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.