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On 13th May this year, Bath will be a special focus of international attention, as more than 300 men and women from all over the world descend on the City for the annual gathering of the Olave Baden-Powell Society. This international volunteer group of nearly one thousand members exists to raise funds for the development work of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, funding projects as diverse as Aids-awareness, Literacy, Leadership and Advocacy, and International Understanding.
FAB! a local Events Management Company met representatives of the association at CONFEX a major conference Exhibition in 2007 and fought of a number of other destinations to win the contract for Bath. The society chose the UK for this year’s gathering to mark the centenary of the beginning of the Girl Guides in 1910. The City of Bath has proved a huge draw for the international membership: all of the delegate places for the event were booked within weeks of the start of booking and members are coming from many countries, including the USA, most European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan and Nigeria. FAB! have put together a series of events for the period of the conference which include using most of Bath’s historic venues, holding their meetings in the Guildhall, their opening reception in the Roman Baths and the final dinner in the Assembly Rooms. There are also events at Dyrham Park and a public event at St Michaels Church on Friday 13th May
Andrew Wright Director of FAB! who was responsible for bringing this prestigious event to Bath said today: “We are delighted for FAB! and especially for Bath that we won this contract for the City. This event shows that we can accommodate over 300 people for a conference in Bath by using imagination and looking at the detail of the logistics. This is a major conference that will add to the economy of Bath as many of the international delegates are staying in Bath for many days more that the actual conference. We have rooms booked at The Hilton, Bath Spa, The Mecure Francis, Abbey hotel and other smaller bed and breakfast and guest houses around the City. I am sure that many of the retailers and restaurants will also benefit from the visitors.”
The event will be attended by HRH Princess Benedikte of Denmark, president of the Society and HRH Princess Aziza of Malaysia is also expected to attend.
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