An internationally renowned company was holding a conference in the French town of Lille. They came to us to organise the evening event for the management. What exactly did they expect? Reception at a unique location, followed by dinner within walking distance of the hotel. The bar was set high for this evening event, the ‘crème de la crème’ would be attending, and it had to be planned to the finest detail. Everything was prepared with the greatest of care. But then the heavens opened and it started pouring…
The challenges
- The evening event had to be outstanding – the bar was set high
- The weather gods were against us: it did nothing but rain, rain, rain.
Making it happen
No matter how hard you prepare, you are in trouble if the weather is against you. Moving a large group of people from the hotel to the location of an event is a massive challenge in any case, because people always turn up late. On top of that, we had to lead them on foot in a downpour.
But we soon found a way to cope in the wet. We provided heaps of lovely umbrellas in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes. The group was led off at a relatively slow pace so that everyone could keep up and stay together. One of the team stayed at the hotel to help anyone else who arrived later. We left an emergency number at the hotel entrance for the very late arrivers. In other words, we were permanently available should anyone else wish to attend the evening event.
✔ Despite the poor weather we got a large group of people to the location without a hitch.
Dealing with the ‘crème de la crème’ of a large international organisation tends to keep you on your toes. Everything, literally everything, has to be planned to the tiniest detail and the standard is extremely high. It all started when we had to identify the perfect location for the evening event. This we found in the Opera de Lille. The guests were greeted with a glass of the finest French champagne in the impressive entrance hall. The personnel for the evening were dressed in magnificent costumes from the immense costume department at the French opera house. They were impressive, to say the least.
After the champagne reception, two male and two female opera singers took up a strategic position in the dining hall of the magnificent historical building. Then the four artists sang their first aria of the evening. They filled the open space with breathtaking sound. Encouraged by the music the guests walked upstairs to ”Le Grand Foyer”, where two long banqueting tables were laid out in the impressive, historical hall, below the painted ceiling and royal gold leaf decorations.
The opera’s authentic setting, combined with the modern touch of the Stark-chairs and trendy table dressing and decoration, lent a unique character to his high-level dinner.
The stylish service, befitting of the opera’s grandeur, made for a first class dinner. The food was served from a specially set up catering area and the personnel worked like a well oiled machine. Between courses there were more beautiful arias from the singers, along with some entertaining interactions and a little play acting. Goose bumps.
The opera location was a perfect match for the company. The company, just like the opera, exudes class. To this we added the best caterer from the list of preferred suppliers and exactly the right type of entertainment, in the shape of our aria singers.
✔ The evening event was outstanding.
It was clear that the evening had been a roaring success. We saw it in the happy and satisfied faces under the umbrellas, as we made our way home to the hotel.