Diversity and inclusivity have always been cornerstones of Los Angeles culture – people from 140 countries who speak over 224 different languages currently call L.A. home, and it is one of only two U.S. cities without a majority population. The Angeleno community has consistently rolled out the red carpet for visitors from across the globe, including 430,000 Aussies in 2016, making us the second largest overseas market following China.  

To underscore these values and the city's dedication to diversity amongst its culture, Discover Los Angeles has launched the #everyoneiswelcome initiative. This is the first major project completely conceived and created by Discover Los Angeles' in-house creative agency while Mistress' production arm, Bastard, produced the spot.

The video has been released on Discover Los Angeles' social channels and is a visual metaphor of paper planes, embodying patterns emblematic of countries around the world, “flying” into Los Angeles, journeying through 16 locations of streets and shores.

Los Angeles-local Father John Misty who resides in Silver Lake, provides the soundtrack with “Real Love Baby”. Jeremy Bacharach, group creative director for Discover Los Angeles said Josh Tillman, aka Father John Misty, agreed to the usage because the native Californian “believed in the message celebrating L.A.'s diversity and inclusivity, and extending a warm welcome to everyone around the world.”

The video features cameos from:

• Layla Shaikely, creator of the #mipsterz (Muslim hipsters) trend is seen on the skateboard at - 45 seconds
• Famed street art by Shepard Fairey (artist who created the iconic Obama 'Change' poster) is included at – 19 seconds
• Madonna's choreographer Megan Lawson and her partner dancer, Jo'Artis Ratti (Big Mijo co-founder of Krump dance) - 59 seconds
• Other people featured were Angelenos who were plucked off the streets of L.A., in real-time.

Last year, Los Angeles welcomed 47.3 million visitors in a sixth consecutive year of record-breaking tourism.

ENDS