Tom HallLondon’s Roundhouse went intergalactic last month as supermodel Natalia Vodianova’s hosted her Fabulous Fund Fair for the fifth time.
Event: London’s Fabulous Fund Fair, hosted by Natalia Vodianova
Where: Roundhouse, London
When: 20 February 8pm – late
Organiser: Timebased
The signature fundraising gala saw the iconic London destination transformed into a space-themed funfair complete with a flying saucers carousel in aid of Vodianova’s Naked Heart Foundation, helping children with special needs.
Guests including Madeline Stuart, an Australian model with Down’s syndrome, fresh from her London Fashion Week debut. She was joined by the likes of Lara Stone, Pixie Lott and Stella McCartney.
A traditional funfair was included, provided by Nationwide Amusements and the event included a Veuve Clicquot champagne reception, and entertainment from Warner Music Group DJs Gavin Koolmon from The Disciples, Jodie Harsh and Doug Marshall; mind-bending magic from street magician Dynamo also featured.
Space attractions included Dior’s Universe, Versace’s Solar Laser booth, Hailey Baldwin hosting Fendi’s Spaceball Machine and L’Oréal Paris’ Intergalactic Kissing Booth.
In exchange for a donation to the Naked Heart Foundation guests had the opportunity to spin a Wheel of Fortune to win prizes including a trip with Natalia Vodianova to her home town Nizhny Novgorod to witness Naked Heart Foundation’s work first hand.
The Naked Heart Fun Fair
All money raised funded the charity’s programmes to develop a network of free support services for families of children with special needs and to create inclusive play facilities for children of all abilities.
Founder of the Naked Heart Foundation Vodianova said: “It’s been nearly 14 years since I founded Naked Heart Foundation. All the effort and hard work we have put into fundraising for the charity is made worthwhile when I see the impact on all the children that we support and their families.”
Hannah Pierce, head of events, Roundhouse added: “Each year, the Fabulous Fund Fair pushes the boundaries of what an event at the Roundhouse can look like – their theming, catering, production is always second-to-none. The Recipe again was the approved caterer.”
Organiser overview
Timebased’s COO Jane Baker runs down the event’s challenges…
The pitch: “The three-way pitch began in July. Timebased was appointed agency partner in November 2017.
Biggest challenge: “The planning timeline. NHF launched the Fund Fair in New York in 2017 with a themed event on Halloween. With the same client team responsible for both projects, the focus turned to London only after the NYC event wrapped up. With the Christmas holidays factored in, leaving eleven working weeks to design and produce the event from start to finish. It was certainly a challenge.”
Key highlight: “The creative storytelling remained true to the original pitch. Roundhouse offers such flexibility, so we could transform the arrival areas into a space ship, complete with costumed astronauts, check-in, bag drop and passport control. The mezzanine was dressed as the observation deck with a feature cockpit and flight safety video starring Natalia herself. The reveal moment featured an operatic performance of The Fifth Element theme plus a kabuki drop that revealed the flying chairs centrepiece ride. A circular truss complete with flashing lights and haze represented the space ship landing on Planet Fund Fair – a fun and fabulous mix of games, costumed aliens, food stalls, performances and DJ sets.”
