EventMagazine.co.uk – 4th April, 2012

Cake launches British Airways pop-up with star-studded bash

Heston Blumenthal, Tracey Emin and Richard E Grant officially opened British Airways’ airline-themed pop-up venue, Flight BA 2012, in Shoreditch last night (3 April).

Created by Cake, the three-in-one art gallery, cinema and dining room will be open between 4-17 April and will celebrate the best in British talent in the run up to the London 2012 Games, showcasing the works of the BA Great Britons programme.

Mentors of the programme Grant, Emin and Blumenthal were joined by famous names from the worlds of sport, art and showbusiness, while music was provided by DJ and model Daisy Lowe.

The BA Great Britons programme was launched last year to find rising British stars in food, film and art and provide them with career defining opportunities and a global platform to showcase their work in the run up to the Games.

The gallery features artwork from artist-designer Pascal Anson from Brighton, who was mentored by Tracey Emin on his ‘Dove’ design for a range of celebratory aircraft.

In the cinema, a short film titled “Boy” written by screenwriter Prasanna Purwanarajah under the mentorship of Richard E Grant, will be screened.

Finally, guests in the airline-themed dining lounge will be able to sample Heston and Simon Hulstone’s Olympic inspired dishes.

Frank van der Post, managing director of brands and customer experience, at British Airways said: “We wanted to bring the flying experience to the public, allowing guests to preview our in-flight entertainment, celebratory aircraft livery and on-board menus in anticipation of the London 2012 Games. This is going to be an exciting year for the capital and this is just the very start of our take-off.”

— Chantelle Dietz.