The Pudong Shangri-La ballroom was filled to capacity with 640
Australians and friends celebrating in unique Aussie style at the
15th Annual AustCham Shanghai Great Australian Ball on
11 September.
The event, themed this year as "The Wonderful World of OZ", is
the Chamber's biggest annual fundraiser. Over RMB330,000 was raised
on the night to provide gift bags at Chinese New Year for
underprivileged children in Shanghai through the Giving Tree.
Inspired by the sentiment "There's no place like home", this
sell-out event showcased Aussie ingenuity and style with outrageous
costumes and dizzying decorations on display. AustCham Shanghai
treated guests with gourmet food, premium Australian wine and beer,
and flew in special guest, Australian comedian, actor and writer
Corinne Grant to MC the evening.
The Annual Ball is the showpiece event for the Australian
Chamber of Commerce; a non-profit organisation focused on
strengthening Australia-China business relations.
Over the years, through a variety of fundraising events
including weekly Aussie drinks, AustCham Shanghai and its members
have made significant donations to local community programs. The
Chamber has donated more than RMB 2 million to organisations
including: Life Line, Baoji XinXing, Shanghai Charity Foundation,
and Heart to Heart Shanghai.