The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” – a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Project type : Social ball
Project name : Bridgerton night
Date : Sep 2024
Cost : Unknown
Synopsis :
A hit television show like Netflix’s Bridgerton is about escapism. A glimpse of the sumptuous side of Georgian England and the grace of the Regency period. After 3 seasons the show has built up a considerable following and unleashed a yearning amongst those wanting to join in on the experience. To meet that need an enterprising group in Detroit USA decided to host a Brigderton Ball. An opportunity to experience the experience.
On the surface it was a good idea. At the time of writing Bridgerton is ‘hot stuff’ and the show’s popularity suggests the public would be interested in such an event. However, having a good idea and a marketplace isn’t enough. You have to deliver and in these event type projects the organizing team face a major problem: The reality that a TV show can conjure up expectations that are hard to deliver upon in reality.
In this particular case the BBC reports guests were disappointed by the food (worse than a high school party reported one attendee) and photos shared by the BBC suggest that plastic bottles of water were part of the authentic ‘regency’ experience. I’ll leave you to read the links below and ponder how the reported ‘pole dancer’ fits into the Edwardian splendor.
As other entries in the catalogue of catastrophe have demonstrated (e.g. Christmas Blunderland and the Fyre festival) delivering to lofty expectations can be hard to do.
Contributing factors as reported in the press:
Lack of planning, insufficient quality control, lack of risk management. Allowing expectations to escape reality.
Reference links: