What was the event? SportsBall, an annual black tie fundraiser for charity SportsAid, which funds young athletes to help them realise their potential. Six hundred people dined with athletes at Battersea Evolution and were entertained by sports demonstrations, awards, games and interviews with Olympic greats.
How was the brief met? Organiser Gyro put the skills of the young athletes that SportsAid funds at the forefront of guest’s minds. Olympic basketball hopefuls shot and dunked in a mini court in the welcome area of Battersea Park’s marquee structure.
A champagne reception followed under the glittering starcloth in half of Battersea Evolution’s main hall, which was split up by a red plush curtain. Visitors could wander between demonstrations of boxing and fencing as they sipped, and braver visitors could even have a go at the rifle shooting. Units with screens gave teasers of the auction lots that would be open during dinner, with prizes including a signed GB cycling suit and tickets to the ATP World Tour Finals.
The curtains dividing the room were drawn apart to reveal a dining area and guests were invited to take their seats for dinner. Guests on the special Legends package sat with a sporting star host.
The show opened with a energetic sports demonstration set to music, which saw basketball players dribbling around tables and trampolinists flying into the air alongside them.
BBC Sport presenter John Inverdale hosted the mealtime entertainment, speaking from a raised platform in the centre of the tables with a four-sided screen above it, which displayed auction lots and highest bids in real time.
Inverdale talked guests through SportAid’s work, introducing a video of former Olympians who benefited from its support, and amused the audience with jokes and stories from his inside view of sport.
There were various ways to contribute money throughout the three-course meal: guests could buy raffle tickets, bid in the auction on Archos 70 internet tablets or play the 'Red or Black' card game where each team leader won a gift from the event’s supporter Tiffany & Co. Inverdale interviewed sports stars on stage and the audience guessed who would win when he challenged others to race on exercise bikes.
Some moments of sporting history took place at the ball – the first Olympic torchbearer was announced and the One To Watch Award was presented to 16-year-old paralympian hopeful Sally Brown.
Each guest also received a Playboy casino chip worth £50 worth of play in the after-dinner casino, where bunnies sold more chips to enthusiastic gamblers. When the meal was over, cover band Hula Groove took to the stage back in the reception half of the hall and played until the early hours.
What was good?
The exclusive atmosphere – meeting British sporting personalities and young athletes encouraged guests to give money by making the charity’s work tangible. The food from Smart Catering was excellent, especially the daube of beef for the main course. The event sold out of raffle tickets for the first time ever and topped its previous fundraising record, making more than £50,000 during the evening.
What was bad?
It’s difficult to fault the evening, but a minor frustration was that the silent auction tablets occasionally didn’t connect to the internet, meaning that lots couldn’t be viewed.
On the spot
Dina Green, Head of events, Gyro
What was the biggest challenge? I think one of the biggest challenges with any charity event is to make sure it’s a fantastic event at the same time as not spending too much money, because at the end of the day we need to make sure the event pays for itself on table sales. We definitely managed that this time.
What do you think you would do different next time? Every single year we try not to have so many things to do on the organisation side. We were much better this year, but there always seems to be far too many things to do at the last minute. I think that’s the same with any event, especially to this scale.
What did the event achieve? It raised more than £50,000 - the amount was about £35,000 last year. One key reason for doing the event is to achieve recognition for the charity. There were a lot of corporates there that invited guests, and a lot of media guests. It’s key that we ensure people know what SportsAid is doing and I think that having the rising stars showcasing their sports made it a lot more real. The video of all our past Olympians showing how they’ve been affected by SportsAid was also really important.