CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute is a night that celebrates ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Anderson Cooper and Laura Coates host the 18th annual event honoring five heroes and their life-changing achievements with the help of notable guests like Bradley Cooper, Pedro Pascal and Oprah Winfrey. This year, CNN Heroes will also pay tribute to Legacy Award Honoree Michael J. Fox.
To bring you behind the scenes, we talked to CNN Heroes Executive Producer Mark Doctrow to give you more insight behind this incredible event.
How are the CNN Hero nominees selected?
Every CNN Hero is nominated by viewers. We get thousands of nominations every year from viewers in countries all around the world. Our small team reviews every submission and assesses each on their own merits. Our producers conduct an extensive deep dive into researching and vetting each of these potential Heroes stories, to be sure everything is on the up and up, that they’re financially stable, have plans for the future, etc. It takes weeks, months, or even years in a few cases before the stories can be greenlighted.
How is the winner selected?
We narrow down the strongest stories and with the approval of a CNN editorial board, we select our Top 5 heroes. All 5 are honored on the annual special. Viewers are encouraged to vote online for the heroes who most inspire them. The viewers do the nominating in the first place, and it all comes back to the viewers to vote for the Hero of the Year.
How can viewers support their favorite CNN Heroes?
We work closely with GoFundMe to offer viewers an easy and trusted way to donate to any of their favorite heroes right at CNNHeroes.com. Over the years, viewers have volunteered with organizations they’ve learned about from our show, some have replicated the work they’ve seen. There are classrooms full of students whose teachers have created lesson plans around our stories and show.
Beyond the top 5 CNN Heroes, what else can viewers look forward to seeing during the All-Star Tribute?
This year’s 18th annual show not only celebrates this year’s Top 5 heroes and reveals the viewers choice for CNN Hero of the Year, we also recognize a pair of Young Wonders – twin girls who represent the next generation of everyday people making a difference. This year’s heroes are introduced and honored by some incredible and very well-known guests including Oprah Winfrey, Bradley Cooper, Pedro Pascal, Misty Copeland, Zachary Quinto, Danai Gurira and Kelly Ripa. We’re also honoring Michael J. Fox and his foundation with our 2nd annual Legacy Award. Anderson Cooper and Laura Coates are back as hosts and we’re hoping our heroes and their inspiring stories can offer some much-needed hope in these troubling times. We like to remind people that there is still a lot of good in the world.
