With a host of some of the biggest parties lined up, QX caught up with the Mark Williams, general manager at Orange Nation.
Hi Mark, how is it having Beyond at Ministry of Sound?
Ministry is the best possible venue we could ask for, for Beyond. Every week it’s going from strength to strength. I’m really excited to see how it all develops as we move into the autumn. As a venue, the team are amazingly supportive. As a space, it’s a great place to put on a party, the Sound system in the main room is unreal!
What are the plans for the August Bank Holiday in London?
The final bank holiday of the year is always a special one in London; we’ve got some great parties lined up. First off on Saturday night we’ve got our friends from The Week in Brazil over producing the second outing of Safado in London at the Coronet, the launch of Safado in March was a road block with the biggest LED wall ever installed in the venue so expect the same this time around. Up next is a very special Beyond at Ministry as we do one of our favourite themes “Beyond The Big Top”, it’s an extra special extended session with a daytime terrace element and outdoor sound system. To finish off the weekend we have two special Orange events starting with “The House of Orange: Deep in Vogue” at Cafe De Paris and “Orange: Festival of Colour” at Lightbox.
And what about Manchester?
This is our first Pride weekend since we have set up a permanent base in Manchester and we are going to be taking Pride by storm. The guys that run Manchester Pride have been really easy to work with we have taken over running the official after parties. We have WE Party Love Boat at Manchester Academy on Saturday Night making it the biggest WE Party to date that we’ve produced in the UK & Beyond Britannia at The Ritz on Sunday Night. Look out for the Orange Nation team on our very own boat in the Parade! They won’t be hard to spot!
What has been your favourite memory this year so far?
It has to be AS ONE weekend, so many people from all over the world attended AS ONE in its new weekend festival format making it one of the biggest weekends we have ever done. Of that weekend my favourite party was Beyond, It was amazing the mixture of Beyond and Ministry totally brought back the party vibe! That was the weekend we decided that we definitely wanted to move Beyond weekly to Ministry.
Anything else exciting coming up?
We’re about to announce a very special new venture for Beyond which is going to be accompanied by a world tour! We have just announced WE Party at Brixton Academy for New Years day and I personally can’t wait for Beyond’s 13th birthday weekend… when we launch a new Beyond Saturday night concept to accompany Beyond Afterhours.
• With a whole host of parties planned for you this Bank Holiday weekend, check out their website for the most up-to date information.
