800 guests. One hangar. The Docker spirit brought back to life.
Client Vinci
Event type Convention
Participants 800
Date 6 June 2024
Vinci brought its international teams together for their annual convention in Bordeaux.
We chose Hangar 14 and the Dockers theme, and we brought the port back to life as it hadn’t been in a long time.
The challenge
Host 800 international guests for a gala evening that embodies the spirit of Bordeaux without falling into cliché, and that stays etched in memories.
An international convention means a demanding audience, used to polished events and hard to surprise. Vinci wanted a strong theme, a strong venue, an evening worthy of the group’s ambition that would speak to employees from all over Europe.
The Dockers theme
The Dockers theme was the obvious choice: Bordeaux, port city, working-class history, raw and convivial energy.
Universal imagery that crosses cultures and nationalities.
Our mission
embody it from start to finish, from the forecourt to the dance floor, without ever overdoing it.
What did we build? Our 6 Culture Makers Moments
Welcome on the forecourt by a twist band
The first contact sets the tone for everything. A troupe of twist musicians on the forecourt of Hangar 14: the energy of the docks, the swing of the era, an immediate invitation to step into the world. Guests are part of the party before they’ve even found the cloakroom.
Shoe shining on arrival
The detail that surprises and says it all. Having your shoes shined at the entrance to a gala dinner: a real nod to the theme, an unexpected moment of individual attention, and proof that every gesture has been thought through. Great events are recognised by their small touches.
The activities: wine casino, photobooth & videobooth, temporary tattoos, caricaturist
A line-up of activities designed so nobody is left idle between two sequences. The wine casino to anchor Bordeaux in the game. The photobooth and videobooth for the memories. Temporary tattoos and a caricaturist for the bursts of laughter. Every activity is an invitation to connect with guests who don’t know each other yet.
Cocktail bar on the terrace
The terrace as a place to breathe and take in the view. Cocktails served overlooking the quays of Bordeaux. It’s the precise moment when international guests realise which city they’re in.
Seated gala dinner for 800 guests
The highlight of the evening, orchestrated for 800 people without anyone feeling lost in the crowd. Room staging that creates intimacy at scale, catering worthy of the event, and the smooth service that makes a dinner for 800 feel like a dinner for 80.
DJ until the end of the night
The closing that opens. When dinner ends, the party really begins. A DJ who reads the room, builds the energy step by step, and turns 800 guests into a single dance floor. The night as the final highlight, and often the most memorable.
Behind the scenes
Hangar 14 as a total stage
Choosing Hangar 14 for an international convention on the Dockers theme means absolute coherence between venue and message. But turning a hangar into a gala venue for 800 people (scenography, acoustics, circulation flows, activity areas, a fitted-out terrace) is a full-scale production. The venue makes the theme. The production makes the venue.
The theme as the guiding thread of every detail
The shoe shining, the twist at the entrance, the wine casino, the temporary tattoos: nothing is there by chance. Every activity was selected for its ability to enrich the Docker world without illustrating it heavy-handedly. Thematic coherence isn’t decreed: it’s built detail by detail, choice by choice.
Serving 800 covers without losing the soul of the evening
A gala dinner for 800 people is first a coordination challenge: service team, timing of every course, dietary requirements, table plan, discreet signage. But it’s also an artistic challenge: every table must feel at the heart of the event, not in a forgotten corner. Nobody gets left at the back of the room.
Entertainment as cultural diplomacy
800 international guests means as many cultures, references and ways of having fun. The line-up of activities was designed to be universal: play, laughter and surprise are common languages. The caricaturist, the tattoos, the photobooth cross language barriers. They are points of contact that build camaraderie without the need for words.
A
You’re bringing international teams together for a moment that has to leave its mark.
We know how to make sure Bordeaux stays with them long afterwards.
