What better way to reward your top staff than a spectacular gala dinner and awards night? Late last year the Adelaide events team were asked by a global financial services institution to deliver a high-impact ‘Spy’ themed gala dinner, with a ‘Casino’ feel. The purpose of the event is to recognise the hard work and dedication of their employees, so it was vital the event surprised and delighted the 450 guests. The gala dinner was also serving as an awards night, so the brief was to create the perfect event environment that supported both the presentation formalities and entertainment.
A tailored AV solution to bring the Bond world to life
Our Adelaide event team tailored an integrated event solution utilising the latest in audio, vision, lighting, staging and event styling. A sophisticated colour palette of black, white and red was carried across all elements of the black tie event. The Adelaide Entertainment Centre provided the perfect canvas for us to work with. The sheer size of the venue meant we were able to build a large presentation stage, seat 450 guests in banquet round tables, as well as a lounge area with a martini bar and games area.
After enjoying pre dinner drinks in the Orb, the AEC’s entrance foyer, guests were invited to walk down a long, red carpeted hallway towards the grand entrance. Upon entering, guests were propelled into the grandiose world of James Bond. Suspended in the centre of the room from a giant circular truss, was a magnificent crystal chandelier enveloped in a curtain of tiered crystal beading. It was a spectacular feature that cast stunning, colourful rays of light around the room, adding to the excitement and drama of the Spy theme.
Two custom printed ‘Spy’ themed Event Backdrops were strategically positioned, separating the main dinner area from the from the bar, lounge and games areas situated at the back. A red carpet ran from the entrance to the seating area and added a showbiz feel.
Using modular screens for creative stage design
Being an awards ceremony, careful consideration was given to the stage design to ensure it met the requirements of the presentation, whilst also providing an on-theme aesthetic backdrop for the live performances. Our styling and design team created modular white Juniper screens which were custom built with a mechanism to enable them to open at the conclusion of the ceremony, providing a dramatic reveal for the night’s entertainment. The Juniper screens linked together, lining the entire stage, and created texture to the design. We lit the stage with a stage wash, hazers, pin-lighting and vibrant red up lighting to silhouette the Juniper screens.Two 45 meters long by 15 meters high screens were positioned either side of the Juniper screen housing ‘Spy’ themed content as well as IMAG (live-multi camera system) to capture the awards presentations.
Casino styled table settings
The table settings were styled in true Bond style with large illuminated martini glasses filled with faux diamonds as centrepieces, sprinkling colour and light across the room. A large red acrylic table number was placed in the top of the martini glass surrounded with dice and playing cards to add to the Casino theme.
Using creative event styling to reinvent the venue space
Once all the presentations and on-stage entertainment concluded it was time for the guests play at the casino tables, dance and mingle throughout the various intimate spaces our event stylists created around the room. Black velvet couches teamed with crystal cut stools, mirror side tables, cocktail tables, long velvet ottomans and other styled furniture formed a beautiful event space for people to network and mingle for after dinner drinks, a setting not often found in formal black tie events. This area was enhanced with gorgeous fresh red floral arrangements and red dice scattered around the arrangements.
A Bond style lounge zone wouldn’t be complete without its own Martini bar, so our talented Adelaide event stylists created an illuminated bar with a custom printed Event Backdrop, red ghost stools and decorated in red floral arrangements and large prop martini glasses.
If guests weren’t unwinding in the lounge zone or kicking their heels up on the dance floor, you could find them trying their hand at the casino gaming tables, where we positioned two poker tables and a roulette wheel with a custom designed gaming table skin in front of an illuminated Event Backdrop.
The entire room was cloaked in black velvet draping with decorative gobos projecting dancing light along its walls. The culmination of all elements working harmoniously together resulted in a stunning, immersive event that transported guests into the suspenseful world of James Bond.
And as a final touch – a vintage Jaguar car was positioned in the far corner of the room with life-sized black silhouettes alongside for a classic Bond feel.
Our Adelaide Events Team
Our local events team is based across eight key venues and is headed up by General Manager, Ashley Gabriel. The team are 100% Adelaide-proud and their passion for the outdoors makes them key suppliers to some of the city’s main summer events, including the Adelaide Christmas Pageant, Clipsal 500 and year on year sponsorship and AV for the Adelaide Crows. If you’re looking to host your next corporate event in Adelaide, than we’re the experienced events team you can rely on. We proudly offer Australia’s largest range of event services across audio, lighting, staging, vision and extending to styling, multimedia and digital event solutions like webcasting, live polling and event social media. Get in touch with us today or call 1800 209 099 to speak with one of our event experts.
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