Episode 18: Ethereal Excess – Carlos de Beistegui’s Venetian Ball

Described, in all seriousness, as the ‘Ball of the Century’, the Beistegui Ball of 1951 was a fancy dress event like no other: the guest list, the costumes, the late-running pre-party rehearsal – everything was taken to an extreme. But at what cost? As guests partied, they also pondered: ‘memorable’ the event certainly was; ‘merry’, perhaps not. Join Lucy and Ben as they discuss the enigmatic host and why his legendary entertainment may not, in fact, have been the party of all parties. Notes Nicholas Foulkes, ‘Don Carlos de Beistegui’, The Rake (March 2016). https://therake.com/stories/icons/don-carlos-de-beistegui/. Nicholas Foulkes, Bals: Legendary Balls of the Twentieth Century (2011). ‘The Beistegui Ball’, Scala Regia (January 2009). http://scalaregia.blogspot.com/2009/01/was-in-late-summer-of-1951-that-charles.html. ‘Ball of the Century’, British Pathé news clip. www.britishpathe.com/video/ball-of-the-century/query/Orson.