Cicreate Organises Celebrity Charity Event in Eight Days
2 April, 2009
Event production company cicreate did the near impossible on Friday (Mar 27) when it put together a charity event attended by Ian Thorpe, Julia Gillard and other noteable Australians in just eight days.
By Gwen O’Toole
Event production company cicreate did the near impossible on Friday (Mar 27) when it put together a charity event attended by Ian Thorpe, Julia Gillard and other noteable Australians in just eight days.
Socceroo stars Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill and Mark
Schwarzer at the chairty event at Sydney’s Star City
Hosted by Socceroo stars Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill and Mark Schwarzer and held at Sydney’s Star City, the Fire & Flood Benefit event raised money to help those that have been devastated by fire and flood in Northern Queensland and rural Victoria.
As well as coming on board to facilitate the event, cicreate was also a partner, donating time and resources while Star City was a major sponsor of the event and The Sony Foundation Australia the beneficiary.
Approximately 130 guests from the sporting, entertainment and government and other industries attended to pledge their support, including Socceroo team mates John Aloisi, Harry Kewell and Marco Bresciano as well as Brett Lee, Grant Hackett, Ian Thorpe and John Eales to name but a few.
CiEvents put out the invitations, finalised attendees and worked in partnership with The Sony Foundation Australia to secure performances from acts such as Wes Carr, Katie Noonan, Angel and Rudely Interrupted. Alan Jones was the MC for the evening and the likes of the Julia Gillard MP and NSW Premier Nathan Rees MP gave speeches.
Silent and live auctions raised money for incredible experiences, such as two ring-side Hatton versus Pacquio title fight tickets at MGM Vegas; A-Reserve F1 tickets with Mark Webber pit lane access; and the chance to walk the red carpet at the Australian premiere of Hugh Jackman’s new movie Wolverine.
More than $250,000 was raised on the night itself, with proceeds still coming through.
“Whether we have a few months, or in this case a few days to turn an event around, the cicreate team is always 100 per cent committed to delivering and exceeding expectations,” said CiEvents executive general manager, Gayee McGrath.
“The eight-day timeframe to stage an event of this scale was certainly challenging, but the team worked closely with supporting sponsor Star City and beneficiary The Sony Foundation Australia to rise to the challenge, drawing on their extensive experience and contacts to ensure the night was a resounding success.”