×

A Night at Wimbledon Bookfest with Nick Clegg

The much-loved Wimbledon Bookfest returned for it’s tenth anniversary this year, bringing ten days of fantastic events to Wimbledon Common.  WSM are proud to be lead sponsors of the festival again this year and to help Bookfest welcome such a wide array of talent to SW19.

This year Wimbledon Bookfest has seen luminaries in the Big Tent ranging from explorers, such as Ranulph Fiennes, to cook and celebrated food blogger Deliciously Ella, and of course literary giants such as Jeremy Paxman, Carol Ann Duffy and Michael Morpurgo. The 2016 line-up truly has something for everyone, with film screenings, gin tasting and comedy performances among the festivities.

One of the keynote events of the week was the WSM-sponsored evening with Nick Clegg, an event we were delighted to host with our good friends Russell-Cooke Solicitors. Guests of WSM and Russell-Cooke arrived early on Tuesday evening to enjoy a drinks reception in the neighbouring William Morris tent, before being led to front row seats in the Big Tent for the main event.

In the wake of the Brexit vote and with the increasing polarisation of politics, the event proved to be a popular one, selling out quickly as many were keen to hear the former Deputy Prime Minister’s views on these topics, as well as details of his own political and personal journey.

A local resident himself, Nick Clegg was an enthusiastic and personable guest of Wimbledon Bookfest, quickly impressing attendees with his eloquence  as an orator and self-confidence despite recent political set backs for him and his party. The MP gave his views on all manner of hot-button political topics, including his dismay at the Brexit outcome as a staunch Europhile, his concerns for the future of British politics and his criticisms of the Conservative coalition partners (Michael Gove was given special attention). He was humble in admitting mistakes he and the Liberal Democrats had made, particularly regarding tuition fees, and even made reference to that ‘I’m Sorry’ video (the spoof remix of which he confessed his sons still like to sing to him).

A truly thought-provoking and entertaining evening was had by all, and WSM would like to thank the organisers of Bookfest for their hard work in providing such a wonderful event and such a successful programme.

Wimbledon Bookfest continues until Sunday 9 October. For more information visit the website www.wimbledonbookfest.org.

Amanda Menassa

Amanda graduated from Brunel University, with a joint honours degree, achieving a BSC and BA degree in Leisure Management and Television and film studies. Amanda started her career in a customer service role before joining the hotel group Le Meridien as an Events coordinator, she was in the hotel industry for seven years and during her time won an award from a major international airline for her outstanding attitude and dedication to customer service, which she achieved while working for the Rezidor hotel group in the position of Airline Crew Manager. Amanda has over 20 years experience in customer relations and event management.

Show More...