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'Less glitzy' charity ball sticks to £10,000 tickets
Sri Carmichael04.03.09
The biggest charity fundraising event in London is to be trimmed back because of the recession - but will still have £10,000-a-seat tickets.
Absolute Return for Kids, the charity run by hedge fund chairman Arpad "Arki" Busson, is to hold its annual ball in Waterloo Station's former Eurostar terminal.
The event this summer will be "appropriate to the times we're in" and less lavish than last year's party at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich for the charity, which funds city academies in London and helps children in India, South Africa and eastern Europe.
More than 1,100 guests raised £25.5million at the event, hosted by Mr Busson and fiancée Uma Thurman.
They included Tony Blair, Liz Hurley and Italian designer Valentino, Jemima Khan, David Furnish and Trudie Styler.
But the financial muscle was provided by hundreds of the wealthiest members of the hedge fund community, who Mr Busson expects to turn out in force for the party in Waterloo in June.
Mr Busson, who is chairman of hedge fund investor EIM, said: "We've got to take - a little bit - the glitz away. We're going to be saving money everywhere."
Fewer guests are expected but the best tables will cost £10,000 a person - and Mr Busson still expects his guests to be impressed. "It is going to be mind-bogglingly wow factor," he said.
The scaling-back reflects the economic difficulties facing hedge funds, but the party is one of several which will go ahead despite the recession.
The Raisa Gorbachev Foundation party, which last year raised more than £2million for cancer research, will charge £15,000 a table, and Sir Elton John's White Tie and Tiara party is also still planned to take place.
