2012 has been a massive year for events in the UK. The Jubilee whipped the country into a patriotic fervour and The Olympics followed fast on its heels to spread a feel good factor to every corner of the British Isles.
To honour this incredible year, Eventbrite is launching a competition. We want to hear what you’d do for New Year’s Eve if you had £5,000. Any party, big or small. Let us know what your dream party would be, and how it would work, and you stand the chance of winning that £5,000 budget for the party of a lifetime. Think big, think small, think different. This party can take any shape you want, the more imaginative the better.
We’ve teamed up with some of the biggest event organisers, venue owners and creative minds around to garner their wisdom and advice on organising the perfect New Years Eve bash. Over the coming weeks, we’ll have their top tips, dos and don’ts and every insight you could possibly hope for, whether your party is at a 1,000 capacity nightclub or a 10 capacity living room. Our experts will not just be imparting the wisdom of a career of creating brilliant events, they’ll also be acting as judges in our New Years Eve competition. These are the people to impress if you want the £5k.
And now, without further ado, meet our Event Gurus:
Samme Allen
Samme is the Head of Sales in the Business Events division of the Barbican Centre, ensuring that the Barbican remains the premier business and meeting venue in the City of London. Samme also steered the development of London City Selection marketing consortium and has been a board member of MPI UK & Ireland for over 5 years and is the current President of the chapter.
David Ball
After working for design, marketing and event agencies Spy Design and Pulse and for 12 years, David founded the event agency BrandFuel in 2005. The agency has won over 11 awards in the last year, due to its outstanding work for top brands such as Google, Android and Havas. Events range from conferences for over 3000 people to parties and large exhibition stands, all over the world. BrandFuel now employs 31 people and also acts as a marketing and a social media agency under the name SocialFuel.
Elinor Barnatt
Ellie joined Wellington Market Company in 2010 as Events Manger at Old Spitalfields Market. Ellie has over 10 years’ experience in the production, operations and sales of events and venues and now manages a program of public and private events at Old Spitalfields Market.
Ciara Brett
Ciara is one of a handful of ‘dinosaurs’ at Google, having started way back in 2003, before Gmail even existed! She started out temping for a few days on the reception desk but quickly realised that Google was indeed one of the world’s greatest companies, and moved into a role as a PA supporting a number of execs. Ciara was quickly flung into the deep end and tasked with organising Google’s first EMEA Sales Conference for 600 delegates, in a six week timeframe. After that, the events just kept coming, including Google conferences, Christmas parties, ski trips, Zeitgeists and many others, both large and small, too numerous to mention!
Oliver Carpenter
Oliver is a musician, festival organiser and marketing consultant. His music projects - Mumbo-Jumbo and Stomp & Holler - led to him starting to run festivals to create more interesting places to play. He now runs not-for-profit organisation Jigsaw Community Festivals which offers venues a ‘Festival in a Box’ service which includes a music, PA, lights, marquee and stage package leaving the venue to do what it does best - sell tickets, food and beer! JCF runs between three and five festivals a year.
Ralph Cochrane
Ralph organises exclusive experiences and events for some of the world’s biggest brands. A host and presenter at film festivals including Cannes, Tribeca and Shanghai, Ralph also runs global video agency, The Creative Grid.
Mark Fuller
Mark Fuller is part owner and co-founder of Concept Venues Ltd, and has played a significant part in reshaping London’s celebrity hangouts. Proprietor of establishments such as the iconic Embassy Club, Sanctum Hotels and Geale’s Restaurants, Mark’s rock and roll approach to creating amazing venues and events sets him aside from his peers, and gives him a unique view on making amazing memories.
Liz Hobbs
Liz Hobbs has, in her time, been a champion water skier (she was awarded an MBE for services to sport), a radio DJ and television presenter (for the BBC amongst others) and is now the owner of the Liz Hobbs Group, a massive name in the world of concert and event organising at race courses, sports stadia, motor racing and much, much more.
Lucy Hughes
Lucy was part of the opening team for the unique dining and cabaret venue ‘Circus’ in Covent Garden back in 2009. She manages all of the events and marketing at Circus, overseeing hundreds of elaborate parties from summer balls to huge product launches and outlandish soirees. Prior to Circus, Lucy worked as an events co-ordinator for award winning venues such as Lonsdale Bar & Restaurant in Notting Hill and All Star Lanes.
Jessica joined the London office of AEG (owners of venues like London’s O2 Arena) as General Counsel in September 2003, and was subsequently promoted to Chief Operating Officer. Much of her focus as COO was on the planning, construction, development, sponsorship and booking of The O2 in London, which opened in June 2007. In 2008, she became Managing Director of AEG Live, Jessica oversaw AEG’s music touring and exhibition business in Europe as the company expanded and grew from £0 to £80 million turnover in 5 years.
20th November 2012
