Scope’s fifth annual black tie dinner raised a record breaking £150,000 for the charity on Thursday 28 November at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square. The event was hosted by Alastair Stewart OBE, ITV news anchor and Scope Patron, and was attended by over 350 guests.
Our guests enjoyed a champagne reception and dinner whilst they took part in various fundraising activities including a silent auction with over 30 lots to bid on. This included the opportunity to take part in stunt plane manoeuvres to much sought-after holiday, entertainment and sporting events packages.
Lord Archer conducted a lively auction selling wonderful lots all donated by the dinner fundraising committee or Scope supporters before moving on to an appeal, which raised close to £14,000 for Scope in just 5 minutes.
The highlight of the evening was interview on stage with special guest, rower and Olympic gold medallist Katherine Grainger CBE who was interviewed by Jane Hill, BBC journalist. The interview opened with an onscreen recap of the moment Katherine and her rowing partner won an Olympic Gold medal in London 2012…which proved all too emotional for those on and off stage. Katherine went on to give a very personal account of the hard work and endless efforts leading up to that moment, and how her life has changed since.
The evening was a great success and news of the 2014 Inspirations Dinner will be released soon on our website.