Deloitte hosts club night at the opera

The Royal Opera House will host its first ever club night this September, as part ofan arts festival sponsoredby business consultancy Deloitte. The deal is worth £1.75m over five years.

As part of the deal, the ROH will stage Deloitte Ignite, an annual, three-day cultural event targeted at young professionals.

The festival is designed to broaden interest in the ROH, and the inaugural year will feature the first dance music event, a club night by DJ Scanner, to be held at the home of the Royal Ballet.

The festival programme has been overseen by Wayne McGregor, resident choreographer to The Royal Ballet.

This year’s event has the theme of human senses and features work from art collective Blast Theory and artist Julian Opie.

The festival will run alongside the launch of the ROH’s 2008/09 season. The venue’s ad agency, Dewynters, has devised a poster campaign to support the event.

Deloitte senior partner and chief executive John Connolly says the deal, negotiated by Sponsoring Consulting, will widen access to the arts and offer his company’s clients, staff and partners “unique entertainment opportunities”.

ROH chief executive Tony Hall says that the Ignite festival will appeal to a younger audience by giving the venue a more contemporary edge and should “inspire them to become excited about opera and ballet”.