IBF Annual Real Estate and Garden Party – The International Business Forum

Thursday, 27th June, 2024
Letensky Zamecek

IBF Annual Real Estate and Garden Party

On Thursday, 27^th June, the IBF hosted its 16^th Annual IBF Real Estate & Business Barbeque in the beautiful grounds of Letensky zámeček. Over the past 16 years, this annual event has had to battle with some weird and wonderful weather, despite us moving the date around from early to end June, to middle July and back, but this year won the award for being the most challenging and, possibly, the best event ever!!

By 3.30 in the afternoon, the organising team had everything set up; the stage was built, the sound was tested, the sponsors’ roll-ups were dotted around the garden and the TV screens were running the videos and promotions that had been installed earlier. Even the signage was ready and the tombola stand was set up. We knew, of course, that rain and storms were forecast for some time in the afternoon or evening, but everyone’s apps were saying different times, so we just made sure that everything was fixed down, covered over or set up in an area that shouldn’t, in theory, be affected, whatever the weather.

Within ten minutes, however, everything changed; first tornado force winds knocked all the roll-ups over and sent them skidding across the ground, along with the signage, tablecloths and anything else that it could get hold of, and then the rain came, knocking out the electricity, flooding the stage and drowning all of us that were trying to collect everything all together and drag it into the chateau. By 4.00 pm the whole place looked like a tsunami had just passed through.

Should we cancel? Move it all inside? Run away and hide? The concerned emails were coming in thick and fast with people cancelling, advising us there was a storm coming (), asking us whether the rain would stop (). But somehow we got lucky, and by 18.30 the rain had died down, everything had been moved and set-up differently, the barbeque was fired up and the guests started arriving. And when the sun came out at about 19.30 and quickly dried everywhere, it almost seemed as if we had dreamed the whole thing.

In the end, more than 250 people turned out to enjoy great food, good wine and a fantastic atmosphere, and with a guest list that was pretty much a ‘who’s who’ of Prague’s real estate and business world, the overwhelming opinion was that this was one of the ‘events of the year’.

Huge thanks go to our General sponsor Tesco, our Platinum sponsor Generali and our list of Gold and Participating partners without whom we couldn’t have put on such a show. And, of course, all of those people that bought tickets and turned out without batting an eyelid. We are already discussing how to make next year’s event even bigger and better (and drier). Watch this space!

Over to you!