The Natural History Museum’s Hintze Hall made a stunning backdrop to this month’s Believe in Magic Ball.

The fundraising event was held by the Believe in Magic charity – an organisation set up in order to spread magic to terminally ill children and their families.

The evening was hosted by One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson, with fellow band member Liam Payne also in attendance, so of course it created a huge buzz on social media through the band’s considerable fandom! The night trended worldwide and was mentioned in over 2 million tweets.

The Believe in Magic Ball focused around the children the charity helps. The night began with the children (the princes and princesses of the ball) and their families walking up a lantern-lit red carpet, in bespoke outfits created by Little Beven and Ralph Lauren.

On entering the Museum, the red carpet continued to lead guests into Waterhouse Way for a champagne and canapés reception while being entertained by the impressive tricks of Dynamo.

As dinner was called the children descended the staircase of the Hintze Hall in true fairytale style. A Cinderella themed three-course dinner was provided by Create Food & Party Design, with X Factor winner Ben Haenow serenading one of the young guests.

Throughout the dinner iBid provided their silent auction technology, which allowed guests to compete and raise money for the items on offer. The grand finale of the auction was the evening’s host, Louis, bidding £10,000 to have Liam’s face painted.

The outer edges of the room housed additional entertainment; in between the beautifully lit columns guests could discover a photo booth, a face painting team, the event bar and a team of princes and princesses from Hamleys who interacted with the children all evening. Event Concept provided lighting, audio, video and staging and its sister company, Veevers Carter, provided floral arrangements.

 

To find out more about how we can help with fundraising events visit our charity page.

 

MENU

CANAPES

lemon thyme chicken kiev
pea and whipped pecorino with baby watercress

summer bean and goats cheese tartlet(v)
rocket aioli and fennel pollen

Grilled chicken skewers

STARTER

Smoked Salmon Bombe
Smoked trout Rillete with crème fraiche and sorrel, sauce gribche and lemon gel

Smoked courgette bombe (v)
Smoked courgette, honey, goat’s cheese, sundried tomatoes

MAIN COURSE

Organic chicken breast
Roasted butternut squash with split sweetcorn and tarragon sauce

beetroot and somerset brie fondant (v)
potato laksa, sugar snap pea salad and a honey mustard dressing

DESSERT TRIO

Red velvet butterfly cake
with cream cheese frosting and glitter

Mini gold chocolate pumpkin
with chocolate mousse

Cinderella Strawberry Cheesecake

Followed by Tea, coffee and Cinderella petit fours

 

Photos by Holly Clark Photography