Cool Britannia A Review for Absolute
Midsummer Ball presents Cool Britannia, in association with Doubletree by Hilton Brighton Metropole and E3 Events By Design
Absolute Magazine were honoured to attend the Mid-Summer Ball 2023 ‘Cool Britannia’ Themed evening event on Saturday 24th June 2023, which celebrated the Kings Coronation and all things British! The evening was a huge success and the guests were in awe of the wonderful entertainment and prizes available. Everyone was dressed to the nines in their best British-themed outfits, ready to have a night to remember.
This year the worthy local charities that the event was supporting were Starr Trust, who’s mission is to remove roadblocks for young people to help them succeed and thrive in whatever they put their minds to, Focus Foundation, who aim to connect communities with a focus on grass-roots charities to make a lasting difference to disadvantaged peoples lives, You Raise Me Up, offering emotional & mental health support to families that have lost a young adult between the ages of 16 & 25, and Together Co, who battle loneliness and social isolation through award winning befriending, volunteers and social prescribing. Everyone was delighted to support these amazing causes and the event was a great way to raise awareness and funds.
The night started with a gorgeous three-course dinner served with wine, where the guests were able to mingle and get to know one another. We were seated on a table full of distinguished guests including the Mayor of Brighton, the Financial Direct or of the Hilton Metropole Hotel, and the lovely television personality and former model, Gail Porter! All of whom made us feel very welcome and we had a great time chatting to before our host for the evening Pete Constanti got us all in the mood to spend some money to support all the amazing charities.
After dinner, the fun began. The games started with the Jukebox of Luck, where guests had to select records with prizes attached. The prizes were amazing, including luxury hotel stays, champagne, and dinner vouchers.
The next game was the King or Queen game hosted by Allison Ferns, where tables competed against each other to win prizes. It was a British themed general knowledge game that got progressively harder, and everyone had a lot of fun playing it. We unfortunately got knocked out early on in the competition, but still had a great time watching the rest of the guests slowly being whittled down to the final two, who finished up with a tense head to head at the end competition before the winner was crowned!
The entertainment continued with various acts performing in the “Britain’s Got Talent” game judged by Gail Porter, Jodie Michele and Robin Cousins MBE. The acts were incredible, including a great fun Spice Girls impersonator group, an all male over 40’s dance troupe called the Outta Puff Daddies, Aneesa (a fantastic singer who supports LGBTQ+ hospices and charities) and Raise me Up (a wonderful extremely talented theatre troupe for 7-18 year olds). All the acts performed their hearts out and were a real joy to watch. The judges must have been relieved that the final decision on the winning act was ultimately down to the audience!
A silent auction went on throughout the night where guests were able to bid for fantastic prizes, and at towards the end of the evening a live auction took place which had prizes including a two night VIP stay in the presidential suite at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, Five nights in Singapore, and a Kenyan Safari! Celebrity auctioneer David Hill did a fantastic job getting as many bids as possible out of an already incredibly generous crowd!
At the end of the evening, the guests were able to dance the night away. There were also fairground attractions and even dodgems in the surrounding halls which were great fun, especially after the copious amounts of wine consumed throughout the evening!
The night was an incredible success and everyone had a wonderful time. The funds raised for the charities were amazing and the event was a great way to celebrate the very best of British. We cannot wait for next year’s Summer Ball event!
Tony Shattell
