It was a dark and stormy night on Thursday, as The Media Federation of Australia (MFA) celebrated its 15th NGEN Halloween, presented by News Corp Australia.
With the Sydney event held at Home The Venue, the rain couldn’t keep people’s spirits down as they arrived dressed to the nines and ready to dance the night away.
This year’s theme was Op Shop Met Gala, with attendees donning their most fashionable spooky looks. Underneath the ghosts and clowns hanging from the ceiling, the room was host to witches, zombies, and the occasional cowboy with hats lit up in neon blue.
Opening the night’s proceedings were NGEN co-chairs Lane Watson (OMD), Georgie Witt (Paramount), who thanked News Corp for presenting the event, attendees for making their way down, and the gentlemen running the hot dog cart for feeding the hoards of hungry guests.
Next up was a performance by drag queen Renee Saunts (otherwise known as News Corp sales manager Enrico Resuta), who took to the stage as the audience cheered. She and her two dancers gave an electric performance to Beyoncé’s End Of Time, with the backdrop of Darling Harbour glittering behind them.
Renee Saunts
Taking over the decks were DJ Sam and DJ Gully, who kept the mood high by keeping the dance floor fillers coming one after the other.
Guests were also able to gather up their friends and strike a pose in the photobooth, taking printed out copies to put on the fridge at home.
Renee Saunts returned to the stage for the crowning of best dressed, giving the people in the running the chance to strut their stuff catwalk-style ahead of the vote. With the most cheers, the winners of best dressed were John Ryan (JCDecaux) and Rianna Danis (News Corp Australia).
It was then time for another performance from Renee Saunts, bringing the house down and inviting people up to join her in dancing on stage, before a confetti gun showered the crowd in gold.
Melanie Aslanidis, MFA’s head of NGEN, said: “After a jam-packed 10 months of learning – with workshops covering public speaking, sales excellence, pitching best practice, imposter syndrome, critical thinking, negotiation skills and much more – it’s always a great reward for the NGEN community to come together and celebrate the great leaps they’ve made throughout the year. The level of enthusiasm was high at all three events and the outfits certainly did not disappoint! For anyone who missed out on attending, a quick reminder to get in early in 2024 to register and attend at least three sessions to secure your priority access to tickets.”
Lou Barrett, managing director national sales at News Corp Australia, said: “As a long-standing supporter of NGEN, News Corp Australia was thrilled to be part of this year’s NGEN Halloween events, helping to bring together our emerging generation of leaders for some well-deserved revelry and networking. We’re excited to watch as they continue to grow and thrive in their careers.”