Simply put, one minute you are COOL, the next minute you may not be.
COOL is a matter of opinion. It is perhaps the greatest currency you can possess; whether you are running for President, or pitching for the next big event! It is what gives an events venue the position of strength when negotiating with an event organiser. The COOL Venue Awards, an entirely unique and defining accolade, were developed in 2007 by Wesley Mendy of Prestige Events magazine to recognise an unsung, but probably the largest influential element that emerges in the process of planning a corporate event – How exciting is the venue? Will the invitees RSVP? Will they turn up?
In the current economic climate, the pressure on an event organiser is even more apparent. The need for an event venue to gain the chance to position itself aside form it’s rivals has more emphasis than ever before.
Every corporate event organiser strives to ensure their next event is THE hot ticket.
Over the past ten years, Prestige Events magazine (est. 2003) has tried to identify for its readers venues which will make the difference, and set it’s editorial compass on what’s COOL for the benefit of it UK readership of event organisers.
The barometer should not be biased towards all that is ‘new’ in our opinion. There is always a place for the classic / heritage venue. They often possess a character, charisma, and class that many ‘newer’ builds cannot yet match.
So what is the criteria used to determine who is COOL?
A COOL venue should have: Charisma, Originality, Style, Innovation, Sex Appeal, Authenticity, Aspiration, and Uniqueness. COOL is a very personal opinion. Therefore, a panel of judges was selected to form a judges council. Each understood the intrinsic factors, elements and characteristics that deem a venue to be COOL.
The judges council represents a diverse collective; writers, industry figureheads, and event organisers / specialists. They have applied the strict guideline that each nominee should not be selected as a result of its technical capabilities, since many of these facets (lighting, AV, etc) can be imported. We have continued to decide against giving you a couple of ‘runners-up’ in each category. Firstly, it gives you – the event organiser – no wide scope of alternatives, and secondly, as a magazine we are supposed to be giving you advice and guidance.
Tell me about the last event?
On an evening sponsored by Mont Blanc, guests were treated all-night to a complimentary range of fabulous drinks courtesy of Tanqueray Gin, Jeremiah Weed, Mahiki Coconut, Tiger Beer, and Pussy, fed by the award-winning Eden Caterers who replenished guests with a combination of streetfood and canapés, whilst all were being entertained byUrban Soul Orchestra, Breakdancers (Scanners inc.),
Burlesque performers (The Cheek Of It), Close-up magic (Zap’s Magic), and a music playlist that had all and sundry throwing shapes courtesy of Ministry of Sound’s Martin 2smooth, and Tim Cullen (of Mint DJ’s), and Peter Poyton (officially the world’s 2nd best soul/funk DJ).
The category winners were the beneficiaries of beautiful crystal awards created by the craftsmanship of EFX (hey, good enough for GQ and Google, good enough for us).The evening was captured on film by Boko Creative (creators of Coca Cola commercials), and the brilliant Matt Chung Photography.We cannot end this reflection without thanking other sponsors including MCL Europe for their amazing technical production, Megabooth for the COOLest photobooths, Londonlaunch, A&A Prestige Chauffeurs who ferried our VIP’s,and C3 Imaging for the fantastic sponsors walls, banners, and graphics. Last but not least, once again our deepest special thanks to Ministry of Sound’s Isla McKenzie.
