British magician crowned FISM World Champion of Parlour Magic!!
Congratulations to Brit Mark Oberon, who amazed judges in Bejing to take the coveted title.
The Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques (International Federation of Magic Societies) – FISM™ – is the international body bringing together the world’s leading magic societies. Formed in 1948, FISM holds its world championships every three years and have announced the 25th edition in 2012 will be held in our very own Blackpool! Due to the size of the competition, it will be staged over three venues. We promise to keep you updated on the latest gossip! But for now our congratulations go out to all of this year’s winners – especially Mark!
The Magic Castle (for one night only…..)
A platoon of our finest magical entertainers was on parade at Cardiff Castle last Friday. We were invited to perform there as guests of The Queen’s Dragoon Guards.
The regiment was celebrating the 50th anniversary of its formal existence. In 1959 the 1st King’s Dragoon Guards was amalgamated with the 2nd Dragoon Guards, better known as the Queen’s Bays. We are proud to have been asked to be part of the celebration marking this important point in the regiment’s history.
Our conjurers, pickpockets, mind readers, silhouette cutters and fire jugglers weren’t the only magical entertainers present. The regiment’s Colonel in Chief, HRH The Prince of Wales, KG, GCB, KT, is a fellow Member of The Magic Circle.
Arthur calls the ‘MAGIC’ number
With excitement surrounding the release of the latest Harry Potter adventure from JK Rowling, we were delighted to discover that Mr Weasley knows the Magicians.co.uk phone number!
A muggle friend of ours tells us that on page 125 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Mr Weasley dials the Ministry of Magic as he says, “Let’s see..six..two..four..and another four..and another two…” Now that’s MAGIC!
The Young Magician of the Year
Congratulations to Michael Jordan who won the title ‘The Young Magician of the Year’ last Sunday at The Magic Circle Headquarters, London’s most magical venue. Along with the prestigious title, Michael was awarded membership of The Magic Circle, the most exclusive club in the world, when he reaches the age of 18.
The competition, held every two years, deliverered some young magical talent to look out for in the future. Megan Knowles-Bacon was placed second with a silent act that combined magic and dance and Carl Scutt scooped third with a very funny stand-up magic act that had the audience in the palm of his hand and proved the old adage that it ain’t what you do… it’s the way that you do it!
The competition is just one of the youth initiatives run by The Magic Circle to encourage young people interested in the art of magic. Unsurprisingly, all the award winners this year have studied at The Young Magicians Club. For more details visit www.theyoungmagiciansclub.co.uk
Magicians say NO to cards – ID cards!
Roll up for the Magical Liberty Tour at the Inn on the Green on Thursday 30th July at 8pm where magicians, mindreaders and even a pickpocket will offer you an evening of entertainment mystery and illusion.
The show is supporting NO2ID, an independent organization focussed on the threat to liberty and privacy posed by the rapid growth of the database state, of which “ID cards” are the most visible part. Visit NO2ID.net for more details.
You will laugh and be amazed when they read your mind and show you the impossible and you won’t believe your eyes when the magic continues right under your nose while you enjoy a drink or two in the interval.
Hosted by the very funny Tim Fitzhigham, who sailed the Channel in his bathtub, this very special evening (8pm10pm) is not to be missed. Travel is easy, it’s just by Ladbroke Grove tube and tickets are just £5 available on the door.
Inn on the Green, 3-5 Thorpe Close, Ladbroke Grove, W10 5XL Tel: 0208 962 5757
A large turn out is expected and 150 tickets will be sold on a first come first served basis, so please arrive early to avoid disappointment.
Congatulations to London’s Most Magical Venue……
The team behind The Magic Circle Headquarters has been awarded the title “Venue Team of The Year”.
The announcement was made by the Association of Event Organisers at the annual Excellence Awards held at the Hilton on Park Lane and hosted by comedian Jason Manford. This is the latest industry honour for the team responsible for London’s most magical venue.
Entries for this award were at an all time record level this year, so to win is something very special indeed.
The Magic Circle Headquarters was shortlisted for the prestigious award with four other world-class venues; Earls Court & Olympia, the Business Design Centre, the Scottish Exhibition Centre and ExCeL London.
