The Tower of London, one of six venues cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces, welcomed 140 agents, clients, sponsors and key stakeholders, to their annual showcase
The theme for this year’s showcase was ‘Event Growth’ highlighting the event teams’ expertise in helping clients to not only grow their events but to deliver creative and imaginative events within historic spaces.
Continuing the ‘tradition with a twist’ theme, which is now synonymous with events held at the palaces, guests were shown a break from tradition and the usual event formats to encourage their imaginations to run free with palace possibilities.
As part of the evening, guests were taken on a journey through the seasons, showing how the palaces can be transformed throughout the year. The atmospheric White Tower became an icy wintery night courtesy of Lavender Green who dressed the space with frosted pine cones and twig trees, and Great Hire who provided a mirror bar to reflect the icy coolness in room. Guests enjoyed a Himalayan salt bar and were kept entertained by The Dukebox Singers and Booth Street West jazz trio, both provided by Sternberg Clarke.
Flora and Fauna stilts were situated in the New Armouries stairwell as guests made their way into the New Armouries for dinner. The room was laid with ombrè-style tables featuring bulbs and growing plants from Lavender Green, which evolved into flowers in full bloom to highlight the transition from Spring to Summer to Autumn. Great Hire also provided an eclectic mix of organic furniture in the space to tie in with the ‘event growth’ theme.
Event caterers Rhubarb continued the seasonal theme with a menu which included a Spring Picnic to start featuring a quail scotch egg, smoked salmon sandwich, coronation chicken beignet and homemade vegetable crisps. The main course was summer rose veal with courgette cannelloni, potato foam, truffle, buttermilk snow and land cress, while dessert was an Autumnal foraging stall built by Fisher Productions and featuring tree structures and honeycomb elements.
Guests enjoyed further entertainment from Gypsy Dynamite guitar jazz duo; Strolling Magician, Gareth; and Ember String Trio who brought the evening to a close.
Sam Glenister-Batey, Commercial Events Manager at the Tower of London, said: “We were thrilled to welcome a range of agents, corporate clients, sponsors and key stakeholders, to the annual Historic Royal Palaces showcase at the Tower of London. The showcase is our opportunity to thank guests for their support and show them how we can deliver creative and breath-taking events within historic spaces.”
Milan Thakrar, Business Development Manager, Commercial Events at Historic Royal Palaces added: “Each of the Historic Royal Palaces event teams works closely with clients to help them grow their event and ensure it reaches its potential. This evening was our opportunity, as a collective organisation, to showcase how our venues can be transformed throughout the year to host creative and imaginative event experiences.”
Robert Ellwood, Business Development Manager – Europe at London & Partners, the Mayor’s official promotional agency for the city, said: “The annual Historic Royal Palaces showcase at the Tower of London was a masterclass in how an event like this should be done. So much thought and effort went into entertaining their clients, partners and supporters, from the clever theming being unveiled through different stages of the evening and the meticulous attention to detail, right through to the entertainment and the sublime catering. 21st-century event ideas and inspiration were set against one of London’s oldest and most iconic landmarks and this was a perfect demonstration of how truly creative and professional the team at Historic Royal Palaces and all their suppliers are.”
Additional suppliers on the night included Holly Clark Photography and At Motion.