There
sure seems to be a lot of people coming to London this summer… can’t
imagine why that would be. But with the influx of visitors to the
nation’s capital, we’re going to have a lot of event guests from
different countries here to see what London has to offer. But what does
London have to offer? Well lots of things. But which ones should we use
for corporate events with guests from different countries? Now there’s a question.
With
all the language barriers and cultural differences that come with
entertaining foreign event guests, it can be tough to judge what acts
would be best suited to the job, but as a supplier of entertainment for corporate events,
we’re experienced in providing entertainment that everyone can enjoy.
So for anyone who’s hoping to impress a group of guests who are just
stopping by in this great city, here are my top tips for entertaining overseas guests.
Celebrate our history
Without
a doubt, one London’s biggest draws is its wealth of historical venues
to visit, and even better hold events in. This is a fantastic
opportunity to celebrate London’s rich history through entertainment –
which doesn’t necessarily mean arranging a lecture on the Norman
Invasion (though for the right event, it’s always an option) but can
instead focus on anything from celebrating Britain’s contribution to
Music, to bringing in costumed historical characters or even recreating sports such as jousting or archery and giving them a modern twist.
Play on people’s perceptions of ‘Britishness’
Buttoned
down, bottled up, stiff lipped, repressed, dentally challenged, dog
lovers, shop keepers, evil super villains in Hollywood Blockbusters…
accurate or not, there are plenty of stereotypes about British people
that everyone is at least somewhat familiar with and playing with or
even outright confounding these expectations is a brilliant way to have
fun with your audience. That could be with a surprise act like
Breakdancing Waiters, or the acrobatic English Gents who have fun with
the dour image of the typical… well, English Gent.
Be careful with ‘wordy’ acts
This
one might go without saying but it’s worth remembering all the same.
When you’re dealing with guests from the furthest corners of the globe,
language barriers are always going to be an issue and even if, as is
often the case, your guests speak excellent english; some of the (*eh
hem*) subtleties of our sense of humour can become lost in
translation. That’s not just things like Stand Up Comedians but also
after dinner cabaret acts too. Take the Singing Waiters for example,
while the concept itself can be enjoyed by anyone (they even sing in
Italian), the ‘reveal’ part of the act involves a little ‘exposition’ on
the part of the permers (“I never wanted to be a waiter, you can
take your job and stick it… etc) which could get lost in a room full
of non-English speakers. Not a deal breaker by any means – but something
to bear in mind.
Incorporate other cultures
One
of the great things about London is the smorgasbord of different
nationalities and cultures that have gathered in the nation’s capital.
One of the great things about booking corporate event entertainment for
events in London is that that cultural smorgasbord has made some of the
best musicians from around the world available for live permances at
events. That means if you want to add an Oud and Percussion duo into
Organic Jam, then Kerblam! You have yourself some contemporary background music with a Middle Eastern twist.
…But try not to ‘sell coal to Newcastle’…so to speak
There’s a saying round these parts (Britain)
that equates a pointless action with ‘selling coal to Newcastle’ which
dates back to a time when the region was annually exporting 15,000
tonnes of coal. The point is, they’ve got enough coal, they probably
want to sell you coal. It’s unlikely they’ll be that interested in your
coal. Supply and demand etc. Though coal mining isn’t as harsh and
unforgiving as booking entertainment for corporate events, there’s a
similar principle at work when it comes to entertaining overseas
visitors. While it’s a great idea to incorporate some entertainment from
a particular region into an event, remember that a group of Spanish guests have probably seen their share of flamenco dancing.
The original blog was featured here. Any comments? Email conferencenews@mashmedia.net
