A COUPLE from the Yorkshire Dales have scooped a major international prize for their small events business – and were the only UK company nominated for any award.

Simon and Anita Watson from Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales run Incredible Artists Ltd with the help from assistant Dawn Turner – but managed to beat of competition from the likes of MGM Studios to claim the best event for under $500,000 at the Special Event Awards in Florida last week.

The Special Event Convention attracts the world’s leading event professionals who gather to see the latest innovations and celebrate the most spectacular events worldwide.

Nominees include the largest charity balls in the world, product launches for multinational companies, and sporting events on the scale of the Olympic Games.

The event Mr and Mrs Watson were nominated for was a charity ball for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

Mrs Watson said: “The event was for 1,200 guests and was themed as a Venetian masked ball.

“Each table centre consisted of a brass candelabra supporting a huge arrangement of red grand prix roses, containing fireworks which were all ignited simultaneously by remote control.”

“When you are booking A-list celebrities you are in a whole different world - at this event our comedian was Sean Lock, we had Roger Taylor from Duran Duran, our band was Texas, and the headline act was Nicole Scherzinger.

“The complexities of dealing with big name artists and all their requirements are not something that most event organisers are prepared to take on.”

Mr Watson added: “We were the only UK company to be nominated for any award, and one of the other two nominees in our category was MGM Studios, so we a really delighted to have been given this recognition alongside such esteemed company.”

Contact anita@incredibleartists.co.uk or visit www.incredibleartists.co.uk/.