Month: September 2016

BAFTA plays host to ‘A Night to Remember’

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During this year’s London Fashion Week, The Green Carpet Challenge (GCC) united with BAFTA and the British Fashion Council to present ‘A Night to Remember’ hosted by Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Anna Wintour, Natalie Massenet, Livia Firth, Amanda Berry, William Vintage and the Metropolitan Museum of New York Fashion Institute curator Andrew Bolton with Andrea & Guido Bonaveri.

‘A Night to Remember’ celebrated fashion from the world’s iconic red carpets – from the movies to the Met Ball and unveiled a unique exhibition of iconic vintage couture gowns discovered by William Vintage. Undeniable red carpet icons, they exemplify the values of artisanal skills and handcrafting from the 20th and 21st centuries with work by Hubert de Givenchy to John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. The event also saw an eco-world first: the unveiling of Bonaveri’s eco-mannequins. Bonaveri is world-famous for creating mannequins for the fashion industry and now launches the first biodegradable mannequin.

Guests including Victoria Beckham, Helena Bonham Carter, Joely Richardson, Luke Evans, Arizone Muse, Amanda & Tallulah Harlech, will.i.am, Caroline Rush, Mario Testino, Sabine Getty, Erin O’Connor, Daisy Lowe, Caroline Sieber, Christopher Bailey, Henry Holland, Stephen Jones, Erdem, Matthew Williamson, Hannah Weiland, Molly Goddard, Portia Freeman, Pixie Lott, Justin O’Shea, Laura Bailey, Lauren Santa Domingo, Nicole Farhi and Bianca Jagger attended.

Following the presentation, was the premiere of ‘The First Monday in May’, Andrew Rossi’s feature capturing the collision of high fashion and celebrity at one of the globe’s biggest fashion events: the Met Gala, famously chaired every year by Anna Wintour, artistic director, Conde Nast.

Amanda Berry, CEO BAFTA said: “The creative industries must take responsibility for their impact, seizing every opportunity to ensure the creation of art has a positive environmental legacy. Since 2011, BAFTA has chaired the BAFTA Albert Consortium, helping the film and television industries to act on their impact together. With over 400 organisations involved, the consortium provides the tools, guidance and opportunities to all those who recognise the urgent need for action on climate change. Five years of collaboration has seen the roll-out of environmental management tools, bespoke industry training and, most recently, the costume directory – a guide to ethical sourcing. The Green Carpet Challenge highlights important progress made in fashion and BAFTA is excited to be working with GCC and hopes that the collaboration will allow us to drive further sustainable progress.”

To find out more about BAFTA or to make a booking click here.

Photography supplied by Dave Bennett from Getty.

The House of Commons launches new menus

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The House of Commons has launched its new menus ready for Autumn and Winter 2016. Whether you are looking for a free range chicken breast or a classic beef Wellington their wide range of dishes will help create a memorable feast for your next event.
The House of Commons offer an extensive range of poultry, game, meat and fish to ensure that your guests are well fed and its award-winning pastry chef uses seasonal fruits and ingredients to ensure that the desserts are the perfect end to a delicious meal.
The sourcing wherever possible of the best regional and organic produce is at the heart of all their banqueting menus. The South of England has some of the finest producers and suppliers in the UK and the House of Commons are delighted to champion their fabulous produce.
View the menus here.

Central Hall Westminster announces record turnover

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Central Hall Westminster has announced a record turnover of over £7m for its 2015/16 financial year, ending August 2016.

Central Hall attributes much of this success to investments in a number of new technical installations at the venue and an increase in the number of enquiries from clients looking to hire the whole venue. These include PIXL, the largest partnership network of schools in England and Wales, and the BBC New Year’s Eve concert which has been held for the last three years at Central Hall. Following the success of this financial year, the venue is looking to expand its team.

Paul Southern, Managing Director at Central Hall, comments: “We are delighted to have experienced such a strong financial year. The team at Central Hall have been working hard to help drive new business opportunities and we have invested in a number of marketing campaigns and new technical installations to help develop our event offering over the past year and as a result, have seen some fantastic results.

