Embassy | Event Expo 2016
This had ‘quality’ stamped all over it. It was great to be bracketed with other leading brand names and to see the level of interest shown by the Embassy delegates – we received several email enquiries even before the event had finished! This year was great but next year will deliver even greater results for us I’m sure
Andrew Wallis, Guards Museum
Stephen Fox of the Athenaeum chats to Michelle and Donald Wolfe of the US Embassy
Eric Van Munsteren of Sixt Luxury Cars explains their service to colleagues at the Sri Lanka High Commission
Hala Wahby (Jordan) with Charlotte Broome (InterContinental Hotel)
Kerry Low and Elizabeth Stewart of the Embassy Group present Andrew Bennet (IDS) with a retirement gift
Fahima Gibrel, Anne Kamau and Purity Kirui from the Kenya High Commission meet Rohit Kapur at the Shangri-La Hotel stand
“The layout and the timing of the day was extremely well organised and gave us plenty of time to network which led to us making a number of new contacts. We have received a number of enquiries, which would lead to us definitely attending again in the future”
Amy Russell, Athenaeum Hotel
Embassy Editor Elizabeth Stewart gives a tribute to long-serving Private Secretary Sue Ali
Sione Sonata Tupou (Tonga) finds out more about The Bentley from Alina Balaci
Sara Ndiaye (Senegal) and the Ambassador of Senegal Prof Cheikh Ahmadou Dieng meet Rachel Holman of The Stafford
Talgat Bazarbekov and Arman Jarmukhambetov of the Embassy of Kazakhstan get introduced to The Guards Museum by Andrew Wallis and Ensign Richard Jackson
Sukaresh Kamis (Brunei) chats to Narumon Thanomsing of the Crown Plaza London Kensington
“This Expo gave us the opportunity to meet with the key bookers that are very often busy. Opportunity to meet with other suppliers and to further develop diplomatic knowledge”
Sandra Vieira, Millennium Hotels
Adele Taylor of The Belgraves Hotel chats to Fahad Albinali (Bahrain)
Tony Hailwood (Capital People) swaps contacts with Marcello Mastroianni (Italy)
Manuel Manzano (France) finds out more about Church House Conference Centre from Fiona Wyn
Maria Ford of Frasers Hospitality UK in discussion with Daniel Bellucci (Brazil)
Reina Sackey (Ghana) gets her card stamped from Alexandra Stephens of The Langahm
Consistently the best place to meet Embassy & High Commission officials
Tony Hailwood, Capital People
Rachel Azzopardi and Jamie Manning of Regents Conferences and Events
Abigail Chapona meets Scott Hermiston and Sherif Magid of Jumeirah Hotel and Resorts
Paul Wakefield (Heathrow VIP) gives Carolina Valdes a run-through of their services
Nidya Casey (Ecuador) meets Marie-Claire Lalor of Portr
Rory McCann (Rosewood Hotel) meets Roberto de la Peña and Olena Navas (Cuba)
“A fantastic opportunity to build relationships and connect with London Diplomatic Community! I am confident that this event will drive significant value for us here at The Shangri-la Hotel”
Rohit Kapur, Shangri-la Hotels
Kondwani Munthali (Malawi) shakes hands with Deena Amin of the Royal Horseguards Hotel
Marzena Esposito introduces Rose-Anne Evelyn-Bates and Linda Hamilton of St Lucia to Imperial Venues
Kay Shelford of the Rembrandt Hotel Knightsbridge in conversation with Sarah Sarah Meltzer Golan (Israel)
Millicent Verceles (Philippines) meets Nausicaa Pettine of AKA
Jose Azurdia (Guatemala) learns more about Bicester Village from Lisa Munro
“Very difficult to get so many people from your target area in one place at the same time, but this event achieved this”
Simon Morgan, Trojan Consultancy
Lauren Chester of Presidium Cars meets Dmytro Shchedrin (Ukraine)
Kirsten Cecilia Kruls (Westminster Collection) meets Felix Obafemi and Mohammed Issah Abdulah of the Nigerian High Commission
Louise Chilcott (BTR International) welcomes Iraklis Tetradis (Brazil)
Pieter Tesch (Mauritania) talks to Trojan Consultancy
Biagio Gaeta (Four Seasons) in conversation with Wen Chen (China)
“A good opportunity for meeting Embassy staff and understanding their needs. Kerry was very good at helping us get organised before the event, as our equipment was not delivered to us in time”
Suzanne Sells, BTR International
Graham Irani and Sharlotte Nicholson meet Yuliya Klymko-Overchenko (Ukraine) and Michelle and Donald Wolfe (US Embassy)
Signe Galschiot (Denmark) asks a question
Iliasumira Idris and Zai Zainol (Malaysia) meet Agathe Domenach of the Baglioni Hotel
Erick Larraga Avendano (Mexico) makes a comment
Panel discussion with David Naylor (FCO), Simon Morgan (Trojan Consultancy) and Kevin Sillwood (Heathrow VIP)
“Effective, good staff, good atmosphere and a very good setting for the suppliers. Good that diplomats during their workshops were routed to our supplier area”
Eric Van Munsteren, Sixt Luxury Cars
Dr Dave Morgan (Event Tech Lab) gives an eye-opening talk on event technology
Paul Gardner of Chacalli de Decker with Stanislav Suprunenko (Russia)
Full house at Embassy Event Expo
With a packed schedule of summits and VIP visits this year, London’s protocol officers and events organisers from nearly 90 missions seized the chance to attend the Embassy Event Expo at the London InterContinental on Park Lane to help with their planning. In addition to meeting diplomatic manages from a host of venues and hotels, they got the chance to quiz the FCO Visits and VIP Security Sections, Heathrow VIP and Trojan Security about all aspects of VIP visits.
