The events industry came together to host the biggest-ever One Day at Christmas (ODAC) last Friday.
For the first time, five different venues hosted 1,500 elderly, vulnerable and people at risk of spending the festive holidays alone.
The event simultaneously took place at ExCeL London, the Business Design Centre (London), NEC Birmingham, SEC Glasgow and Farnborough International.
ODAC was started by Mash Media at ExCeL in 2017 and has since grown each year. Mash Media managing director Julian Agostini said the events industry is ready to serve even more people in the future.
Speaking on ITV News, Agostini said: “This is the sort of thing [the events industry] can do in a heartbeat, but we have the capacity to go way bigger. We could scale up to 50,000 or 150,000. This is what our industry does.”
Reflecting on the event, the SEC director of exhibition sales Dan Thurlow said: “I was delighted with the energy and enthusiasm of the SEC team when it comes to getting involved in One Day at Christmas, and 2023’s event was no different. We upped our game this year hosting more guests than in 2022, and with a couple of additional experiences in the form of a rock choir and wider range of nail treatments, which went down extremely well. One Day at Christmas 2023 once again proved to be a fantastic day for all involved, and another moment our sector can look back on with pride. We’re already thinking about next year.”
The Business Design Centre chairman, Jack Morris CBE, welcomed the guests to the venue and hosted a Christmas quiz for attendees. He said: “To welcome those in our community who may not ordinarily have the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of festivities was fantastic. We have always worked closely with the people of Islington, many of whom know us well, so to be able to invite them to the venue for such a wonderful afternoon was as special for us as it was for them.”
Pictures by Mash Productions
