Hospitality’s freshest event

JANUARY 2024 SEES THE INAUGURAL BAR MAGAZINE AWARDS TAKE PLACE IN LONDON. WITH SOME OF THE INDUSTRY’S BIGGEST NAMES ALREADY CONFIRMED, THE BMAS ARE THE PLACE TO BE TO HELP LIFT YOUR JANUARY GLOOM, AND CELEBRATE YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS.

For the last decade, the thousands of industry professionals who read Bar Magazine have been requesting that we run an on trade event, and here we finally are! Save the Date! Monday 22nd January 2024, at the Leonardo Royal Hotel, St. Pauls, London will see top names and talented individuals from the UK’s hospitality sector gather to showcase just how creative and wonderful our industry is.

The BMAs are all about supporting the industry, recognising the quality, passion and creativity of the staff that work so hard in venues every day. There’s so much flair that goes unnoticed, and we want to give you your moment to shine and highlight your achievements. With December being such a busy and demanding month for hospitality workers, the BMAs in January 2024 are the perfect opportunity for us all to let our hair down and sink drinks, rather than serve them!

In addition to celebrating your achievements and having a well-deserved night off, the BMAs offer a unique

WHEN? WHERE? GET INVOLVED.

MONDAY 22ND JANUARY 2024 18:30 – LATE

LEONARDO ROYAL HOTEL, ST. PAULS 10 GODLIMAN ST, LONDON EC4V 5AJ networking opportunity. Attendance to the event will put you in the company of 200+ likeminded hospitality professionals. This provides a fantastic chance to make new connections with peers, who you can discuss ideas and compare business successes with. Tickets are now available through the Bar Magazine website. Our host for the evening is the amazingly talented Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador and founder of RumFest. Ian’s growth and rise within hospitality is truly inspirational and he shows that with

Applications are now open, and tickets are now available. Please visit www.barmagazine.co.uk/ barmagazineawards, email tom@cimltd.co.uk or reach out on Instagram @barmagazineuk for more information.

The Host

IAN BURRELL – GLOBAL RUM AMBASSADOR

We are especially excited to announce Ian Burrell as our host for the 2024 BMAs. Ian is an award-winning educationist for the hospitality industry, being voted the 10th most influential person in hospitality, 2020. He brings a wealth of experience, passion and character to the BMAs, specialising in the different rums available around the world and educating us on the best way to use them.

Ian has established himself as the world’s only recognised global ambassador for the rum category, and also a TV personality who can be seen as a regular guest on Channel 4’s ‘Sunday Brunch’. Ian told us: “I am definitely looking forward to getting involved and presenting the inaugural Bar Magazine Awards next January. The UK Bar industry is one of the greatest in the world, employing some amazing people, so it’s only right that some of its stars are recognised during this new ceremony for their work, talent and passion, that will undoubtedly inspire the next generation of stars.” passion for your craft and hard work, the sky really is the limit.

Applications are now open to everyone until August 31st 2023, when the BMAs’ judging panel will gather to pick out our finalists and winners! Our 2024 judging panel consists of hospitality experts from The Drinks Trust, Mercieca, Licensed Trade Charity, Diageo and UKHospitality. More will be revealed in our May issue, where we feature a profile on each of our judges.

Over the next few pages, we will cover the amazing venue, the categories on which the awards will be judged and explain just how much your business and career can

The Judges

ROSS CARTER CEO

THE DRINKS TRUST

PAULA SMITH

HEAD OF MARKETING

LICENSED TRADE CHARITY

FRANKIE MERCIECA

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

MERCIECA

UKHOSPITALITY

DIAGEO

TOM WOOLLIN

DIRECTOR

BAR MAGAZINE benefit from being a BMA winner. We’d love to hear from you if you’d like to get involved, apply, get tickets or just have a few questions. You can find out more information or ways to contact us on www.barmagazine.co.uk/ barmagazineawards