Dwyane Wade To Be Honored With The Prestigious Humanitarian Award Presented By State Farm At The BET Awards '13

NEW YORK, May 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, June 30, 2013, live from the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade will be honored with the BET Awards '13 Humanitarian Award presented by State Farm for his commitment to excellence and dedication to community and worldly charitable causes.  R&B singer Miguel has been added to the line-up of mega-star performers who will rock the BET Awards '13 stage. Hosted by actor and comedian Chris Tucker, the show will also include electrifying performances by platinum recording artist Chris Brown, R. Kelly and many more.

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Dwyane Wade, affectionately known as D. Wade, has established himself as one of the most well-known figures in sports. Currently in the 2013 NBA playoffs, Wade consistently proves his athleticism and prowess on the court and continues to be a role model to people of every generation.  Celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year, he founded the Wade's World Foundation in 2003, which provides educational support in the focus area of literacy, health, and mentor/fatherhood initiatives to youth in underserved communities primarily in Chicago, Milwaukee, and the South Florida region. In 2010, he co-founded with former teammate Alonzo Mourning the "Athlete's Relief Fund for Haiti," which raised over $1 million for relief efforts due to the earthquake. Wade is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of fatherhood. In 2011, he was appointed to President Obama's Fatherhood Task Force and this past year became a New York Times best-selling author of A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball.

Dwyane Wade joins a distinguished list of BET Awards Humanitarian recipients who have been honored for their philanthropic efforts toward charitable causes including Reverend Al Sharpton, Steve Harvey, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Wyclef Jean, Quincy Jones, Don Cheadle, Harry Belafonte, Denzel Washington and Pauletta Washington, Danny Glover, Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Muhammad Ali.

This year the activity and excitement expands with the first ever BET Experience at L.A. LIVE!  This three-day festival filled with comedy, gospel and soulful music concerts, seminars, film screenings, "106 & PARK" tapings and so much more will build anticipation for the finest BET Awards show yet.

GRAMMY award-winning hip-hop group The Roots will hit the stage to perform on Saturday, June 29 at Club Nokia during the BET Experience at L.A. LIVE.  The group will delight fans with their classic hits and new material at this intimate concert.  In addition, they will curate a one-time-only hip-hop experience with some very special guests.  Joining the legendary Roots crew will be an illustrious group of guest hip-hop artists to include multiple GRAMMY award-winner and hip-hop icon Nelly; GRAMMY® award-winning artist/songwriter and actress Eve; hip-hop pioneer, DJ and actress MC Lyte; and West Coast rap innovator, Too $hort.

This year for the first time, the general public can purchase tickets to the BET Awards with a BET Experience VIP Package, which also includes 3-day tickets to nightly concerts at the Staples Center. http://www.axs.com/betexperience

BET.com/BETAwards (http://www.bet.com/shows/bet-awards.html) is the official site for the BET Awards '13 and features content on nominees and award recipients. The microsite site will feature exciting interactive consumer elements and include information for ticket purchase, events, schedules and registration.

BET Mobile will return on June 3^rd with the official BET AWARDS app on iPhone and Android devices with exclusive photo, video and interactive content.

Join the conversation on social media by following BET's multiple social media platforms, dedicated to the BET Awards:

Follow us on Twitter & Instagram : @BETAwards, Use hashtag: #BETAwards  

On Facebook: facebook.com/TheBETAwards

On Tumblr: betawards.tumblr.com

The BET Awards '13 will premiere Tuesday, July 2^nd at 7:00PM BST on BET's international network in the UK and Africa, reaching more than 13 million households in 50+ countries.

Stephen G. Hill, BET's president of music programming and specials, and Lynne Harris Taylor, BET's vice president of specials, will serve as executive producers for the BET AWARDS '13, in conjunction with Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment.

*All times are ET/PT.

About BET Awards:

Established in 2001, the BET AWARDS continues to be one of the most watched awards shows on cable television according to the Nielsen Company reaching an average of 7.5 million viewers annually. The franchise remains the #1 program in cable television history, among African-Americans. Each year, the BET AWARDS recognizes the distinguished achievements of artists, entertainers and athletes in a number of diverse categories, including film, music and sports.

About Jesse Collins Entertainment:

Jesse Collins Entertainment is a full service film and television production company founded by entertainment industry veteran Jesse Collins.  Over the past decade, Collins, the company's CEO, has played an integral role in producing some of television's most memorable moments in the music entertainment arena.  Formerly Executive Producer/Executive Vice President of Cossette Productions, Collins has produced award winning television programming including the Grammy Awards, the BET Awards, BET Honors and BET's Rip the Runway and has worked with superstar talent such as Will Smith, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, Kid Rock, Lil Wayne and many more.

About BET Experience at L.A. LIVE:

The BET Experience at L.A. Live is an exciting weekend consisting of concerts from A-list talent at STAPLES Center, Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE and Club Nokia, the BET Film Festival, fan festival, live tapings of "106 & Park," The BET GRAMMY® Museum exhibit, Music Matter stage, BET Revealed seminars and the BET Awards.  For the first time ever, tickets to the BET Awards show are available to the public through VIP ticket packages.  For more information and to purchase tickets to the events, visit www.BETExperience.com.

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET operates in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

SOURCE BET Networks