The British Olympic Association (BOA) has confirmed that the 2011 BT British Olympic Ball, which took place last Friday (7th October) at Olympia in Kensington, raised over £700,000 for Team GB, far exceeding the fundraising target for the event.
The star-studded, sell out evening, which I attended as a guest of EC&O Venues, saw more than 2,000 guests from the world of sport and entertainment rubbing shoulders with Olympic legends and Team GB hopefuls in Olympia’s stunning Grand Hall.
In total, the winners of over 140 Olympic medals, including more than 80 gold medals, were present in the room, making it a truly unique and special celebration of British Olympic success.
Among those to walk the glittering gold carpet were three-times cycling Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins, 400m hurdles World Champion Dai Greene, triathlon world number one and two Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, Olympic rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave and a host of celebrities including Downtown Abbey’s Dan Stevens, former Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm, model Nell McAndrew and singer Katie Melua.
HRH Princess Anne was guest of honour on the evening. An Olympian herself, the Princess Royal delivered a speech calling on the entire nation to unite in support of the greatest team Britain and Northern Ireland will ever have sent to an Olympic Games.
As part of the evening’s entertainment, guests were treated to performances by Sir Tom Jones and Tinchy Stryder. The event was produced by agency Fireball. The menu was devised by Michelin starred Executive Chef Tom Aikens.
Hosted by Stephen Fry and Miranda Hart, the evening allowed guests the opportunity to bid on once in a lifetime London 2012 hospitality packages donated by Prestige Ticketing, including the chance to watch the finals sessions for track cycling in the Velodrome, swimming in the Aquatics Centre and perhaps the most coveted seats of all: the men’s 100m final.
Andy Hunt, Team GB, Chef de Mission and BOA Chief Executive said: “The 2011 BT British Olympic Ball was bigger and better than ever and we are delighted with the tremendous level of support expressed for Team GB from the 2,200 guests in attendance. Raising nearly three-quarters of a million pounds from this event is a fantastic outcome for Team GB and we are really grateful to everyone who supported and participated in the event.”
