The London City Selection experiential weekend entitled ‘Twist of Fete’ held on 15-17 July saw a 30 percent increase in attendee numbers. It brought a host of agency buyers to the City of London to experience everything these fantastic venues have to offer, experiencing the city as a complete destination.
The event was such a success that the LCS received one enquiry over the weekend and two since with a combined value in excess of £20,000, once again proving the benefit of this annual event.
Samme Allen, LCS chair and Barbican business development manager: "A 30 percent jump in attendees shows that our experiential weekend has proved incredibly popular with agency planners over the last few years. This year we had a cross section of both large and small agencies showing that they are taking the destination seriously for their clients. It offered a chance to see the City’s venues in a very different light to a normal fam trip. Above all they had an opportunity to experience the destination as actual event attendees do. The icing on the cake is the speed with which we have already received enquiries."
Activities over the weekend included a Pier at the Barbican including fortune-telling by Gypsy Rose Allen (LCS chair, Samme) a cake decorating event at the Crowne Plaza Shoreditch, City Skittles at the Malmaison, Archery at Hoxton Hotel and Planet Fishing at CCT Barbican.
The traditional fete theme included:
• Friday evening: A barbeque at the Brewery, allowing the attendees to meet the teams, network and find out the details for the rest of the weekend, including the competition plan.
• Saturday daytime: The competition started with each venue creating challenges that allowed the planners to experience the venues as only an event delegate can.
• Saturday evening saw the delegates head off to Trinity House where prizes were given out at a champagne party followed by a late night event at the Hoxton Pony.
One delegate said: "We really enjoyed being at the LCS experiential weekend. It was a great opportunity for networking, we had plenty of chances to see the venues hosting the weekend, demonstrating the City of London’s high quality event offering."