Q: What do you get when you combine a black-tie reception with penguins, bicycle rickshaws racing through the zoo, a llama at cocktails and the Amphibian Avenger?
A: Our “Evolutionarily Distinct” event at London Zoo, of course.
The event was truly one of a kind. People arrived in black tie to a champagne reception on Penguin Beach. From there, sporting wellington boots, they were whisked off on rickshaws to visit some of the zoo’s more unusual residents. That the heavens opened proved no obstacle to our guests’ sense of adventure: each embraced the experience of their bespoke zoo tour – canapés in one hand, bubbles in the other and blankets to keep them warm. Once the tour was over, guests were dropped off at the Mappins Pavilion for apple martinis and some more crazy animal encounters – the look on the peoples’ faces when the llama approached them was priceless.
After dinner, guests heard from Adam Sweidan (Chairman and Founder, SE), and Jonathan Baillie (Conservation Programmes Director, Zoological Society London) on why species are worth saving regardless of their worth to humankind. Lucy Cooke, the effervescent Amphibian Avenger and TV presenter who loves all ugly animals, topped it all off with her hilarious vignettes about her travels with frogs and sloths.
There was plenty of laughter throughout the night, which ended with some live Afro-Cuban music and a few nightcaps and mint tea on the pavilion.
We hope that everyone enjoyed this event, and are extremely grateful to all our table hosts and guests for making the evening an enormous success: their contributions both financial and otherwise, coupled with a true sense of adventure and a terrific sense of humour made the evening a hit.
