Whilst Events4Healthcare managed the speaker liaisons, conference content and logistics, we were responsible for the design of the event and all production and technical facilitation.

The ABPI annual conference is a signature event in the pharmaceutical calendar and one that we are particularly proud to have been entrusted with helping to deliver this year.

Then there is a further second chance sales window which opens on 8th July. I hate to be pedantic but surely that’s a third chance sales window then? Or perhaps the 2nd second chance? However it’s labelled, everybody can apply again this time, even those who succeeded first time round. Confused? I am and, you’ve probably guessed by the tone of this blog, that I am also ticketless.

Perhaps I should be online now reapplying rather than writing this blog but, whilst the official website suggests that there is a good selection of tickets left in various sports, radio reports this morning alleged that only those keen to watch football, volleyball or wrestling need apply.

And if I’m fed up, think about the various British athletes who are waiting to hear whether their families will be able to support them trackside, poolside, riverside, ringside or…….at home on the TV. The word ‘demotivating’ springs to mind but lacks a little punch in this situation.

More often than not, we event organisers look to these huge global events and wonder in awe at the incredible organisation behind the scenes, hoping to learn lessons and get ideas that we can implement on a smaller scale. Not this one, however!

By the way, I wonder whether Boris got lucky this time?

You can see the films now live on the homepage of the site under the banner ‘Inchcape Explained’. They aim to give all stakeholders a clear and comprehensive understanding of the business. The first 90-second film focuses on the company’s customer-centric strategy while the remaining three films reveal the scale and excellence of Inchcape’s business model and explain the company’s key channels to market.

They were first aired at a recent investor seminar in London. The seminar, entitled ‘“Inchcape – Powering ahead worldwide” was a one-day event for 100 key investors and analysts in the auditorium of Nomura Bank in London. We were responsible for crafting all the digital content that was used on the day, including adapting presentations from nine international markets and filming and editing the event for the Inchcape website. We also had the enviable task of organising a display of some of Inchcape’s fabulous sports cars outside the venue for the post-event drinks reception.

She’s come to us after 11 years at George P Johnson where she produced events and related content for clients such as IBM, Cisco, Unilever, Coca Cola, Samsung, Chrysler and lastminute.com. She says that the highlight of her career to date was an IBM party thrown in a villa overlooking Rome for 3,000 people. Themed La Dolce Vita, the party entertained guests with incredible music – which obviously appealed to Jess since she’s usually found dancing when she’s not working, either at her Zumba classes or at Ballet Rambert, just around the corner from Line Up HQ.

We’re getting to know her pretty quickly as she’s been thrown into the deep end in true Line Up style and has already presented in a pitch for us.

Welcome aboard, Jess.

Now we’re embarking on a 12-venue roadshow that kicked off at the Radisson Blue Hotel in Cork on 30th May. The tour will take in a series of venues across the UK and Ireland, finishing in Peterborough on 6th and 7th July. This training roadshow is aimed at shop floor staff from key independent electrical retailers and will introduce them to 50 new products displayed in four distinct exhibition areas.

Just to give you a small taster of what they’ll be seeing, here are some images from the London event….

@100 Pop-up shop

The wet room

Innovation Gallery

Eco Tech zone

Crane’s Eye View can reveal that Line Up will have staged four major events in the capital by the end of the month.  These include our first ever joint event with Events4Healthcare for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry at London’s Lancaster Hotel and Hotpoint’s centenary celebrations for Indesit Company.  The latter took in several of London’s venues including the fabulous space of the Victoria House Basement and Quaglino’s Restaurant.

In fact, it’s hard to beat London for incredible venues.  Every month Crane’s Eye View showcases a selection of the capitals venues that we have handpicked for specific reasons.  Recent highlights include venues that you can reach by boat, London’s hot Summer party spaces and London’s top experiential spaces.

However, as our very own Rob Leach pointed out in last week’s C&IT State of the Industry Review, hotels and venues have been quick to reflect the more bullish market in their pricing recently.

As 2012 approaches, one can only imagine that prices will continue to rise.  We have a fantastic capital city, it’s an incredible destination but let’s hope that it doesn’t become unattractive for our corporate clients whilst their budgets aren’t necessarily increasing at the same rate.

London Eye

Kensington Roof Gardens

John Madejski Garden at the V&A

Old Billingsgate

In January, Crane’s Eye View revealed our excitement at being appointed for the 5^th consecutive year to manage every aspect of the annual Indesit product launch.

