30/05/08: PIKES HOTEL IMS CLOSING PARTY

It seems a little bit strange to Miss W to have a closing party a mere three days after you’ve popped corks at the opening celebrations, but an event like the International Music Summit only comes around once a year (we hope!) and who am I to argue?

So it was off to the legendary Pikes Hotel tonight to gather round the iconic pool where Wham’s Club Tropicana video was filmed w-a-a-a-y back in the eighties (the days when Miss W still thought she had a chance with George Michael) with the who’s who of dance music - or so I thought! Upon arrival we were greeted with the site of hundreds of cars cramming the available spaces near the hotel, indicating that an intimate soiree this was not to be.

And as for swanning about like an extra in a Wham film clip? Not tonight! We were herded - in a very sophisticated fashion of course - onto the Pikes tennis court, where what seemed like a cross between a rave and a rock festival was taking place, with a bar in the centre, a DJ booth at one end and amazing décor adorning the gates.

But it was the electric atmosphere of the event that impressed Miss W the most - it seems Pikes hasn’t lost the ability to throw a party over the winter! I know I keep saying this, but it really felt like the Ibiza social set were making the most of the opportunity to party together before getting their teeth stuck into the summer season, which is looming ahead with the weekend’s calendar of opening parties.

Or maybe I’m just confused and the Ibiza social set are always partying together, despite their hectic summer schedules!

THE LOWDOWN
THE GOOD: Ibizkus creator Laurent Fresard using the event as a clever way to introduce his delicious rosé into the Ibiza market - Miss W’s glass was kept topped up all night!
THE BAD: The fact the party had to end so early… midnight seems like the time everything should be kicking off to us!
THE GOSSIP: While Pete Tong and Rob Da Bank provided an awesome soundtrack to the evening, there was a lot of talk about the ‘interesting’ selection of an obscure Swedish act who performed between the two Radio 1 jocks - wasn’t this supposed to be a dance music event?