250+ Xpats came together in the Corinthia Hotel's historic ballroom to raise money for charity at XpatLoop.com's 15th birthday celebration. As you can see it featured plenty of refreshments, live music, exotic dancers, a laser show, opera singer, virtual bonfire + fireworks, all adding up make it an enjoyable and worthwhile occasion. Praise is due to all event supporters, as this annual 'British Bonfire Night' themed fundraiser proved a bigger success than ever, with nearly exactly HUF 2.7 m raised to help Hungarian charities. Special thanks here go to Daniel Csáki for arranging this video to record the event for posterity. On the night Anne Zwack gave a great speech, and as the Guest of Honour she 'set light' to the virtual bonfire as part of the '5th of November Fireworks Night' theme. Master of Ceremonies Gábor Herendi introduced all the speakers, including Szabolcs Szabo, Hotel Manager at the Corinthia Budapest, who made an entertaining address about his expat experiences. Stephen Linfitt, the founder of XpatLoop.com and organiser of this event, rounded off the welcome speech section by warmly thanking guests and sponsors for all their kind contributions. During the evening Emese Danks of UNICEF, Andreas Vogler of All Nationals Lions Club Budapest, and Éva Patzauer of Csodalámpa Foundation all made speeches on behalf of their respected charities. First Medve, the mascot of FirstMed, also joined in with a smile dancing with the samba stars. The international buffet provided guest with tastes from France (by Le Gourmet de Bordeaux), India (by Mr Masala), Mexico (by Iguana), Japan (by Planet Sushi), Italy (by Okay Italia, and Trattoria Toscana), Middle East (by Expatshop.hu), and of course Hungary (by Zsófia Cruise Ship and Clark Picnic). Plus Bonbonier artisan manufactory offered guests award-winning, hand-made chocolates. The Charity Auction raised more than ever thanks to star items from Turkish Airlines, Zsófia Cruise Ship, allyoucanmove.hu, Notebookspecialista, Mindfulness Matters Studio, Wunderlich, Gundel Restaurant, Sanjiv Kumar, Zoltán Jancsó, Júlia Odin Végh, Adam Goodman, and other generous supporters. The business card draw brought proceedings nicely to a close, with too many items to list here but appreciation was shown at the event to everyone who donated prizes. Around the entrance to the ballroom were informative and interactive displays by the charities and XpatLoop partners, including: American International School, Britannica International School, CEU Business School, Notebookspecialista, Match Made Abroad, Foundrybox, Simon Skottowe, and main sponsor FirstMed. A colourful ‘Farewell Bag’, provided by Fitadvisor, was given to all guests at the end of the event, containing a little Tesco goodie, and literature from event supporters. Follow the link below to know more, and get links to see three pictures galleries: www.xpatloop.com/news/see_what_happened_­xpat_party_for_charity_5_november_2015 Feedback from guests, sponsors, supporters and the charities involved was really positive: • “Fantastic event, well done!”, Jean Pierre Mifsud, GM at Corinthia Hotel Budapest. • “What a stunning result! It makes me feel warm inside; also to see so many people having so much fun!”, Anne Zwack. • "The evening was gorgeous, it gets even better and better from year to year!" Éva Patzauer of Csodalámpa Foundation. • “Many congrats on putting together such an entertaining night!”, Adam Goodman, Owner of Mid Atlantic Films • “Wonderful event last night. It was meaningful, well attended and had the right amount of "extravagance" to make it fun. It was enjoyable to see old friends and to make new ones!”, Directors of AmCham Foundation. • "It was amazing! Thank you for this wonderful event, congrats on the huge success for charity. Personally I had a great time and really enjoyed the party." Andreas Vogler, of All Nations Lions Club Budapest • "You pulled off another fantastic evening for both sponsors and guests. This event easily topped the last two. I'm especially happy with the amount raised for charity. I hope we can raise even more next year." Dennis Diokno, MD of FirstMed, the event's main sponsor. More: www.xpatloop.com/news/see_what_happened_xpat_party_for_charity_5_november_2015

• published: 19 Jan 2016
• views: 207