MUMBAI: US broadcaster CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, Susan Sarandon and CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour will join the cast of celebrity presenters, which includes actors Rosie Perez (Do the Right Thing), Roger Bart (Desperate Housewives), Dominic Chianese (The Sopranos) and Lorenzo Lamas (The Bold and The Beautiful) for the 34th International Emmy Awards Gala which will take place on 20 November, 2006 at the New York Hilton.

Returning as host for this year’s event is award-winning British comedian and talk show host Graham Norton.
Couric will present the Founders Award to Steven Spielberg for his career in television. Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard Parsons will present the Directorate Award to CME & Ronald S. Lauder. Presenters for this year’s event also include actress & Bravo TV chef Padma Lakshmi, French actor and 2005 International Emmy winner Thierry Fremont, Indian film and TV celebrity Anuj Saxena, Brazilian star Milton Gonçalves and Hong Kong news anchor Rose Liuqi.

The International Emmy Awards recognise excellence in television programming produced outside of the US. Over 1,000 international entertainment decision-makers attend the International Emmy Awards Gala in New York every year.

This year’s sponsors include Phoenix TV, Accenture, Microsoft, Globo TV, NBC Universal, Savvis, Ascent Media, Reed Midem, Sofitel Hotels, Variety and Sun Media Investment Holdings. Chip Quigley, Kingdom Entertainment, will produce the show for the sixth year in a row.