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Exterior shot of IoD

Friday 5th December 2014 – The London headquarters of the Institute of Directors are housed at 116 Pall Mall a magnificent Grade 1 listed building. On the outside, the flambeaux blazed a warm welcome to our guests for our Grand Christmas Dinner.

Inside the sumptuously appointed restaurant, a young gifted musician sat before a grand piano playing music which set the mood for the champagne reception as the room filled with those attending the sold-out event.

The Senior Features Editor of Nikon Owner magazine, Gillian Greenwood, warmly welcomed everyone to the 7th Annual Grand Christmas Dinner. The delicious Christmas meal was served, and after the coffee and chocolates, the guests adjourned to the Morning Room.

The menu for our Grand Christmas Dinner

In the Morning Room, Gray Levett, founder of Grays of Westminster introduced Richard Young, one of the most significant social documentary photographers of our time.

Richard Young is at the forefront of celebrity photography. With a career spanning 40 years in 2014, and no sign of stopping anytime soon, Richard’s exceptional eye and unique approach has cemented him as the most trusted and prolific contemporary photographer to the stars. As both a portraitist and photojournalist, his unerring ability to capture the moment and present a candid, inside view into the world of celebrity has resulted in iconic images that are celebrated in publications throughout the world.

In 2012, Richard was presented with the Ischia Art Award at the Ischia Global Film and Music Festival in Italy, and in the same year was featured as the subject of a four-part Sky Arts Documentary: Celebrity Exposed: The Photography of Richard Young. In 2013, he was awarded Le Prix Champagne de la Joie de Vivre, and later in the year, an Honorary Fellowship and the title Honorary Doctor in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Field of Photography from The University of The Arts London.

Richard Young’s highly entertaining talk was illustrated by a wealth of stunning images from a distinguished range of famous subjects, from Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, from Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Junior to Tom Cruise, Princess Diana and Jackie Onassis. Over the years, he has covered the Cannes Film Festival and the Oscars in Los Angeles, as well as visiting orphanages in Romania with Michael Jackson and accompanying United States troops to Iraq. Every one of these images told a story.

Caroline Nolan, Tabitha Hardy, Becky Danese

Richard Young, Elizabeth Ostermann, Susan Young

Tom Hardy, Uri Zakay

Caroline Nolan, Katrin Ruckert, Raffi Silvanian, Tara Gibson, Sarah Eicker

Mike Eleftheriades, Helen Atkinson

Pablo Monteagudo, Mike Eleftheriades

Nigel Atherton Group Editor of AP, Gray Levett, Richard Young

Debbie Hughes, Christina Eleftheriades, Steve Hughes

Uri Zakay, Richard Young, Gray Levett, Gillian Greenwood

This year, the winning raffle ticket in the Grays of Westminster 2014 prize draw for a pair of Nikon High-Grade 2012 Olympic binoculars worth £450, courtesy of Nikon UK, went to Adrian Cochrane.