Annual Dinner 2011

On the evening of the Thursday 26th of May, over 830 of the industry's finest arrived at the Grosvenor Hotel, Park Lane, London to enjoy a truly astonishing evening at the ABFA Annual Dinner 2011.

This year the number of attendees again demonstrated how popular this event is and what an important social engagement this event is in the industry's calendar.

The evening began with a Champagne Reception on the balcony of the Great Room where guests were welcomed by the ABFA team and Toastmaster. The balcony was the perfect place to network and gave guests their first view of the wonderful African-themed room below, where live drum music was being played.

Once everyone was seated, Toastmaster welcomed everyone to the Dinner and introduced the Drum Cafe who engaged everyone in their performance, with every guest being given their own personal drum. Then, Steve Box, ABFA Chairman, kicked off the evening with a welcome speech which was followed by grace from Edward Wilde.

As always the food was delicious, proving the Grosvenor, once again, to be the perfect venue for this prestigious event. After dinner Steve hosted the Heads and Tails' challenge in aid of The Gene Machine, a leukaemia charity founded by Hilary Craft at Regency Factors. The winner was rewarded with £1,000 in Selfridge’s vouchers presented by Hilary herself. We are pleased to announce that just over £7,700 was raised on the night. We cannot thank you all enough for your generous donations in support of such a worthwhile cause.

Later on, and a first for an ABFA Annual Dinner, Steve Box announced the latest winner of the ABFA Lifetime Achievement Award - David Robertson. David thanked everyone for their support and we wish him well as he begins his retirement. Next our after-dinner speaker, Britain's biggest comedy star, Michael McIntyre, took to the stage and reminded everybody why he is so popular. He's act was perfectly tailored to the audience and the evening and he had everyone laughing. We are delighted that he was able to join us and help make the evening so memorable.

After a final thank you from Steve, it was time for the party. Everybody was ready to have a good time and DJ – Sound Bookings did not disappoint! The party began in full swing with a great selection of modern, pop & oldies hits which encouraged many onto the floor to dance the night away. The party was lively and dance floor was full for the entire night.

We hope that all those that attended enjoyed it. We look forward to welcoming you again next year! Details and location to be announced nearer the time.

More photos of this event will be available from our photo gallery.