Italian National Ball - Charity Gala Dinner

The Italian National Ball is a prestigious annual charity gala dinner, organised under the auspices of the Italian Consulate in Sydney and the Embassy of Italy in Canberra. The event marks Festa Della Repubblica, Italian National Day, and celebrates Co.As.It.’s years of service to the Italian-Australian community. All proceeds from the Italian National Ball go towards supporting a worthy cause.

As the event producer of the Italian National Ball between 2017 - 2019, we hosted roughly 2000 guests and raised over $200,000. The gala’s were hosted in glamorous locations including five star hotels; Sydney Wentworth Sofitel & Hyatt Regency Sydney, and the iconic Overseas Passenger Terminal, with views of the Opera House during Sydney’s Vivid Festival.

I oversaw all elements of the event such as; sponsorship, logistics, sales, entertainment, media, staging & AV, venue & catering, photography & videography, staffing, design and print, etc. I also worked to increase the efficiency of the event by introducing new elements such as electronic ticketing and online auctions.

In my role I secured sponsorship partnerships with International brands such as; San Pellegrino, Alfa Romeo, Intesa Sanpaolo, Singapore Airlines and MARTINI.

Other sponsors of the event included; Barilla, Canali, Toyota, Campari, DeLonghi, Dior, Ducati, Lindt, Pirelli, Smeg, Roberto Cavalli, Salvatore Ferragamo, Pandora and Ferrero, just to name a few.

Notable guests who attended the event include;

  • International guests; Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko, Principal Dancer of La Scala Ballet in Italy & Winner of The Voice Italy, Fabio Curto

  • Australian Television royalty, Ray Martin & well-respected ABC journalist Emma Alberici

  • Australian Idol favourite, Cosima De Vito & Claudia Migliaccio, The Voice Australia

  • Renowned Chef and Restaurateur, Armando Percuoco

  • Hon. Anthony Albanese, Leader of the Opposition & Hon. Craig Laundy MP

  • Senator the Hon Concetta Fierravanti-Wells & Senator Raff Ciccone

  • Hon Gladys Berejiklian, Premier of NSW, Hon John Sidoti MP, NSW Minister for Multiculturalism & Hon Victor Dominello MP, NSW Minister for Customer Service

  • Guy Zangari MP, Jamie Parker MP, Luke Foley MP, Sophie Cotsis, MP

  • His Excellency Stefano Gatti, Italian Ambassador to Australia

  • His Excellency Pier Francesco Zazo, Italian Ambassador to Australia

  • Dott. Filippo Lonardo, Charge d’affaires – Italian Embassy, Canberra

  • Dott. Arturo Arcano, Consul General Italian in Sydney

  • Paulo Domingues, Consul General of Portugal in Sydney

  • Senator Dr. Francesco Giacobbe OAM, Representing Oceania in the Italian Senate

  • Hon. Nicola Carè, Member of the Italian Parliament & Hon. Marco Fedi, Member of the Italian Parliament

Charity, Events, Not-for-profitCarlos Raso