carrington: Actor, Romba

• • David Prowse: Actor, Darth Vader

• • Lorne Peterson: Model maker and visual effects artist, Industrial Light & Magic

• • Alan Ruscoe: Actor, Plo Koon and other roles

• • John Coppinger: Creature and puppet artist, Jabba’s Palace work

• • Haden Blackman: LucasArts writer and producer, The Force Unleashed

• • Nathalie Cox: Actor, Juno Eclipse

• • Sam Witwer: Actor, Galen Marek / Starkiller

• • Ian Liston: Actor, Wes Janson

• • Felix Silla: Actor and performer, Ewok

• • Bruce Spence: Actor, Tion Medon

• • Bonnie Piesse: Actor, Beru Whitesun Lars

• • Michael Kingma: Actor, Tarfful

• • Femi Taylor: Actor, Oola

• • Norman Reynolds: Production designer and art director

• • Simon Williamson: Actor and creature performer, Max Rebo

• • Nina Fallon: Actor, Stass Allie

• • Kevin Thompson: Actor and performer, Ewok

• • Zachariah Jensen: Actor, Kit Fisto

Groups and Unnamed Performers

Behind-the-scenes stage team: Supported the ceremony programming and stage transitions

USC Marching Band: Performed the Imperial March during the opening sequence

501st Legion: Costuming organization; members entered in armor carrying international flags

501st stormtroopers: Appeared during the stage comedy sequence with the Ewok

Classical pianist: Performed John Williams music as the audience entered Hall K

Booming announcer: Formally started the show

Indiana Jones costumed performer: Appeared during the Ewok reveal gag

Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes cast: Performed a condensed version of Lucasfilm history