We’re particularly excited to be involved this year as it’s the 100^th birthday of the Hotpoint brand and so the event will mark this momentous occasion, inviting around 1,000 guests to celebrate over a 4 day period.

It’s all kicking-off this week at various venues around London including the Grafton Hotel, Quaglino’s Restaurant and Victoria House Basement in Bloomsbury.

We can’t wait to bring you the pictures and much, much more news on this exciting event.

Watch this space…..

London Canal Museum 

Location: King’s Cross

Space: 120 people seated, 200 people standing
Line Up Tip:
This attractive and unusual venue in central London is an ideal location for private functions. How about chartering a boat trip on the Regent’s Canal to bring your guests to the museum from Camden or Islington? Boats can be hired for up to 70 people and as the museum has its own mooring, guests can walk straight off the boat into the event. Out-and-back boat trips for smaller groups can be arranged to double the fun!

EDF Energy London Eye 

Location: Southbank
Space: Private capsules hold 25 guests
Line Up Tip:
This iconic London landmark is the perfect location for a variety of events including summer parties, conferences and even award ceremonies. Take advantage of long summer’s evenings and enjoy spectacular views across London – something that’s sure to be very popular with guests from outside the capital. The London Eye’s Millennium Pier is easily accessible by boat, with numerous services that pick up and drop off from the O2, Embankment, London Bridge and Canary Wharf to name but a few.

Hilton Docklands Riverside Hotel

Location: South bank of the River Thames (opposite Canary Wharf)
Space: Dinner for 300 guests
Line Up Tip:
This perfectly-situated Hilton hotel, synonymous with quality, is ideal for hosting corporate events and is packed full of meeting rooms that can accommodate 2-350 delegates. For bigger events, the Hilton is a great blank canvas. Its large fluid spaces have numerous staging possibilities and come with top spec technology and lighting facilities. This is not just a venue that takes in London’s sought-after river view, it can be accessed by boat too. The Hilton Ferry takes you directly to the hotel from Canary Wharf in under three minutes.

Hampton Court Palace

Location: Surrey
Capacity: 270 people for seated dinner, 450+ for outside
Line Up Tip:
This majestic venue is perfect for lavish celebrations and events, particularly marquee receptions that require a photogenic backdrop. Bathed in history, Hampton Court Palace has an abundance of interesting features including beautiful gardens, historic tours and ghost walks. There are various ways to access the Palace by boat; if guests plan on coming by private boat there are two moorings on the nearby Barge Walk. ,There’s also the Privy Garden mooring by the Tijou Screens close to the palace and the Kingston Bridge mooring opposite Barge Walk Cottages near Kingston Bridge.

Old Billingsgate Market

Location: Central London
Capacity: Sit-down dinner 200-1500 people
Standing reception up to 2400 people
Line Up Tip:
Situated right on the bank of the Thames, Old Billingsgate Market is in the heart of the city and has world renowned historic sights on its doorstep. At the centre of the venue is the awe-inspiring hall, complete with magnificent triple height ceilings and towering iron pillars, making it the perfect choice for a prestigious, attention-grabbing event. For something more intimate, but equally as impressive, there’s even an underground vault set up to stage parties and film screenings. To get there, just hop on a river taxi from HMS Belfast to Tower Pier.

If you’d like to talk to us about hosting events at any of these locations, or if you have any comments to make about our choices, please do get in touch!

Crane’s Eye View can reveal that Line Up will be responsible for all technical aspects of the conference, together with exhibition build. We’ll be working alongside specialist event organizer Events4Healthcare , who has compiled the programme and speakers for the event, and is handling all delegate management and marketing.

This is a signature event in the pharmaceutical calendar, and one that we’re proud to be entrusted with helping deliver this year. We look forward to working alongside Events4Healthcare in producing a memorable and valuable event for the ABPI’s stakeholders.

This year, it’s Content Producer, Stuart Grahame, who made the cut and went along to the Roof Gardens last week to meet and mingle with his fellow A List peers.

Stuart revealed his best and worst career moments to C&IT and divulged that his dream incentive would be to take part in the first ever Formula One pit lane incentive so that he could sit with Lewis Hamilton’s team, watching the race unfold.

His personal goals are equally ambitious. Having completed a half Ironman last year, Stuart is aiming for the full distance next year.

Rather him than us on that one!

Congratulations, Stuart, from all the team.