An array of celebrities will gather to attend a high-profile black-tie Gala Dinner at The Savoy, London this Friday 17th June 2011 to celebrate the 80th birthday of Virginia McKenna OBE.
Bafta award-winning actress and star of the film ‘Born Free’, Virginia will be joined by a host of celebrity friends from stage and screen that will include British actresses Joanna Lumley OBE, Jenny Seagrove, Helen Worth, Rula Lenska and Anita Dobson, ‘Dragons’ Den’ star Duncan Bannatyne, ‘Doc Martin’ actor Martin Clunes, ‘Eastenders’ star John Altman, comedian Ronnie Corbett, iconic actors Leslie Phillips and Nicholas Parsons, investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre, West End theatre producer Bill Kenwright CBE, legendary lyricist Don Black and top TV personalities Nick Knowles, Martin Frizell and James Lewis.
Rumours are also afoot that the legendary Queen guitarist Brian May CBE will be doing a special one-off performance on the night with West End songstress and star of ‘Wicked’’ and ‘We Will Rock You’, Kerry Ellis.
With 380 guests set to attend this star-studded event, the evening will be centred around a delicious 3-course dinner, punctuated by individual tributes to Virginia and the work of the Born Free Foundation from celebrities, Born Free patrons and wildlife campaigners. The evening will conclude with drinks and dancing.
The sumptuous surroundings of The Savoy’s Ballroom are the perfect venue for this much-anticipated event, with the hotel’s status as a British icon reflecting Virginia McKenna’s place in the hearts of the public as the original ‘English rose’.
Elegance and glamour will be the buzz-words for the night, but importantly the core reason for the event is to raise much-needed funds for Born Free and its work around the world to protect threatened species, stop individual animal suffering and ‘Keep Wildlife in the Wild’.
The climax of the event will be the eagerly-anticipated auctioning of the Shere Khan Necklace, a breathtaking, diamond-adorned gold necklace designed especially for the Born Free Foundation by acclaimed jeweller Catherine Best, modelled by Joanna Lumley, photographed by John Swannell.. Estimated to be valued at £500,000, the sale of the Shere Khan Necklace auction will be the highlight of the auction which will raise money for Born Free’s work and to help conserve the critically-endangered wild tiger
Born Free’s long-term supporter Land Rover has sponsored the evening.