The Germans are coming!

A couple of German event planning maestros arrive tomorrow and I have a presentation to prepare!
I have an event to run at 6.00am on Friday!
An after event report for the clients due in before the weekend!
I have to be at the door at a DJ party organised by our company on Saturday!
Max wants to go hiking again on Sunday!
A debriefing meeting to plan for Monday!
I have friends to fit in somewhere between now and never!
My parents are coming to Beijing on the 29th!

And to round up my to do list, Eric wants me to call the Agricultural Bank of China to ask whether he needs his passport to do a Western Union transfer, Frank is too shy to ask his Chinese date to make a dinner reservation for two at 8.30pm at Banana Leaf so he's texted me to do so and my colleagues sprung a surprise post event karaoke-dinner celebration. Other than that I have no other excuses for not updating my blog.

In the meantime I found some pictures without the client company's logo emblazoned across every square milimetre from my event last week.

Here's a bunch of labourers constructing a giant backdrop measuring 9 metres high and 5 metres across.

Building a large backdrop requires sturdy steel frame structures so it doesn't decide to collapse halfway through the cocktail reception. A few flattened corporate fatcats at the price of a well and truly ruined career is a tad excessive.

Not as easy as it looks...

Now comes the hard part...

Adding finishing touches to the backdrop by sticking on the digital print outs. 9 metres which is approx. 2 storeys is a long way to fall and it took more than a little coaxing plus a lot of reassurance to get the workers up there. I really know of no other country where a manual labourer will agree to risking life and limb to apply a few pieces of giant adhesive fancy paper.

Lao Li overcame his fear of heights with a few chugs of Er Guo Tou and the promise of an extra RMB20 to his October wages to produce his masterpiece, his Sistine Chapel of backdrops.

Elsewhere in the Chateau, the North Plaza was abuzz with a flurry of construction activity.

Erm... seriously, those layer frames did not build themselves... Must be lunchtime.

It was my first stint as show director AND event coordinator so I spent most of my time at the control station shouting orders simultaneously over my mobile, the wireless intercom, walkie talkie and microphone.

"Alright people, work with me! Let's take it from the top for the 109th time. And... action!"