10 Heroes

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Tribute show to honor top 10 CNN Heroes

November 22, 2009 -- 7:32 a.m. EST


Anderson Cooper hosts "CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute"
from Los Angeles on Thanksgiving night.
Editor's Note: Voting for the CNN Hero of the Year begins at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday September 23 at CNN.com, when the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2010 are revealed.

(CNN) -- The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2010 will be honored with a two-hour celebrity-studded tribute show broadcast Thanksgiving night on the global networks of CNN.

Anderson Cooper will host the fourth annual "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The program, spotlighting everyday people who are changing the world, airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT on November 25.

More than 10,000 nominations for CNN Heroes were received from more than 100 countries.

The top 10 CNN Heroes are selected by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, including Muhammad Ali, Richard Branson, cellist Yo Yo Ma, Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and actor Rainn Wilson.

Judges also include Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, singer Ricky Martin, actresses Holly Robinson Peete and Patricia Heaton, supermodel Alek Wek, actor and author Hill Harper and entrepreneur Ela Bhatt.

The top 10 CNN Heroes will be announced on CNN.com at 1 p.m. September 23, when public voting begins to select the CNN Hero of the Year at CNNHeroes.com. The CNN Hero of the Year will be revealed at the tribute show.

Each of the top 10 CNN Heroes receives $25,000, and the CNN Hero of the Year receives an additional $100,000. The 2009 CNN Hero of the Year was Efren Peñaflorida, who started a "pushcart classroom" in the Philippines to bring education to poor children as an alternative to gang membership.

"CNN Heroes has illustrated the best of humanity through the telling of stories of selfless acts of kindness, courage and perseverance" said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. "We are honored to bring these Heroes the recognition they so deserve. It is a program the entire CNN family is proud of and excited to share with our viewers on Thanksgiving night."

Since the inaugural CNN Heroes tribute broadcast in 2007, performers and celebrities who participated include Nicole Kidman, Glenn Close, Cameron Diaz, Meg Ryan, Forest Whitaker, Salma Hayek, Lucy Liu, Terrence Howard, Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale.

Previous tribute shows have included performances by Grammy Award-winning artists Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Keys and John Legend.

Performers and presenters for the 2010 show will be announced in the weeks to come.

Award-winning producer/director Joel Gallen returns to serve as executive producer of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." Among his credits, Gallen produced telethon events supporting victims of the Haiti earthquake, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina. He won an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for "America: A Tribute to Heroes."