Nice day for a Royal Wedding...

Speaking as someone who once strained filter coffee through a pair of stockings belonging to a friend’s wedding outfit, (it seemed a good idea in the absence of a coffee percolator), I wasn’t that concerned with the finer details of Kate Middleton’s dress on her big day.

My take on the Royal Wedding was how London, as a city, would perform, hosting the first major event in a series which, over the next 18 months, will include the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games.

With an estimated two billion worldwide television viewers and one million spectators on the streets of the UK capital, the day went off seamlessly well.

Even the sun shone, despite every weather report predicting rain.

And if that minor miracle wasn’t enough, there was also a ‘Good Service’ reported throughout the day on every London Underground line. I know!

As the world witnessed the wedding guests arriving at Westminster Abbey, I was mingling with the crowds in St James’s Park, taking photos which I hope capture the colour and character of the day.

My base was the London Media Centre at St Ermin’s Hotel.

The four-star hotel next to St James’s Park has just re-opened following a £30m refurbishment and it’s looking really smart…. not as smart as David Beckham in his wedding clobber mind, but well worth checking out nonetheless...

Iris Experience takes centre stage at Event Awards

Congratulations to Iris Experience, who walked away with the top prize at this year’s Event Awards.
The agency, whose clients include Sony Ericsson, Sony Electronics, PlayStation, Amnesty International and Unilever, was placed in four other categories at this year’s ceremony.

Iris won Creative Event of the Year for Sony Ericsson Night Tennis and Best Brand Activity at a Festival or Public Event for Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson. It also achieved two finalist spots for Best Brand Experience Campaign and Agency of the Year.

The Event Awards 2008, organised by Haymarket Events and my former employer Event magazine took place on 26 September at London’s Hilton Hotel, Park Lane. Some 600 guests gathered to see trophies handed out in 24 categories ranging from venue awards to Caterer of the Year and Exhibition Organiser of the Year.

Winners included GSP for Agency of the Year, Brand Events for Exhibition Organiser of the Year, Zafferano for Caterer of the Year and Private Drama Events for Entertainment of the Year.
The Innocent Village Fete, which takes place annually in Regent’s Park won its agency Sledge the award for Best Brand Experience Campaign. The Metro Ski and Snowboard Show at Olympia won organiser DMG World Media an award for Most Improved Consumer Exhibition. And agency Sprout (pictured) won Best Use of a Blank Canvas Space for the launch of the Infiniti Europe luxury car brand during the 2008 Geneva Motor Show.

The venue awards went to The Brewery for Best Conference or Purpose Built Venue, Sony Colour Rooms for Unique Venue of the Year and the Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre, which won the Green Award. London’s Royal Parks walked away with Venue In-house Events Team of the Year and Stage One won Supplier of the Year.