News / Bristol Legends
Looking back at the inaugural Bristol Legends event
As the dust settles after the inaugural Bristol Legends at Ashton Gate Stadium, the Bristol24/7 team has had a chance to look back over an event which we hope brought positivity and something very different at a time when the city needed it.
Guests, including leaders in business, community and culture along with the nominees across the various categories we have been celebrating, arrived at Ashton Gate Stadium from 6pm on Friday.
Many of these guests have since reached out to tell us it was an event that they will not forget and one that felt completely different from anything else they have attended.
Bristol24/7’s Managing Director Ben Wright opened the evening with a speech about the event’s background and importance – photo: ShotAway
As they arrived, attendees were greeted by a DJ set from Paradisco, who performed live from a mobile studio brought by Noods Levels, before moving upstairs, where they were serenaded first by the Little Brass Band that opens Glastonbury Festival every year, and then by opera singer Lucia Simon who performed on stage in the Landsdown Suite as they took their seats.
Some louche ‘celebrities’ courtesy of the Invisible Circus wandered about Landsdown Suite setting the festive and playful mood, taking selfies and posing with guests.
Once the room was buzzing with chatter from nearly 700 seated guests, Ben Wright, Bristol24/7’s Managing Director, kicked off the awards and dinner with a speech outlining the purpose of the night: to celebrate the city, the people and organisations that make Bristol special and raise vital funds for independent media and social impact initiatives.
Ben then handed over to the host for the night, a bona fide Bristol legend herself, Jayde Adams, who announced herself as “one of yours” and asked: “Who else has been on Strictly Come Dancing and worked in Asda Bedminster?”
The Bristol Legends awards ceremony was hosted by Jayde Adams – photo: Beth Photography
Jayde led the awards ceremony in her usual raucous style, introducing the mini documentary films, nominees and winners from the Business, Community, Sustainability, Music, Food & Drink, Performing Arts, Visual Arts and Sports categories before presenting awards to the overall Legends in each of these categories.
The overall Bristol Legend award, one that was voted on solely by Bristol24/7 readers (where others were decided by expert panels in each category), was won by Ken Wong, the founder of Ken Wong Football Association (KWFA).
His coronation as the first-ever Bristol Legend, after thousands of public votes, encapsulated the ethos of Bristol Legends – uncovering the unsung heroes of the city.
For a celebration as extraordinary as this, it only seemed fitting to have a menu that was just as memorable. Josh Eggleton of the Pony Group and Anti Banquet was joined by chefs, including Ben Harvey from the Bianchis Group and Hannah Catley from Catley’s, as well as Dan Ford, Charlotte Fife and others from the Square Food Foundation team.
They delivered an exquisite three-course meal with Emma Mays from the Pony and Shona Graham from Emmeline running a mammoth service with volunteers from Team Canteen and beyond.
A team of chefs led by Josh Eggleton curated a special three-course meal for the evening – photo: Janine Alexander
After the awards dinner concluded, guests were escorted to Ashton Gate’s transformed West Concourse for the Bristol Legends Party. Separate tickets from just £10 were available to those who were unable to join the dinner to ensure that the Legends Party was accessible to all.
Giant inflatable flowers and tentacles by Designs In The Air and props by Bakehouse Factory transformed the giant concourse into a playful wonderland. An invisible gauze from Holotronica hung in front of the stage with holograms of Bristol Legends from Gromit to Daddy G brought to life throughout the evening.
Guests were treated to a stunning show from the incredible Invisible Circus, hosted by Bristol’s clown overlord, Doug Francisco. A stunning aerial hoop performance, in perfect synchronicity with music performed by a full live band on the stage behind, kept the crowd captivated throughout.
Music followed from a varied local lineup followed, including Laid Blak, Emily Breeze, DJ Cheeba, Felix Joy, GotSome, Ben Daley, D.A.D aka Don’t Admit Defeat and special secret guest Gardna, who had the crowd bouncing from start to finish.
Ken Wong was named the first-ever Bristol Legend – photo: ShotAway
Talking about the party, founder of the Bristol Business Bugle & Electra, Briony Philips, said: “And then there was the party. We were mesmerised by the Invisible Circus and an AV hologram show.
“The cool kids stuck around early into the morning accompanied by DJ Cheeba, some huge inflatable flowers from another realm, and a cherry blossom tree just for good measure.
“Honestly, I don’t know how they did it.
“And I really hope it happens again. Partly because of how much fun I had and mostly because it was created to support local charities and independent journalism.”
Bristol Legends took months to plan and would have been impossible without the support received from the Anti Banquet team.
The Anti Banquet charity dinners in 2024 and 2025 raised thousands of pounds for food charities in the region. By joining forces, Bristol24/7 and Anti Banquet hope to secure the future of both organisations, support the social and environmental impact they both deliver, and raise even more for charities tackling food insecurity next year.
After the event, the Anti Banquet team said: “The event was such a joy to be part of and so lovely to see the great people of the city being celebrated.
“We were really proud to help produce something so positive for Bristol and hats off to the Bristol24/7 team for pulling off an incredible party!”
Bristol Legends would not have been possible without the support and contributions from our team of panellists for all categories, the Bristol24/7 and Anti Banquet teams and our incredible sponsors – Retrofit West, Bristol Waste, AF Live, Bakehouse Factory, ViFi, Exacta Technologies, Loungers, Great Western Credit Union and YTL Live.
We also had event support from The Pony Group, Bianchi’s, Emmeline, Catley’s, Team Canteen, Square Food Foundation, Bristol Beer Factory, Matthew Clarke, Out of Hand, Under the Wing, Baxter Story, Hugo’s Greengrocers, ShotAway, Beth Photography, Under The Wing and Buxton Butchers.
Main photo: ShotAway
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