Year in review: Best of Chaika Events 2023

For Georg's 40th birthday, his family and friends joined forces to arrange a most spectacular themed party. We got inspired by Kubrick's Space Odyssey and threw him a sensational Retro Space party at The Belvedere Restaurant in Holland Park.

The space was transformed with thousands of balloons and spectacular installation with retro TVs transmitting unique video content with Hal 9000's voiceover. For the dinner, we brought in bespoke retro furniture and linen straight from the 1960s. The centrepieces had a personal touch, with Georg's old photos turned into scenes from various space movies using the latest AI design tools. Every detail of the evening was thought through and we transformed a cosy Mediterranean restaurant into a truly unique space-themed setting.

The guests were greeted in our spaceport by a hostess-stewardess and every member of staff wore bespoke outfits inspired by Kubrick's film. A few DJs played throughout the evening with extra-terrestrial walkabout acts entertaining the guests. One of the main surprises for the guests, though, was the Space opera, created by Georg himself and brought to life by our cast of dancers and actors.

This year saw the growing popularity of unusual party formats – from cooking classes and murder mystery dinners to outdoor cinema sessions and VR adventures. However, the most unusual, and thus, our absolutely favourite format this year was a roller disco party. Instead of hiring the venue, we brought the roller rink to our client's backyard. Think yellow and pink tiled extravaganza under the canvas stretch tent, allowing 20 children and some adults to roll around to the disco tunes from our DJ.

To make the experience more authentic, we arranged a dress-up corner next to the roller skate rental kiosk. On the rink, the guests were joined by professional skaters who showed them a few moves and proved that rolling is not scary.

After the skating session, we served BBQ lunch in a low seating area, followed by a groovy cake and rolled ice cream. The setting was complete with our spectacular groovy decorations, suspended balloons under the canvas and of course, a beautiful table setting.

Many of our clients stay with us for years, and we see their families grow and expand. That was the case with our lovely couple Karim and Gala: 2022 saw them celebrating a wedding in London's Four Seasons Hotel and this year they came to us with their new occasion: a Gender Reveal party! We were beyond thrilled to plan the celebration for them and their baby.

As our mom-to-be wanted to go with a classic pink & blue theme, we booked for her The Belgravia Ballroom at The Lanesborough and further styled it with bespoke backdrops, balloon clouds, hot air balloon photozone with a classic photo booth, and pink and blue flowers. As the party was in a lounge format, we had arranged two seating areas. The bar served pink and blue cocktails and mocktails, and each guest cast their vote and made some predictions for the baby.

The key moment arrived – and when Karim and Gala popped the giant balloon to reveal pink confetti – they were also showered by our confetti cannons to make the moment extra special. No one could hold their smile seeing how happy the parents-to-be were to learn that they were expecting a daughter. And we can't wait to see the little ones and celebrate their arrival with another magical party!

Working with Uzbekistan's Club on their London forum at The Painted Hall, we've achieved something truly unique: the giant LED screen for their film premiere was built in this historic venue for the first time. With just 5 hours for loading in, setup and run-through, we managed to create a truly bespoke setting with a 7-meter-long LED screen, a cinema-level sound system, a stage and a seating area for 220 guests.

The forum saw the guests enjoying networking over champagne and canapes on arrival, followed by a range of short presentations and talks on stage and the main event of the evening: a premiere of the new film in the O'zbekistonlik series, focusing on Kamola Mahmudova and Temur Yunusiov. The honoured guests gave a speech after the premiere, and we also welcomed singer Konsta on stage to perform live the original soundtrack to the film.

Some of you know that we work internationally, however, in 2023 we stayed closer to home and managed the events across the UK. One of the most memorable venues this year was 20th birthday weekend in the Middleton Tower, a privately owned Grade-I listed castle in Norfolk.

Not only have we secured the last-minute booking of this stunning venue for our client, but we've also assisted with putting together a welcome for all with a red carpet, a celebratory dinner with stunning florals, followed by karaoke and dancing till early morning. The day after our team assisted with late morning brunch and the guests leisurely explored the castle's grounds.

We've hosted a fair share of Halloween events, but this year's Creepy Funfair in a private house in West Sussex was the one to remember. To bring a real funfair fill to this private celebration, we created a few themed zones in their vast garden: from the circus tent in spooky orange and black, adorned with matching bunting and festoon lights to the 10-meter-long outdoor cinema screen showing clips from all the classic horrors and street food area, it was a large-scale production.

To keep our guests engaged, we had a range of twisted versions of the classic funfair games – hook a zombie duck, a skull knock-down, a skeleton ring toss and more were there to get the guests competing for our funky seasonal prizes. Moving on from games, the guests met our freak show artists – from a creepy clown, juggling bloody knives, to twisted siblings, a fire performer and a crystal ball manipulator, they were there to spook yet mesmerise.

Of course, no party is complete without dancing so we also looked after the dance floor indoors with a lineup of 4 DJs, as well as the bar with themed cocktails and shots. Despite thunderstorms, we saw guests enjoy all the elements of the party and went into the rain for the fireworks at the end of the evening.

Our favourite request from the clients? Let's create something truly unique that has never been done before. We've delivered just that for a very immersive birthday party at The Burnt City. This immersive experience saw a cast of 40 actors and musicians perform across numerous locations in a huge warehouse in East London, while guests silently explore the set and become part of the epic story. Combining the Blade Runner and military aesthetics, this show was a truly unique experience. We've secured an exclusive Saturday night performance just from our guests, and had it adjusted to fit our programme for the night.

While guests were enjoying the drinks and sharing their emotions from the show in its themed bar, we worked hard to transform its Town Square setting into the ultimate party scene. We had an 8-meter stage wheeled in, a bar built up, and four street food stations set up, along with the lounge seating for the guests, - all in just under 30 minutes. Once guests followed the celebrity host, comedian Nurlan Saburov to the main party room, the 10-piece jazz band were ready to greet them with some groovy tunes. 3 hours of casual dining, themed activities with the host and dancing flew by in a moment.

The most memorable part about this immersive celebration? We hosted just 25 guests with each of them getting truly personal service and entertainment experience throughout the night.

Along with the very intimate celebrations (we've had a romantic ballroom date planned just for two!), we hosted some ver big ones! The largest though was one of the very recent Christmas parties for an energy company we helped to arrange in One Marylebone.

Attended by about 300 guests, the party had a few themed zones – the photozone with snowy Christmas trees, a step into snowglobe experience, and a 360-degree photobooth. We helped to dress the space with light-up trees and wintery florals, but the lighting was the true showstopper at that event.

We kept the spirits high with our party band rocking on the stage from the moment guests stepped into the hall. While they enjoyed their drinks and canapes, our Santa went around to wish them happy holidays, post for selfies and gift little candy canes to the ones on his nice list.