Superstar Athletes, Including the NBA's LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul, Soccer Star Abby Wambach and the NFL's Damien Woody Confirmed to Join Nickelodeon's 8th Annual Worldwide Day of Play Celebration in Washington, D.C., Saturday, Sept. 24

NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon is adding NBA superstar athletes LeBron James (Miami Heat); Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks); Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets); Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat); Olympic gold medalist and professional soccer star, Abby Wambach (magicJack); and NFL veteran Damien Woody to the talent roster for its 8th Annual Worldwide Day of Play.  They will join the casts of Nickelodeon's iCarly, Big Time Rush and Victorious and thousands of kids and families as the network hosts the biggest celebration of play in the history of the initiative, on Saturday, Sept. 24, on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.  The athletes will also be featured in Worldwide Day of Play: Get Your Game On!, an action-packed half-hour special airing on Nickelodeon at 7:30 p.m. (all times ET/PT).

Nickelodeon's television networks and websites will go off-air and offline from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. as a signal to kids and families nationwide to get up and get active. Before going off-air at noon, the network's live-action stars will give viewers special on-the-scene reports from Washington, D.C., highlighting the activities and sharing tips on maintaining healthy and active lifestyles.  Nick will resume programming at 3 p.m. with live updates from the Worldwide Day of Play event in Washington.  At 7:30 p.m., the network will kick off an evening of primetime premieres with Worldwide Day of Play: Get Your Game On!, featuring highlights from the day's activities and a special performance by Big Time Rush.

Joining the world-class athletes in Washington, D.C. are more than 25 of Nickelodeon's most popular stars and animated characters, including the stars of iCarly (Jennette McCurdy, Nathan Kress, Noah Munck and Jerry Trainor); Victorious (Victoria Justice, Daniella Monet, Elizabeth Gillies, Ariana Grande, Avan Jogia, Leon Thomas III and Matt Bennett); Big Time Rush; Keke Palmer (True Jackson, VP); the Fresh Beat Band; Supah Ninjas (Ryan Potter, Gracie Dzienny and Carlos Knight), Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures (Taylor Gray, Dillon Lane and Ashley Argota); the forthcoming live-action series, How to Rock (Cymphonique Miller and Max Schneider); and SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.

Also on hand at Nickelodeon's biggest celebration of play ever, will be more than 50 WWDOP partner organizations*--including Let's Move!, President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, NFL Play 60, MLB, the National Park Service, National Park Foundation, Boys & and Girls Clubs of America, Kiwanis, National Wildlife Federation and National Environmental Education Foundation.

In addition to Nickelodeon's WWDOP celebration in Washington, D.C., more than 4,000 confirmed local WWDOP events are taking place across the U.S. and also in 20 countries throughout the year, including Germany, France, India, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and Tanzania.  

WWDOP began in 2004 as a part of Nickelodeon's The Big Help initiative, a kid-led movement for positive change that focuses on four key issues: the environment, education, health and wellness and community service.  Through The Big Help health and wellness component, kids are encouraged to be more active for healthier lifestyles.  

Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com.  Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).  

SOURCE Nickelodeon