EVENT UPDATE: MINI TAKES THE STATES MUSIC FESTIVAL NOW FREE!

Denver, CO,  August 12, 2010. For Release: IMMEDIATE

Contact: Nathalie Bauters, 201-937-1348
nathalie.bauters@miniusa.com

Yvonne Malmgren, 586-453-2912
yvonne.malmgren@pfpr.com

Christina Brickley, 303-718-7709
christina@c5mediacomm.com

Thousands of MINIs are motoring into Denver, traveling from five cities across the US for the MINI TAKES THE STATES (MTTS) road rally. Today, MINI announced that admission to the MINI Music Festival this Saturday at Infinity Park is now FREE. Admission includes an afternoon and evening of live music headlined by Blues Traveler held in the midst of MINI activities, food and fun.

"MTTS 2010 is our largest rally endeavor yet, and the participation in the 2010 MINI Takes the States has been overwhelming," said Trudy Hardy, Manager of Marketing - MINI USA. "We have decided to make the festival a free community event, as our way of thanking the Denver community for hosting us this weekend."

The MINI Music Festival portion of MTTS will be held at the Infinity Park Stadium, beginning at 1:00 pm on August 14, 2010, and will run until 9:30 pm. Blues Traveler is expected to take the stage at approximately 7:00 pm. Featured bands include Rayland Baxter, Fox Street All Stars, 18 South featuring Shawn Camp & Holly Williams and Pat McLaughlin Band. The MINI Music Festival is sponsored by Harman Kardon and SIRIUS.

Now a free event, registration fees to date will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on behalf of the Ryan's MINI Adventure initiative. Read more about Ryan and her amazing story is available at RyansMINIAdventure.com.

In addition to enjoying the concerts at the MINI Music Festival, MTTS participants will enjoy a weekend of MINI fun, including MINI-Cross driving challenges, a Yellow Designs BMX Stunt show, a road rally, games for the family and a vendor village where participants can stock up on MINI gear for themselves and their vehicle. They will also be able to get a sneak peek at the all-new MINI Countryman, MINI’s all-new crossover vehicle which will make its way to the U.S. in early 2011.

MTTS is hosted every other year, offering MINI owners a chance to rally across the country with thousands fellow enthusiasts and enjoy the unique experiences and community of MINI ownership. MTTS 2010 was launched in early August in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, LA and San Francisco. The road rally attracted additional drivers as the MINIs made their way to Denver, covering more than 8,000 miles of road through 19 states.

MINI in the US
MINI is an independent brand of the BMW Group. In the United States, MINI USA operates as a business unit of BMW of North America, LLC which has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 335 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 99 MINI passenger car dealers, and 31 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at: www.bmwgroupna.com Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address: www.press.bmwna.com. Additional information, images and video may be found at www.miniusanews.com. Broadcast quality video footage is available via The NewsMarket at www.thenewsmarket.com.