Ali G, Ozzy Osborne, Austin Powers and Madonna were just some of the ‘famous faces’ who rounded off Travel Weekly’s 40th birthday celebrations in style at the spectacular Northern Ball on Tuesday night.
A closer look revealed the celebrity cast was actually 800 agents and suppliers who donned fancy dress from the 1970s, 80s, 90s and noughties for the event at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium.
X Factor star Danyl Johnson (pictured), surprise guest Jamie ‘Afro’ Archer, his fellow X Factor contestant, and DJs JK and Joel got guests dancing with tunes from the four decades.
Were you there? Find yourself, friends and colleagues in our Northern Ball gallery
In an innovative new format, guests were asked to cast their minds back in time in four interactive quizzes. The winners of Travel Weekly’s Agent of the Decade competition won prizes including holidays with Gold Medal and Virgin Holidays, a luxury cruise with Silversea Cruises and British Airways flights.
Karen Allen, Aspen Travel manager, said: “I’ve been to the Northern Ball before but this was the best yet. The new format was brilliant, totally different from the usual travel events.”
BA head of UK sales and marketing Richard Tams – aka Ali G – said: “Sponsoring the ball was our way of saying a massive thank you to all the agents in the north who have worked so hard on our behalf over the last year.”
TWgroup chief executive Simon Ferguson said: “This year’s Northern Ball was a fantastic reinvention of one of the great events in the travel calendar.
“With 300 of the UK’s top travel agents joining more than 500 suppliers, the ball was a celebration of all that’s great about the industry, and a fitting way to mark Travel Weekly’s 40th anniversary.”