A spokesman for the AEO revealed that the judges had been impressed by “excellent new marketing initiatives and a highly successful and focused sales approach”.
Magicians.co.uk is proud to be an Approved Supplier of entertainment at The Magic Circle Headquarters and to support the venue team at promotional events.
To add a touch of magic to your next event or to experience this multi-award winning venue, call us on 0845 00 62442.
All is revealed……..
You may remember a while back that we mentioned a new advertising campaign that took us far from home and we promised to tell you when the results were released. Well, we sent two of our best magic brains (and pairs of magic hands!) to Cape Town to film a TV commercial for Trident Gum.
The advert features the manipulative dexterity of Ben Hart, the current Magic Circle Young Magician of The Year. Produced by leading agency JWT, the commercial sees Ben performing cool laid-back tricks with a box of the gum. This type of flair product handling is something we do quite a lot of… and it really only comes from years of practising sleight of hand.
For this campaign, we designed the routine and think that it’s performed brilliantly by Ben, who acted alongside Miss South Africa finalist Anja Van Zyl. Magic consultant for the advertisement was James Freedman who in the last few weeks has also worked on campaigns for Nokia, Blackberry and O2.
‘Road Trip’ is currently being shown on Portuguese television, and may soon be appearing in other regions but for an early sneak peek, click here.
Magicians.co.uk often designs product handling sequences and provides dextrous hand doubles for films and advertising campaigns. For more information, click here.
Charity benefit from auctioneer’s magic
Magicians.co.uk was proud to perform at a fundraising event for Breast Cancer Haven last week. The event, ‘Blush Magic’ at The Magic Circle Headquarters was hosted by the charity which offers support, information and complimentary therapies to those affected by breast cancer.
Guests were treated to a full stage show featuring mind readers and pickpockets followed by a fine dinner with sleight of hand magicians performing at each table. Our own James Freedman also acted as charity auctioneer and conjured up bids for a range of exciting lots including a five star Himalayan Spa holiday and a sculpture from the senior Royal Academician, James Butler MBE RA. Kat Hopps, Event Executive at the charity said, ‘We raised in excess of £40,000 at the event which will make such a huge difference to our work. Everyone is truly delighted and James is certainly one of the best if not the best auctioneer, we have had the privilege to work with.’
Unsurprisingly, James is an expert on ‘The Art of Persuasion’ and often lectures on the subject to business audiences!
Charity supporter and socialite Henry Conway spoke eloquently about the work of Breast Cancer Haven and donated an evening’s hospitality package at Mahiki, the Mayfair club frequented by Prince William and Prince Harry.
Breast Cancer Haven is a splendid charity, to find out more or make a donation CLICK HERE
Magicians.co.uk join Twitter
After dipping our toes in the social networking pool by joining Facebook, we thought we’d try our hand at the latest craze to sweep the world – Twitter. So if you already a member, follow us ‘Magicianscouk’ and if you aren’t then we feel it is high time you sign up!
Our parent company Magic Management (magicmanagment) are also ‘tweeting’ along with our associate company The Magic Circle Headquarters (magiccirclehq) – follow them for your daily dose of Magic and keep up with all the latest news – we have some fantastic interactive links in the pipeline for this summer. So what are you waiting for – get tweeting!
FA Cup Final – Match Day Magic
Magicians.co.uk was proud to be asked to perform again at Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup Final on Saturday. Our team of magical entertainers wowed VIP guests before the big match between Chelsea and Everton.
It was great to see our old friend Tom Rust and his band entertaining in the Bobby Moore Suite too. We think Tom is the best swing singer around – if you’re looking for great live music visit his website.
Our mindreaders competed with each other to predict the score! Martyn Rowland was amazingly accurate predicting both the correct final score and the fact that Everton would score in the first two minutes. Martyn is a great mindreader and a very nice chap but he still wont tell us how he did it!
Congratulations to Chelsea who displayed their own kind of magic on the pitch and narrowly beat their rivals Everton 2 – 1 to lift the coveted trophy. For all the news and highlights of the game click here.