Winston Churchill's Life in Immersion, at Blenheim Palace

A bust of Winston Churchill on a wooden plinth with an etching of Winston Churchill and the famous Victory sign. Luxury event planner.

An Immersive Cocktail Party in The Long Library of Blenheim Palace echoing Churchill’s Life and Work

The estate, grounds and Blenheim Palace itself are a site to behold, as you approach into the impressive courtyard which envelopes you from all sides you know you’re in for a special visit. This venue stands as a beacon of luxury and a Palace of intrigue spanning an impressive 300-year history. So, to be asked to bring a part of this history to life as an immersive experience, the life of Sir Winston Churchill, we relished the opportunity. 
A notorious, celebrated and complex figure in British history, Winston Churchill was a fascinating character to explore, and from an immersive perspective, and to showcase as a luxury event planner, incredibly exciting. With so many chapters of his life, and equal accomplishments, he offered up immersive outlets from his childhood at Blenheim to his passion for painting, to his time spent as a prolific writer, then as the war leader and Prime Minister. The best way for us to honour this was to create a celebratory, physical timeline of his life and work. 
We collaborated with partners to create one seamless production and a consistency throughout the styling of the event. Food and drink design was important and whilst the cocktail bars were the focal point, passed cuisine in various form circulated with elegant styling to complement our immersion. Production was also integral, with tungsten bulbs adding a vintage effect and ambient lights to bring warmth. 
Tray of canapés on a bronze plate.
Skewers on a blue plate
Our installations, whilst working harmoniously as a whole, each reflected a unique moment in Churchill’s past. It was important that we used items from these particular times in history as authenticity is critical in our work. One installation, to represent war, made use of parcels wrapped in paper, salvaged from World War II, displayed with labels. These installations were placed to invoke nostalgia and to take us back in time. 
A variety of antiques including a penny farthing, a wireless radio and an old projector.
A coffee table with an old morse code machine.
Antiques resting on a wooden console table.
A bar and bartender standing within. Tungsten lighting hanging from copper pipes.
Antique objects displayed on a wooden plinth
A plinth with an egg timer sat on top.A cart full of war memorabilia and war helmets.
"Having The Events Mill on board from the offset for this event, was probably one of the best decisions we have ever made."

Corporate Client
An antique gramophoneA poseur drinks plinth with a bespoke facia.
A wooden par with suspended Tungsten lights and bartenders in white aprons and bowler hats.
A man holding a tray of drinks in front of two signs, one with a British Bulldog design and another which is a Churchill's Bar sign.
To soften the room we brought in Chesterfield sofas and stools, a nod to an old smoking lounge, the thought of Churchill drinking a whisky at the end of a busy day in Parliament or the War Cabinet getting together to reflect on a night of strategy. 
A cluster of blood ox red Chesterfield sofas, a glass coffee table and green ottoman stools.Winston Churchill set design
Blenheim Palace lit at night

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Winston Churchill's Life in Immersion, at Blenheim Palace

A notorious, celebrated and complex figure in British history, Winston Churchill was a fascinating character to explore, and from an immersive perspective, incredibly exciting. With so many chapters of his life, and equal accomplishments, he offered up immersive outlets from his childhood at Blenheim to his passion for painting, to his time spent as a prolific writer, then as the war leader and Prime Minister. The best way for us to honour this was to create a celebratory, physical timeline of his life and work.

There was only one place to do this and this was in the centre of Blenheim Palace in The Long Library, an impressive and beautiful room full of old books; you could just imagine Churchill watching as we brought to life a time capsule of moments from his legacy.

Brief

For one of our brand clients, we were asked to design an immersive experience that brought the history of Blenheim Palace to life, whilst ensuring the fundamental moments of a cocktail party were practical and in full flow throughout the evening. Blenheim Palace, with such a rich history, offered such a repertoire of choice, not only for its association with society parties, but also for the famous characters that inhibit its past. One such person being Sir Winston Churchill, a legend in British history.

Our task was to create two interactive, highly creative and bespoke cocktail bars and to install small mise en scène environments, immersive set design in various places throughout The Long Library to reflect a particular period in Churchill’s life, as if his life was the stage and the guests in the room were the spectators or audience.

What We Did 

To honour the life and work of Sir Winston Churchill was an exciting proposition which gave us the opportunity to include a high level of immersive detailing. Throughout the room we made use of bespoke production design and props to convey a strong narrative, paying particular attention to key periods of his life. These included his time as an artist and his achievements as a leader in World War II, for example. 

To ensure the success of the immersion, the wider scope of the design needed to be bold and obvious, with hidden layers of detail available for those who wanted to explore. We made use of recognisable iconography, vintage print and famous portraits, whilst adding texture, authentic objects and layers of detail that guests would not have seen before. Our objective here was to create a type of exhibition, as if walking through a physical timeline of Churchill-inspired installations which you could appreciate at a glance, but then truly fall into should you wish to interact with. 

Our bespoke production team created two impressive cocktail bars which were made with glass panelling to the bar surface and on all four corners. From a bird’s eye perspective, we created a mini museum layout with graphics, memorabilia and design from World War II, something you’d expect to see in a war museum. Installed in the corners we placed props from his life, ensuring these beautiful bars were transformed into living time pieces that could easily have been installed into the V&A. 

Further, our bespoke efforts were seen across the furniture in the room. We made console tables with hand painted portraits of Churchill on their exterior and coffee tables which housed larger props to further extend the storytelling and authenticity of our narrative. 

The level of detail and intricacy we explored for this event is something that we are extremely proud of and this is a great example of how high-level storytelling can be achieved whilst the enjoyment of a cocktail party can operate in tandem.