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EuBEA 2011 – Milan, European Capital of Events
The name of the winner was finally revealed at the sixth edition of the European Best Event Awards, held on Wednesday 23 November as part of the Bea Expo Festival.
“Surprise Catwalk“, an unconventional event organized by Fieldwork for its client The Salvation Army (Fretex), won the coveted Golden Elephant. The bubbly presenter Paola Maugeri did the honors at the prestigious Spazio Eventiquattro in Milan (headquarters of the Group 24 Ore), where a festival dedicated to the event industry and organized by ADC Group was taking place.
The winning event comes from Norway. The agency Fieldwork set up a surprise fashion catwalk in front of the subway exit in the heart of Oslo and the subway passengers unexpectedly found themselves playing the role of top models. Obviously the initiative aroused great astonishment among the people present who, coming out of the subway, found themselves the ‘protagonists’ of the new Fretex collection. On the red carpet, waiting for them were famous fashion designers, journalists, models from the Oslo Fashion Week, as well as a famous DJ who took care of the soundtrack for this very original fashion shows. The event received great media coverage on television, magazines, blogs and social networks.
You can see the video of the event by clicking on this link.
The Silver Elephant of the European Bea 2011 went to EDP’s 35th birthday – ‘Energia Douro Concert’, organized by Desafio Global Ativism SA for its client EDP – Portuguese Electric Power Company. For a long time, EDP had been asking its own agency to create a special event, a unique experience to celebrate the importance of the company and generate awareness regarding the social and environmental aspects it is concerned with. The opportunity arose for the 35th anniversary of the company when the new logo, designed by Stephan Saigmeister, was revealed. At this point the challenge was ‘easy’: achieve the impossible. Many had attempted – with little success – to create a floating stage on the river Douro; other events, with better fortune, had managed to create unlikely places, such as a dam or a cave. But, after three months of production and in partnership with the television channel Sic for the live broadcast of the event, the team managed to organize one of the most impressive concerts of all times on Portuguese territory. A 600 sqm stage, built by a team of 250 men, an audience of 50.000 people and VIP guests, both on the stage and on the two-floor boat placed in front of it. One million people followed the event on TV, generating very large media coverage, with a return of nearly five million euro in advertising and editorial spaces. All this contributed to making EDP’s birthday celebration the event of the year.
You can see the video of the event by clicking on this link.
The third place on the podium of the European Bea went to the event signed by Vok Dams Agency for Events and Live-Marketing, “Skoda World Dealer Conference“, for Skoda Auto. For the “Big Bang” concept, the O2 Arena in Prague, one the largest arenas in Europe, was not enough. The organizers therefore followed the two keywords that had emerged during a briefing, “surprising and fresh” and designed a horizontal separation of the arena at a height of five meters. The “new floor” became a symbol of the brand’s new beginnings and its commitment: the opening up was symbolically triggered by a button, which ‘filled’ with energy generated by the statements of the management, especially by keywords, as well as by the acoustic interaction of the 5.000 people present. Another showroom was also created in which the guests could enter, divided in groups, to appreciate the brand’s new look. The showroom will serve as a ‘lab’ and remain open for a year. Overall, the concept, with its dynamic implementation, was unique and of great impact, even for Skoda (“The New Power of Skoda!”).
You can see the video of the event by clicking on this link.
The sixth edition of the European Best Event Awards saw the participation of 100 events, compared to 91 last year. Of these, 50 were shortlisted. Carlo Hermes, expert in corporate communication and consultant at Eni for Ceremonies and Events, led the European jury.
You can see the video of the ceremony by clicking on this link.