December 15, 2021
Event name: Australian British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) Sydney Christmas Party
Event type: Ticketed corporate Christmas party
By: Australian British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC)
Number of organising team members: 8-10 full time team members plus service staff on the night
Attendees: 180
Budget: Top secret
The event
The Australian Turf Club (ATC) partnered with the Australian British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) to host their annual Sydney Christmas party at the new WINX Stand at Royal Randwick, to celebrate another year of Chamber activity.
The ABCC invited their Sydney members for a festive night out with drinks, canapés and holiday cheer. Held on Wednesday December 8, the Chamber Christmas party was an opportunity to reminisce on the achievements of 2021, reconnect with members face to face and look to forward to the year ahead in 2022.
The ABCC chose the WINX Stand for the event due to the expansive indoor and outdoor spaces. The ATC is one of the ABCC’s members and with the WINX Stand opening just one week prior to the party, it seemed a perfect opportunity to celebrate both the space and the ATC.
As a networking event, the initial plans incorporated the use of the indoor space, as well as the open-air terrace space on level one of the WINX Stand, with attendees mingling on the Gallery Terrace and speeches from the ABCC CEO and sponsors to be held in the Gallery North.
On the night however, there was a change in plans due to a torrential downpour. While guests were not able to utilise the outdoor terrace to its full potential due to the weather conditions, the indoor space still enabled a large in-person event, with capacity for 500 people.
Even with storms overhead, guests were able to enjoy panoramic vistas over the picturesque Royal Randwick, due to the design of the space; the fully enclosed Gallery North is flooded with natural light from floor to high ceiling glass.
Despite the rain, many guests were excited to mingle at an in-person event, and the ATC delivered on expectations right from the get-go, with guests greeted with canapés and cocktails from the ABCC’s event partner, Diageo, upon arrival.
The ABCC were delighted to be the first meetings and events client event in the new WINX Stand – which was officially opened the week prior – and enjoy all the new features and fittings including the elegant new furniture specifically ordered for the WINX Stand.
Food and beverage highlights
The ATC and Royal Randwick are renowned for award-winning hospitality and catering, most recently winning the NSW state title in the 2020 MEA Awards for Event Venue – Capacity more than 1500.
As guests sipped on Moët & Chandon, as well a range of wines, beer and cocktails, superb roving canapés guaranteed guests had an unforgettable experience.
Canapés included pork and chicken sui mai dumplings with spicy lime chilli dressing which were dairy free, poached prawn tartlet with lemon and basil cream which were gluten free and Sydney rock oysters with sesame seaweed and mirin dressing, which were both dairy free and gluten free.
Challenges
As the first official meetings and events client event held in the WINX Stand, the ATC team hit the ground running to deliver an outstanding event from start to finish leaving a lasting impression and upholding ATC’s world-class reputation.
The ABCC event manager did a site visit in November, to conduct a walk through with the ATC event manager and senior business development manager. At this visit, the wet weather back up plan was discussed.
The fair weather plan was to make use of the stunning open-air terrace for mingling, champagne and canapés overlooking the racecourse and the indoor Gallery North for formalities and more mingling – offering a seamless indoor and outdoor flow.
Whilst the Chamber members came to the party, Mother Nature did not!
The ATC team were on weather watch and after viewing the radar and the high prediction of rain, the decision was made with the client to implement the wet weather backup plan and move the whole event into the Gallery North.
The ATC team was flexible to accommodate the last-minute changes and ensure the event ran smoothly. Further, the client was invited to arrive early to the venue, so they could provide feedback on the furniture layout, and add final thoughts and finishing touches before guests arrived.
Client’s comments
“The team at the Australian Turf Club were so great to work with; proactive and flexible, they put forward sound suggestions during the planning process, as well as fluidly accommodating our last-minute setup changes.
The capacity to facilitate both indoor and outdoor events on the same level meant we were sheltered from a stormy evening whilst still being able to appreciate the views – and we even managed to pop out to the terrace once the rain had passed!”
Chez McKinney
Event Manager, Australian British Chamber of Commerce
“Given the challenges of the last 20 months, it was terrific to be able to get people together for a face-to-face event. The WINX Stand with its impressive outlook over the racecourse, brand new facilities and outstanding service was an exceptional choice for our Christmas gathering.
The ATC’s excellent team were instrumental in bringing together a great event for our members and we look forward to bringing more events here in the future.”
David McCredie OBE
CEO, Australian British Chamber of Commerce
Venue comments
“We were thrilled to welcome our first meetings and events client to host their Christmas party at the WINX Stand. The ATC has been a member of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce for five years, and with our award-winning hospitality in the multipurpose WINX Stand, I think it’s safe to say we helped them celebrate a big year in stunning style.”
Jimmy Busteed
General Manager, Hospitality Sales, Australian Turf Club