Last Thursday, the Australian Turf Club (ATC) unveiled its highly anticipated new events venue – WINX Stand at Royal Randwick – at the WINX Stand Preview Showcase to 250 industry partners, media, and meetings and events clients.
Here, Australian Turf Club general manager hospitality sales Jimmy Busteed gives us the rundown on how it all went.
Where and when was your event held?
The ‘WINX Stand Preview Showcase’ was held at Sydney’s newest events venue – WINX Stand at Royal Randwick. It kicked off at 5pm on Thursday evening, 2 December, and was one of the first events to be hosted in the new venue.
Tell us about the planning and execution of the event
The Australian Turf Club hosted the event, as one of the first events to officially open the new WINX Stand. After 13 months of construction, we launched the new venue with an official opening media event on the morning of 2 December, and in the evening we welcomed 250 meetings and events guests to the WINX Stand Preview Showcase.
The industry has had another challenging year due to COVID-19, so it was important for us to host this event as soon as we could, and bring everyone together again to celebrate.
We partnered with Harry the Hirer for this event, and with the ATC’s award-winning hospitality, impeccable service, unique touches, entertainment capabilities, and creative flair, we are well versed in the planning and delivery of all elements of each event we host at our venues.
What were the highlights of the event?
- Preview showcase event – first guests in Australia to preview the WINX Stand
- Five-piece jazz band at the entrance to the venue
- Welcome doorman, and Clerk of the Course horses
- Open-air terrace overlooking the Eastern suburbs
- Champagne, canapés, cheese station, and seafood buffet-style
- Music duo on stage for welcome drinks
- Banquet and cocktail showcase in Gallery South
- Welcome by ATC general manager commercial Melinda Madigan
- Speech by Harry the Hirer business development manager Chrissy Kotsis
- Exclusive performance by Christine Anu
- Big screen, LED and IPTV screens, LED cubes all activated throughout the venue
What was the feedback like from guests/clients?
The event was really well received and our guests were truly impressed with our new WINX Stand venue. Here is just some of the incredible feedback we have received:
“Well what a fabulous evening Thursday was, it was sensational!! The whole industry is talking about it, well done it was outstanding and thank you so much for the invitation.”
“I wanted to send a little note to say thank you for the invitation and for creating such a special event last night. You should be so proud of the venue, it’s absolutely stunning and I can’t wait for an opportunity to hire it and also refer it to our clients and industry colleagues. Everything was so amazing, and I did want to point out the security/staff as I drove through the entrance to the carpark were all so lovely and it added a great touch to the start of the evening. As did the music playing through the carpark as I was walking through. Congratulations again and thank you!”
“I just wanted to drop you a quick note to congratulate you and the team on the opening of the WINX Stand! We had such a wonderful night and have sent the team lots of photos and videos this morning and they are equally excited about the incredible spaces. Thanks again for the very lovely invite.”
