Marking the beginning of social gala season was this year’s British Ball, held at Kerry Hotel Beijing. The theme was the Swinging Sixties, and the Beijing community came together for a night of shagadelic fun and, most importantly, fundraising for two organizations that have been giving back so much to the community – China Association of SOS Children’s Villages and Gift of Life.
Founded by Hermann Gmeiner in Austria in 1949, SOS Children’s Village is active in 135 countries and territories around the world, helping thousands of children each year through school, health centers, family strengthening and alternative care programs, and other community-based work.
Gift of Life (GOL) is a Rotary supported organization that has evolved over the past four decades into a global network caring for children with medical needs. Rotary works with Hebei Shijiazhuang Paediatric Hospital in a GOL outreach program by sending pediatric urologist surgeons to the rural areas to examine children with defects, educating families about seeking medical treatment from experts, and providing clinical training to rural county surgeons, as well as covering the cost of surgeries.
The British Ball is organized by volunteers by representatives of the British community and was hosted by the Chair of the Organising Committee, Russell Brown OBE of LehmanBrown, and Steven Lynch, Vice-Chair and Managing Director of the British Chamber of Commerce in China. The night started with bubbles and the Beijing Beatles, then with an outstanding performance by the choir of The British School of Beijing Shunyi (BSB Shunyi) singing some of our all-time classic favorites, and followed by three hours of live music by BigCityBeat.
Since the first Ball back in the 1990s, the British Ball has been an annual event that expats and locals alike look forward to each autumn. Since 2003 all net proceeds from the British Ball have been given to a chosen good causes, including those raised through auctioning and raffling items donated to the event by generous businesses in and around China.
Guests wined and dined throughout the night while indulging in 60s nostalgia, from lava lamps to flower power, ending with a breakfast for the true party champions at 4am. Groovy, ba-by!
If you were not there, make sure that you look out for next year’s event, which takes place always around the end of October.
Photos: Provided by organizer
This article appeared in the beijingkids November 2019 Beijing baba issue
