Organiser Fireball has invited all 114 medalists to the annual fundraiser for Team GB, which is taking place at Grosvenor House in London.
Amanda Heathcote, chief executive of Fireball, told Event: "We’ve invited all the medalists and more than two thirds of them have accepted. There will be medalists everywhere. Some of those we’ve invited are in training camps that they can’t get out of, but we’re expecting at least 100 medalists from this year as well as previous Team GB ambassadors."
This year’s ball will be a smaller and more intimate affair than last year’s party in Olympia which was covered in the November/December 2011 issue of Event.
"It was a mass blowout last year because it was the year before the Games," said Heathcote. "You couldn’t really repeat that. We’re making it a more intimate party this time and taking the guest list down from 2,000 to 1,200. The athletes can celebrate in a secure environment, and we’ve also invited lots of supporters of Team GB to raise money for the future."
Fireball is hoping the event will raise a similar figure to last year’s total of £700,000. Auction lots for the night include a board signed by every 2012 medalist and Olympic torches from the 2012 and 1948 Games.
In honour of the next Olympics in Rio in 2016, Grosvenor House will be transformed into a samba party at the end of the evening. "For the last hour or so we will go a little but crazy, with a huge samba display. The evening’s theme is gold and white but I’m going to change the event into Rio at about 1am, with different lighting and music."
Fireball has organised the British Olympic Ball since 2010. Before that the event ran for more than a decade under the title The Gold Ball.
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