On Friday 13th May our longstanding event partner Firebird Events celebrated their belated 21st Birthday, hosting ‘Firebird Fest 2022’ and WOW what a party it was! With over 200 industry professionals and venue contacts in attendance, we welcomed guests on a fantastical festival themed journey of entertainment, dancing, glitter and fun!

Their vision for ‘Firebird Fest 2022’ was a little out of the ordinary, but our team got stuck in and gave Firebird free reign to create something just that little bit different!  The Firebird team worked tirelessly to utilise all our spaces to create a very immersive festival feel.

As guests arrived via the private courtyard entrance, they were greeted by an array of entertainers including fire performers, stilt walking butterflies and a dancing mirror ball unicorn and bunny (we said it was out of the ordinary!). A fabulous festival themed entranceway complete with glittery rainbow arch, giant wellies, over-sized flowers and a golden lion enableed guests to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the festival party vibe in the courtyard. It really was a showcase of what Firebird excel at and watching guests’ reactions as they arrived was just wonderful!

After collecting festival lanyards and welcome drinks, guests made their way through the rainbow archway and past giant mushrooms into the Painted Hall. Here a retro selfie booth allowed guests to choose their favourite festival props and strike a pose before making their way through to the Orangery.

Transformed into a chill out festival space, the Orangery looked super cool, complete with draped ceiling, lighting, casual seating, circular cocktail bar with a tree in the middle, more mushrooms, giant boombox DJ booth, glitter artists glamming up guests and last but not least a sequin photo opportunity wall adorned with colourful balloons and a giant unicorn! (Also perfect for a special surprise guest to have photos in front of later!).

Whilst guests sipped their cocktails, mingled and took in all there was to see, our team served a variety of bowl food including cheeseburger sliders, pulled pork burrito bowls, falafel wraps, berry Eton mess and churros with chocolate sauce – delicious!!

From here, guests made their way out onto the Terrace, where they got to experience the toe-tapping ambience of our acoustic band The Herringbone Cocktail Club. Complete with oil drum poseur tables, lanterns and our stretch tent with twinkling fairy lights, Close up mix and mingle magicians worked the crowd and kept guests entertained.

As guests were escorted through to the Tithe Barn a contortionist performed an awe inspiring ambient set on top of a rotating mirror ball, with beams of light reflecting all around the barn, it really was mesmerising.

Paul Griffiths, Firebird’s MD welcomed everyone to ‘Firebird Fest 2022’ and said a few brief words, before SPARK! took to the floor, performing their incredible LED drummer act and kicking the event into full on party mode!!! The party went straight into the band’s first set with The London Function Band taking centre stage! Oozing sophistication and energy, the band wowed guests and gave the party real pizazz!! Alternating with Firebird’s House DJ, the Tithe Barn became the ultimate festival dance floor, with professional dancers performing on podiums & the stilt walking butterflies joining in the fun.

Fresh pizzas were served outside on the Terrace and a nitrogen ice cream cart in the Tithe Barn. Using an advanced liquid nitrogen injection system guests got to see instant ice cream being made, right in front of their eyes!

And then we came to the festival finale…. storming the stage at midnight, the one and only Peter Andre performed live alongside The London Function Band!! Singing a selection of songs including ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ and his well-known classic ‘Mysterious Girl’ he really bought the house down!! Guests also had the opportunity to have their photographs taken with him after his performance. Peter was a real gent and took his time to chat with guests and soak up the atmosphere. The look on guests faces whilst chatting to him was brilliant, for some it was their teenage dream come true!

The evening really was a celebration of all things fun, giving guests the opportunity to re-connect with colleagues from within the industry and the Firebird Team. It’s safe to say we LOVED hosting this party and really wish we could do it all again!!

Firebird have been kind enough to share the feedback below:

I just wanted to say a massive thank you for inviting me – it was an absolutely AMAZING night from start to finish and seeing Peter was the icing on the cake, it couldn’t have been more perfect. I loved the theming, the food, the entertainment, and being my first face to face event since before Covid, I will never forget it.  I was beaming from ear to ear all weekend, I literally couldn’t stop smiling! – Yvonne

Thank you so much for inviting us to Firebird Fest. It was a great evening, and we could not stop smiling from start to finish, every time we re-entered the room, or turned our head something else was happening, a great mix of entertainment / food. Many thanks again for the invite and to your team for putting on the best night – Nick

Here’s to lots more fabulous events in the future (although this one is going to take some beating!)  – Happy birthday Firebird and roll on the next 21 years!!

If you’d like a sneak peek you can watch the video highlights here.

Reproduced with kind permission of Firebird Events