15th August, 2017
By Harrison Iyoha
This December promises to be more fun than ever, as Lagos is set to play host to the first ever International Drinks Festival, as brand owners, retailers, and holiday fun seekers will besiege the city in the single largest gathering of stakeholders in the drinks business ever witnessed in Nigeria.
During a press conference and elaborate unveiling ceremony held last Thursday at the Federal Palace Hotel and Casino, Victoria Island, Lagos , organizers of the event and one of Africa’s biggest event management companies, Balmoral Events Solution Company revealed that the event, which would hold between 1 and 3 December, 2017 at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, was going to be an exhibition of various drink brands.
Chief Executive Officer, Balmoral Events Solution Company, Ezekiel Adamu, stated that the event would give various drink professionals, summits and others opportunities to ask questions and interact with the drink experts.
“The festival will also have a lot of interactive fun events to lighten up the atmosphere and introduce various brands to the general public,” he said.
However, the unveiling ceremony, if anything to go by, was an indication of the glamour and finesse that would encapsulate the major event coming in December.
The unveiling brought together members of the press from virtually all the major media outlets, as well as the crème de la crème of the music, movie, and beverage industry and even, the political class.
Guests were treated to a cocktail session on an exquisite artistic floor plan featuring a spirit bar, palm wine joint, and a local beer parlor complete with ladies on stilts, and some standing inside waist-high glass chandeliers. It was a sight to behold!
Coming on the heels of an Euro monitor International (a world renowned business intelligence company) reports that Nigeria consumed 36.68 million litres of soft drinks in 2016, its spirits market worth $6 billion, and beer accounting for 55% of the total market share, with what was displayed last week, Balmoral’s First-Ever International Drinks Festival will no doubt take Christmas to a whole new level in Lagos, come December 2017.