Madinat Jumeirah - New Year’s Eve 2020

The Approach

Madinat Arena

Venue Entrance & Pre-function Area
To create an arrival experience before the main ballroom, an entrance tunnel was fitted with fabric drapes and fairy lights along with a carpet runner. Further design work in this style was conducted and installed in the pre-function area in the signature Jumeirah blue, to include entrance columns that were fabricated to offer a theatrical feel. This was achieved by cladding the columns with blue fabric and sequin, fitted with velvet curtains on the exterior and lastly illuminated from the top down. To continue this mood, the reception desks were cladded in backlit fabric skirting while a styled backdrop was mounted with a blue velvet curtain and fairy light strings behind a sheer curtain front.

Fort Island

As an iconic location in Madinat Jumeirah, Fort Island would act as the destination for the cocktail reception on New Year’s Eve, standing in the middle of the arena, the souk and the hotel offerings with sweeping views of the property’s iconic architecture. For this, George & Burnell were to provide a simple yet elegant cocktail reception set up in gold and blue which would uniquely define the area for New Year’s Eve. This was achieved through the use of rich lounge furniture in deep royal blue with gold accents, gold and blue sequin tablecloths and minimalist floral centerpieces.

Main Arena

To transform the venue’s multi-purpose arena into a distinctive New Year’s Eve venue, George & Burnell placed a focus on ceiling decoration to make the best use of the venue’s heights. This was accomplished through fairy light chandeliers that would hang over the entirety of the roof in blue. The chandeliers would hang in circular clusters of three, each being 3m, 2m and 1m in diameter respectively. With this being one of the most challenging and unique aspects of the event set up, this required extensive production that ultimately made for a visually dramatic end product.

The venue was further fitted with black carpet while buffet counters were custom-made with themed skirting to enhance the sparkle and glimmer of the evening’s design approach. In terms of build, a stage platform standing at 16m by 10m x 1m (h) and laminate dancefloor at 21m by 10m was installed by George & Burnell for the evening’s performances and festivities.

Tables were dressed with a blue sequin tablecloth along with gold chiavari chairs and blue cushions. Floral centerpieces were designed to be understated with classic white and greens in clear vases, complemented by mercury glass candle votives for ambient lighting to provide a hint of sparkle.