COVER STORY ORGANISING GEORGE
I
BY WILLIAM PEAKIN
t’s 9.30pm on a Wednesday in No- vember and Alan Mahon is walking home through the wind and the rain, from the EICC in Edinburgh after spending the day preparing for the biggest event of his career. Te follow- ing evening George Clooney is coming to dinner. Tat’s a big deal,
yes? Sure, but at this moment, after a 6.30am start, Mahon is actually more concerned about what will be hap- pening before the man dubbed Te Last Great Movie Star appears at Te Scottish Business Awards. “It’s the unknown quantity I’m
concerned about,” said Mahon, refer- ring to the Festival of Entrepreneur- ship, a new daytime event that was being staged at the EICC, featuring Sir Chris Hoy and a separate series of awards covering business innovation, technology, marketing, SMEs and new businesses. Tis is only the second year that
Mahon, 25, has organised the eve- ning awards, but he appears remark- ably calm about putting on ‘the UK’s largest and most prestigious business dinner’, an event that attracts 2000 of Scotland’s business community, representing 300 companies with a combined turnover of £100bn. “It’ll be grand, watching all the
cogs click into place.” A pause: “It’s the unknown quantity,” he repeats, more to himself, perhaps reflecting any event organiser’s caution about ‘a first’. Next morning, a 6am start and the
weather has eased slightly: “A beau- tiful autumn’s day, Edinburgh is such a great city.” Te walks that book- end Mahon’s days in the immediate run up to the Business Awards are therapy, he said, a chance to clear his head. By 10am, a little under half of the single-sentence prompts on a sheet of paper attached to his clipboard are scored through: “We’re
George Clooney photograph courtesy of Douglas Kirkland ©Douglas Kirkland
ahead of schedule,” he said. At this time, the Festival of Entrepreneur- ship welcome area on the ground floor of the EICC is being construct- ed. Upstairs, in the Pentland Audi- torium the festival staging and audio- visual is being checked. Downstairs, below ground level, in the huge Lennox Suite where the dinner will be held, everything is in place apart from two iPads per table, which will be used for the silent auction. “Tey are world-class,” said Ma-
hon of the EICC as a venue, “the AV, Leith’s the caterer’s, everyone.”
ADRIAN WADE, Leith’s general manager, is there to run through the menu: “A hot smoked salmon mousse, a braised blade of beef and a Leith’s lemon posset which is one of our signature dishes.” Just the day before, Leith’s had signed the Scottish Government’s pledge to use local suppliers and produce, and the awards would be the first pledge- friendly’ dinner at the EICC. Mahon moved through to the
Cromdale Hall, where the reception will be held. Also here is a car do- nated by Arnold Clark, a prize in the evening’s silent auction. He wrestled with the headrests, which need to come off so the dinner’s celebrity guests, including Clooney, can sign them. Clooney had flown in to Edin-
burgh by private jet that morning. He first visited Social Bite, the sandwich shop that supports the homeless. Ten there was lunch with the win- ner of a competition run by Itison; a photo-opportunity in the afternoon; and, the centre-piece of the visit, a 55-minute Audience With George Clooney onstage before the dinner.
FOR THEWINNERS of Te Ulti- mate George Clooney Prize in the silent auction, there then followed champagne and the meal’s first course with him, backstage. Te prize also included a trip for four to Lake Como, where Clooney has a home, for a week’s stay “in a private house owned by a Scottish entrepre- neur overlooking the lake”, and an 18-carat gold Omega watch with the strap signed by the actor. How did all this come about, how
did Mahon manage to bring the man whose unofficial biography is sub- titled Te Last Great Movie Star, to Edinburgh? Te sandwich played a
“IT HAS BEEN THE BEST APPRENTICESHIP”
Alan Mahon Organiser of the Scottish Business Awards
part, in a manner of speaking. Social Bite, founded by social entrepreneur Josh Littlejohn, is a brilliant idea that can only have resonated with Cloo- ney, whose credits include award- winning actor, producer, screenwrit- er and director – but also recognition as a committed humanitarian. But in founding the Scottish
Business Awards, Littlejohn has not only rapidly established them as a premier event, he has also deftly aligned his passion for social justice with the strongly held beliefs of his chosen keynote speakers. Geldof, Clinton, Branson and now Clooney, who co-founded the human rights organisations Not On Our Watch and the Satellite Sentinel Project. “Tonight is about bringing our
business community together and celebrating our combined achieve- ments,” said Littlejohn. “But it is also about harnessing
our collective power to impact social change in our communities and reaching out to help those who need it most.”
OVER THE PAST four years, the awards have raised more than £2m for good causes in Scotland and over- seas. Not On Our Watch received a “significant sum”, said the organis- ers, in return for Clooney’s appear- ance. Te other charities supported by this year’s event were Social Bite and Te Scottish Edge Fund. But how, as an event organiser,
can you top George? “Obama in 2017?” said Mahon with the lightness
of a person who does not appear familiar with the word ‘can’t’. It has been an interesting couple
of years for the Glasgow University politics graduate. It is his first job; he was in the same year as Littlejohn’s younger brother and, over a game of table tennis in the BBC tent at the Edinburgh Festival, the social entre- preneur said: “Why don’t you come and work for us”. Mahon said he hoped that he had
repaid the trust that had been placed in him. “It has been the best appren- ticeship you can ever imagine,” he stated as he greeted his sister bring- ing in his tuxedo. “Alright love?” she said, embracing
him. “Good luck!” Mahon still had a good 12 hours ahead before he could relax, but knew where he would be: “Te bar, at 11.30, with a bottle of BrewDog’s Punk IPA.” He was not keen on talking about
what he would do next in his work; he hoped still to be involved in the awards in some form. But the beer reference is a fitting
conclusion; Mahon is also involved in BrewGooder, a new Scottish craft brewery whose profits help provide clean drinking water and water hygiene education to communities around the world.
n A LIFE IN PICTURES
Douglas Kirkland, a multi award- winning celebrity photographer, took our cover photograph of George Clooney. Kirkland’s career spans more
than 60 years and his photographs are in the permanent collections of museums around the world. Some of his books include Freeze
Frame, Coco Chanel: Three Weeks, With Marilyn - An Evening/1961, and a comprehensive monograph on his career, Douglas Kirkland - A Life in Pictures. His new book, a look at over five
decades behind the scenes in the entertainment industry will come out in the autumn of 2016.
All books published by Glitterati Incorporated
www.glitteratiincorporated.com Douglas Kirkland’s fine art prints are available through Iconic Images
www.iconicimages.net
EVENTSBASE | WINTER 2015 | 45
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