Saturday Nov 12, 2005

One of the UK's leading exhibition, conference and event venues, ExCeL London, was chosen by the Music & Events Division of Emap Performance to stage the inaugural Kiss Awards - an inspirational, creative and star studded awards ceremony that reflected the essence of Kiss and induced a young, energetic vibe. The Kiss Awards was organised by head of events, Francesca Ambrosini, with live performances from Sean Paul, Toni Braxton, Angie Stone, Craig David and Ms Dynamite.

It was important to be able to create an event that looked incredibly glamorous yet retained Kiss FM's urban spirit, and ExCeL London allowed them to do exactly this. Francesca was highly impressed with the flexibility of the venue's space: "As the event was televised on Channel 4 we had to be creative and create an atmosphere and visual impact which viewers could associate with Kiss, without actually showing any stage branding. We created an arena and a layout, which we thought would work for the show and it did. The backstage facilities we created were really good - far better than what we could achieve in most music venues or theatres in London."

Emap Performance enlisted the help of a talented team to work on the event including technicians, designers, engineers, a PR team, the Kiss radio team, artists, record label executives, caterers, security and the main event production people - Tony Wheeler and Jane Kelly from Nine Yards. It also commissioned the filming and running of the show from the TV production company Done and Dusted.

Artists were able to practice on the day of the Kiss Awards with camera rehearsals taking place from 8.30 in the morning and full dress rehearsals between 2.30 and 4.30. ExCeL London's central boulevard was used for pre-show hospitality whilst the awards were staged in the event halls where a tiered seating arena was set up.

The public response to the Kiss Award was met with much enthusiasm, attracting an audience of 2,700 on the night, including 200 guests within a VIP dining area. Emap Performance was extremely pleased with the ceremony, as Francesca remarked: "I was delighted. The ExCeL London team worked really hard with us to make sure the event was successful. The professionalism offered by the venue clearly distinguishes it from others."

Notes to editor:

Since opening in 2000, ExCeL London has hosted over 1500 events including trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences, sales meetings, product launches, annual general meetings, gala dinners, parties and awards ceremonies.

In addition to the convenience of six hotels with 1500 hotel rooms within a five minute walk of the venue's event facilities, the venue also offers over 30 bars, cafes and restaurants and 3,700 car parking spaces.

For further information or images please contact:

Annie Harman or Lee Robertson at Davies Tanner
Telephone: 01892 619100
Email: annie.harman@davies-tanner.co.uk

For further information on the Kiss Awards contact:

Vanessa Amadi
Telephone: 020 7436 3633
Email: vanessa.amadi@outside-org.co.uk