Event 150th Emirates Melbourne Cup Celebration Dinner
Venue Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
Organiser Victoria Racing Club
Guests 270
Date September 11
The brief
This year marks the Victoria Racing Club’s (VRC) 150th Emirates Melbourne Cup with an extensive 220-day tour of 42 global destinations including Tokyo, Los Angeles, London and Singapore.
The VRC wanted to host an event for Hong Kong’s racing, business and fashion industries to celebrate this milestone and to strengthen ties between the racing communities in Hong Kong and Australia.
Challenges
The event programme had to be entertaining enough to appeal to a broad audience. The organisers incorporated several elements including audiovisual presentations, interviews with prominent horse trainers and a fashion runway segment.
The Grand Hyatt was fully booked on the weekend of the event, which meant there was very little time to transform the ballroom into an appropriate setting for the celebration dinner. Despite this, the hotel’s events crew had the room ready on time.
“The audiovisual component is an important element of the event and, while we liaise via email and endeavour to explain all our requirements beforehand, from experience we can never finalise the set-up until we are on-site, when DVDs can be tested and final briefings are given,” says VRC deputy CEO Sue Lloyd Williams.
Australian produce, including wines and lamb, were imported especially for the event and the menu was designed by Australian restaurateur Guy Grossi.
“We take pride in showcasing our produce, hence we require the hotels to work with us in this regard,” says Williams. “The cooperation and mutual respect between the hotel head chef and Mr Grossi was wonderful.”
Sending the invitations from Melbourne and collating RSVPs and cancellations by email was also a challenge.
Execution
The purpose of the event was to show the audience the natural relationships between racing, business and fashion, and celebrate 150 years of the Emirates Melbourne Cup. The evening featured an interview with prominent Australian horse trainers David Hayes and David Hall, who have many connections with the Hong Kong racing world.
The business segment included an award presented by Aushorse Marketing to the best-performing Australian thoroughbred in Hong Kong.
Comment
Williams says: “As a repeat client we can only speak highly of the venue and its staff. Grand Hyatt works really well for us because of its proximity to the business and racing area, and the glamour and style of the venue. The ballroom featured a stage and a giant screen, which were important for our event.”