“As well as seeing an increased interest from Chinese businesses, this year we have also expanded our concert offering at the venue and hope to grow this area of the business over the next year.”

As a not-for-profit organisation, Central Hall is committed to supporting a number of local charities. The venue has provided £1.2m for the Trustees to support international and local charities like the St. Vincent’s Family Project (SVFP). The SVFP aims to support young families living in Westminster and addresses the issues of parenting, child welfare and social exclusion by providing services for parents, carers and children.

Imperial Venues Launches New Wedding Brochure

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Imperial Venues has launched a new wedding brochure for its ceremony and reception venues in South Kensington.

With two historic townhouses, which are both licensed for civil wedding ceremonies, along with large and modern event spaces, Imperial is the perfect choice for couples looking to get married in central London.

The brochure’s stylish design benefits from beautiful venue photography, updated reception packages and additional venue information, helping couples to choose the right space for their big day.

Ceremony and reception packages are available at 170 Queen’s Gate and 58 Prince’s Gate, Imperial’s historic townhouses, both of which benefit from private outdoor spaces. Reception only packages are available in the Queen’s Tower Rooms, ideal for larger parties.

For more information about weddings at Imperial or to download the brochure, please visit the Imperial Venues website or contact a wedding expert on 020 7594 9494.

Church House Westminster invests in the future!

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Church House Westminster has invested a further £330,000 in state-of-the-art AV services – installing 4K dual projection in its largest room, the Assembly Hall as well as upgrading its sound system.

Installed in August, the new sound and projection system, which enables clients to choose from a range of high quality screen layouts, were used for the first time during The Art Business Conference on Thursday, 1 September. All projection is now in 16:9 widescreen format, in line with PowerPoint 2010 and beyond. The venue can also now provide 4K projection on a standard screen or up to 8k image on an ultra-wide screen. Clients can choose between a curved wide screen, an extra wide screen, a centre screen stage set or a dual screen stage set.

The new investment opens up a whole new range of opportunities for Church House Westminster’s clients to enhance their content and delegate experience by delivering high quality images and video, and by providing them with the ability to project multiple images on screen at any one time. The new stage will also allow far more versatility and flexibility for the increasing range of events that are delivered at Church House Westminster.

The venue has always invested in high specification equipment and infrastructure. Currently this includes high speed networked internet services via fibre and cat 6 cabling enabling delivery of video conferencing, and IPTV video relay. Church House Westminster also provides broadcast quality HD recording and streaming services and has an editing suite to produce professional videos.

To find out more about Church House Westminster or to make a booking enquiry click here.

Westminster venue secures a place on miaList 2016

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The QEII Centre’s Steven Mann has been awarded the ‘Back of House’ title in the esteemed Meetings Industry Association’s (mia) miaList 2016.

The 24-year-old AV project manager who has worked at the leading Westminster-based centre since March 2014, picked up the award, which celebrates those outstanding and passionate individuals in the sector, at a prestigious lunch on 16 September at the Park Plaza Victoria, London.

Jane Longhurst, chief executive of the mia, said: “The judges were impressed by Steven’s professionalism and felt he was a great ambassador for Westminster’s QEII – consistently delivering to high standards. They thought he was a highly motivated, ambitious team player who was very focussed and eager to learn to extend his knowledge and embrace change. He also identifies areas for improvement in the department and is not afraid to suggest change as he has a strong desire to progress and seek professional development opportunities, rather than waiting to be selected.”

Steven said: “I’m so proud to have secured a place on the much sought-after miaList 2016. I thought just being short-listed at 24 was an achievement, but to actually achieve a place is such an honour. It’s fantastic that the QEII Centre continues to invest and support its employees to achieve their goals.”

Congratulations too to the other Westminster Collection members Denis Hickey of Cavendish Venues, Stephanie Gadd of Victory Services Club and QEII’s Stuart Drummond for making the shortlist for the prestigious awards.