New for this year was an eye-opening session on the most cutting-edge event technology from Dr James Morgan of Event Tech Lab to help diplomats manage their events more effectively. There was also a special session with Nick Maxwell of Transparency International on the upcoming Anti-Corruption Summit while cultural attachés got tips from Katie Childs from the National Museum Directors’ Council on planning ahead for their cultural programme.
The day ended with a special tribute to Sue Ali, a much-loved colleague who sadly passed away, followed by a convivial reception and amazing prize draw but even those who didn’t win a prize made plenty of contacts so everyone was a winner on the day.
PHOTOS: PIERRE DE VILLIERS
David Murphy (Honduras) meets Viktoria Peto (Sofitel London St James)
Excellent opportunity for networking and meeting a very diverse potential client base
Louise Chilcott, BTR International
David Naylor, Deputy Head of VIP Visits briefs a packed audience
Simon Morgan (Trojan Consultancy) explains arranging private security
Katie Childs of the National Museum Directors’ Council talks about cultural planning ahead
Wendy Roebuck, Head of VIP Security at FCO Protocol, outlines procedures for the UK
“A great introduction to the embassy market and best place meet so many bookers in the one place!”
Rachel Holman, The Stafford
Lyn De Jong (South Africa) poses a question in the Q&A
Nick Maxwell (Transparency International) talks about the upcoming Anti-Corruption Summit
Fetmire Sefaj (Kosovo) wins a stay at the Shangri-La from Rohit Kapur and Betty Lau of Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts
Kevin Sillwood of Heathrow VIP explains passage through airports
Dominika Bartosova (Slovakia) wins a lunch or dinner at the The Bentley from Raquel Lozano
“The event was very well organised and I was impressed with the level of information given on the day and prior to the event”
James Tattersall, Four Seasons Hotels
Yuliya Klymko-Overchenko (Ukraine) accepts a prize from Brian McDowell
Paula Franche (Canada) wins afternoon tea at the Bentley from Raquel Lozano
Tony Hailwood (Capital People) awards Yvan Shank (Canada) with a bottle of bubbly
Ajay Sampla of Copthorne Tara Hotel awards a prize to Stanislav Suprunenko (Russia)
Nick Greenwood (Canada) wins a spa treatment from Third Space, courtesy of Cecilia Oliveira from AKA
Wojciech Burkiewicz wins afternoon tea for two from the Millennium Gloucester on behalf of Angieszka Skolimowska (Poland)
A useful event that provided good networking opportunities. The sticker idea was very useful in attracting people to the stand
Rita Akiki, Baglioni Hotel
Col Jackson Mwaseba (Tanzania) wins a spa treatment from the Four Seasons Hotel from James Tattersall
Fatuma Hillal (Morocco) wins afternoon tea at the Sofitel St James from Viktoria Peto
Mona Findlay (Kuwait) wins a weekend with a Jaguar F-Type from Eric Van Munsteren of Sixt Luxury Cars
Charlotte Broome (InterContinental Hotel Park Lane) awards Stefano Agudo (Spain) afternoon tea for two at the Wellington Lounge
“Good organisation & turn up”
Raquel Lozano, The Bentley
David Murphy (Honduras) wins a lunch at Imperial Venues from Imperial Venues
Bold-Erdene Yadamsuren (Mongolia) wins afternoon tea for two at The Langham from Jesus Sauri
Maria del Pilar Mira (Colombia) wins an overnight stay at The Stafford from Rachel Holman
Adele Taylor of The Belgraves awards Daniel Bellucci (Brazil) with Afternoon Tea for Two
“Very well co-ordinated”
Shalini Grover, Taj Hotels
Deborah Dufour (Canada) wins a lunch or dinner at the Rembrandt Hotel from Kay Shelford
Ariunsanaa Tseyen-Oidov (Mongolia) wins complimentary use of Heathrow VIP Suite from Kevin Sillwood
Maria Mills (Australia) accepts a millionaire’s weekend (on behalf of Leila Hutton) courtesy of Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts from Scott Hermiston
Vivian Sidarous (Kuwait) wins a bottle of bubbly from Paul Gardner of Chacalli de Decker
Sarah Meltzer Golan (Israel) wins an overnight stay at the May Fair Hotel from Harry Bhalia
Maria Ford (Frasers) awards Godfrey Epie (Cameroon) with a bottle of Champagne
Maria Neida Matavele (Mozambique) wins afternoon tea at the Baglioni from Agathe Domenach
Tsvetin Spasov (Bulgaria) meets Sandra Viera of Millennium Hotels
