20th Anniversary Ball - Saturday 15 October 2016

Is your team represented in what will be the party of the year?

Arrival Time: 1900
Dress Code: Black Tie

William Ward and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston invite you to join them for an evening in the company of other amazing Clipper Race family members. The ball will mark the extraordinary achievements of the last ten editions of the Clipper Race and every single crew member who has taken part.

The ball will take place at the historic Great Room in London Mayfair’s Grosvenor House Hotel and the event will raise funds for Unicef.

The venue that is very much the opposite end of the scale to the sparseness of the yacht you spent so much time on, and probably still have a love hate relationship with!

After its original history as a private residence for the aristocratic Grosvenor family, the Park Lane hotel opened in 1929.

Its prestigious Great Room was Europe’s largest ballroom when completed in 1934 having been an ice rink previously with the future Queen, Princess Elizabeth, learning to skate there with her late sister, Princess Margaret. Since those early moments, the hotel has hosted royalty, dignitaries, film and sports stars, entertainers and statesmen.

Famous guests have included Orson Welles, General Eisenhower, Sammy Davis Jr and Muhammed Ali.

As you arrive through the private Park Lane entrance, meet your fellow Clipper Race crew over a glass of bubbles to kick off the evening

You will then sit down to a Gala Dinner cooked by award-winning chef Nigel Boschetti and then high energy party tunes from Mike Tindall and Zara Phillips’ wedding party band MadHen and Harry Hammersmith and the Flyovers will follow. The evening will also include an auction of high value prizes in aid of the official Clipper Race charity, Unicef.

Clipper Race CEO William Ward invited all past and future crew to come together and celebrate alongside Sir Robin and himself. He said: “I really want to bring crew together and reunite the Clipper Race family from around the world.

“It’s now 20 years since my eldest son raced in the first edition and I’ve met almost every member of the crew and can see how important the bonds of friendships formed on the race are to crew.

“We want everyone to join together on this special anniversary. This will be the crew party of all crew parties,” he added.

To join the party, see these packages and further detail below:

Explorer Package
  • £3,500 for a table of 10
  • Sparkling reception in the exclusive Rink Bar
  • Three course meal, coffee with petit fours
  • Two bottles of champagne and five bottles of wine, selected from the Great Room cellars

Please contact [email protected] to discuss the corporate branding opportunities included in the Explorer Package.

Adventurer Package
  • £1,750 for a table of 10
  • Sparkling reception in the exclusive Rink Bar
  • Three course meal, coffee with petit fours
  • Five bottles of wine, selected from the Great Room cellars

Single tickets are also available. Please email [email protected] to find out how to book for this unique occasion.

The Venue

The Great Room has a rich history of hosting events for global celebrities and entertainers, statesmen and leaders of industry - our anniversary event will bring together hundreds of global pioneers, explorers and adventurers.

The Beatles played one of their earliest gigs at the hotel in 1963, and the room has hosted everything from banquets to balls, dinners, fashion shows, charity events and the Pride of Britain awards and the Boodles Boxing Dinner.

The Meal and Chef

Guests will tuck into a three-course dinner from executive chef Nigel Boschetti, who has produced menus for the BAFTA Film Awards Dinner, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Congress and more.

The Live Entertainment

We have secured the band that played at the Royal wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall. Guaranteed to get everyone to dance the night away, MadHen played their blend of mash-up party tunes at Jonny Wilkinson's Testimonial Dinner at the hotel, and at numerous events including the Goodward Revival, the Festival of Speed, the Rugby World Cup 2015 and the London 2012 Olympics. Harry Hammersmith and the Flyovers will also be taking to the stage to entertain you with their soul and jazz tunes.

Special Guests

BBC Foreign Correspondent John Simpson and climber and explorer Sir Chris Bonington will be amongst the special guests joining Alumni crew, fellow pioneers, explorers and supporters.

Auction for UNICEF

Auction prizes donated so far include a five-night package with wine tasting, food and more at the Rickety Bridge Country House in Franschhoek, South Africa.

There is also a holiday in Da Nang, Viet Nam which will be auctioned, and a commissioned painting by well-known Australian artist Ken Done of the Clipper Race yachts created during the 2015 Sydney stopover.

Watch this space for more exciting auction prizes which will be announced soon.

Accommodation

Make it a five star luxury night and stay at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

There are two ways you can reserve a room at Grosvenor House Hotel and receive a 20% discount:

1. Via internet - please go to www.londongrosvenorhouse.co.uk and use the discount code EG4.
On the left hand side of the screen input the date and open 'Special rates & Awards'. Tick 'Corporate/promotional code' then input the discount code.

2. On the phone - please call the Central Reservation on 0800 221 222 and quote cluster code EG4

Donations in Lieu

If you are unable to join the 20th anniversary event but wish to make a donation to Unicef to mark this occasion, click here.

Invitations

Your invitation cards will arrive by post closer to the event. Please provide the address you wish the cards to be sent to when making your reservation.

Reservation fee

A reservation booking fee of 2% will be taken when you make your payment.

Corporate bookings

If you are making a booking on behalf of your company, please email [email protected] to arrange the payment.

Booking Changes

Please let us know If you have made a reservation but find you are unable to attend. Your ticket may be sold to a friend privately. We are unable to refund you once your booking has been accepted.