T20 World Cup 2024: Chris Gayle kicks off ‘Out of this world’ trophy tour by lighting up the Empire State Building

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Trophy Tour has been launched at New York’s Empire State Building, with two-time champion Chris Gayle and USA star Ali Khan lighting up the iconic skyscraper.

The “Universe Boss” himself Chris Gayle had the honour of pulling the lever down to light up New York’s most iconic building in the navy and magenta colours of the event. Sitting atop the 381-metre skyscraper was the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Trophy, which all 20 teams will be competing for across the West Indies and USA from June 1-29.

The event marks the first time an ICC World Cup will be held in the USA, including eight matches at the brand new, state-of-the-art modular 34,000-capacity stadium in Nassau County, New York. Existing venues Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas and Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill will each host four fixtures.

West Indies which has won the T20 World Cup twice, has popular Caribbean tourist destinations, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago all hosting matches.

The ‘Out of this World’ Trophy Tour will reach 15 countries across four continents as it visits iconic sporting teams and stadia, famous landmarks, and legendary cricketers, while also giving fans the chance to get a glimpse of T20 cricket’s biggest global prize.

ICC General Manager, Marketing and Communications, Claire Furlong said, “The Tour will travel extensively across the Americas, igniting the passion of both new and existing fans to share in the excitement of T20 cricket’s pinnacle global event.”

“Cricket has more than a billion fans and we want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to get up close with the trophy that will be lifted by the winning captain in Barbados on 29 June,” she said.

Tournament Director Fawwaz Baksh said, “Throughout its Caribbean leg of the tour, fans can look forward to a plethora of engaging activities, including meet-and-greets with Cricket stars and legends and Caribbean-infused cultural entertainment”