April 10, 2013
Wonderful as the world of events is, it’s not always fun to be faced with a room full of people you either don’t know that well or don’t know at all. In these situations, a good event planner is always able to create a reason for people to start talking and entertainment can be a great way of facilitating that. The right act, deployed at the right time can make all the difference at a corporate event. But how? How? How do you do it? It’s at times like these you wish you could pop on… Read More
April 05, 2013
With everyone suitably recharged after a brief Easter Break, we hit the ground running with auditions last week thanks to two great Jazz Bands who offered their own, differing takes on background music for events. As if that weren’t enough, we were also introduced to an exciting new street magician who, while not offering another take on background music for corporate events, did do some magic. Read on for more... The Hassall Jazz Trio opted not to introduce themselves with talk of being a Hassall free alternative to other Jazz ensembles on the market, instead letting… Read More
March 21, 2013
With this year’s International Confex in full swing, we thought now was as good a time as any to talk about entertainment at exhibitions. Conferences and exhibitions pose a unique challenge to entertainers because, for once, they’re not the centre of attention – or even just off to the side of the centre of attention, but they’re competing just like everyone else. A great exhibition act not only needs to be skilled at attracting people over to a booth, but also facilitating conversation between you and potential customers. So today, we’re offering up our Top… Read More
February 19, 2013
We’ve made no secret of the fact that - despite talk of drag acts, spirit mediums and Segway jousting competitions – our most popular corporate event acts remain the old favourites, particularly DJs and Magicians. For a recent event at Bishopgate’s famous venue, Gibson Hall, we provided both acting as entertainment during a corporate dinner. Close-up magician Gareth moved between tables performing a variety of tricks, from card magic to rope tricks (similar to the one he performed on stage at our Magic Showcase last year). Gareth had guests scratching their heads (in a good way, not a ‘why is this happening?’ way) wondering how he pulled off… Read More
February 11, 2013
With The Next Big Thing in full swing after last week’s thrilling first heat, we thought it might be a good time to talk about talent shows in general, more specifically – the acts that have come out of them. Whatever your thoughts on TV talent competitions, they’ve arguably produced some of the best corporate event acts of the last few years and we regularly book acts that have graduated from shows such as Britain’s got Talent, X-Factor and more. Here are 5 great acts who’ve gone on to make it big in the events… Read More
January 30, 2013
The search for the best new corporate event act in the UK kicked off in earnest at Cafe de Paris last night as a selection of fantastic performers went head to head in the first round of the Next Big Thing. The acts needed the approval of both the judging panel – consisting of Haymarket Events' Jo Pilston, Cafe de Paris Sales Director Andrew Birnie and the positively villainous Adam Sternberg – and the audience who were each given an electronic voting device to allow them to have their say. And-hey! Is that Rob Whitworth? Yes it is. But doesn’t he work for Sternberg-let me interrupt you there.… Read More
January 24, 2013
By Tuesday Night we’ll be one step closer to knowing who The Next Big Thing in corporate event entertainment is, thanks to the first round of heats taking place at Cafe De Paris. But it’s not going to be easy to pick a winner from this year’s contenders in what is surely the strongest first round heat we’ve ever had in the competition. Vocal harmony group The Penny Arcade Quartet, Alex The Mind Reader, Mad Scientist Magician Oliver Meech, Piano and Cello duo Y-Squared, comedy caberet singer Katie Clarke, energetic folk upstarts The Salts and… Read More
January 14, 2013
The winners of this year’s Wedding Industry Awards were announced with style at the Bloomsbury Ballroom last week with a little help from some of our most popular wedding acts. After weeks of gruelling judging, the panel (that included Adam Sternberg and Wedding Coordinator Alice Chorley) managed to whittle the categories down to a handful of lucky finalists who joined wedding industry luminaries to find out who came out on top in their respective categories. With a room full of the wedding industry’s best and brightest all waiting to be entertained and with our judging credentials hanging… Read More
January 10, 2013
With 2013 unfurled before us like a 12 month long, thick-piled carpet of possibility, it seems like a good time to look forward as well as back at the entertainment options available over the course of the year. With so many key dates on the horizon, there are plenty of opportunities to employ themes and motifs into corporate event entertainment. To make sure you’re prepped for the year ahead in entertainment themes, we’ve picked out a few key dates for entertainment and pointed to some relevant blog posts to give some more ideas. Read on… Read More
November 08, 2012
I promise, we’re nearly done with the whole Magic Month Thing, but we’ve still got loads of great footage and pictures from our Magic Showcase at the Canal Cafe Theatre and it’d be a crime to just leave it sitting there. In particular, we’ve got a handful of fantastic videos of Strolling Magicians Dan, Gareth and Damien performing at the Canal Cafe Theatre that effectively show off the three vastly differing approaches to close-up magic. Performing in the intermission between parts one and two of our magic showcase, the three strolling magicians zipped between tables… Read More
