Jasmin Wölke hosts galas, award ceremonies and company anniversaries in Zurich, in English and in standard German. The gala host comes from Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart and arrives relaxed in the afternoon or the day before an evening event.
The setting shapes the dramaturgy
Zurich hosts can choose from very different rooms for their evening. The historic guild houses of the old town are dense and personal: small halls, short distances, and the stage is often just a free spot between the tables. What carries here is a host who works close to the audience and needs no big show. Hotels by the lake and the Kongresshaus offer the classic frame with a stage, lighting and space for many guests. And then there is the way onto the water: an evening on Lake Zurich has its own rhythm, because the programme has to reckon with casting off, cruising and docking, and nobody leaves the boat early. Jasmin builds the dramaturgy around the room, not the other way round. What works in a guild house would fall apart on the boat, and vice versa.
Honours in front of a sober audience
The Zurich audience is shaped by the financial centre and the technology scene: precise, polite, with little appetite for pathos. A gala that carries here relies on substance rather than effects. Jasmin therefore prepares every honour individually. In the briefing she collects the story behind each name, checks the pronunciation and decides with the host which moment deserves applause and which a smile. On stage she remains the host of the evening, never its main character. How much programme fits into one night is shown by the Leadership Excellence Awards, a corporate reference with 250 guests and ten categories. When international guests are in the room, which in Zurich is the rule rather than the exception, she switches between German and English to a plan, without the evening losing its shape.
The evening starts long before the apéro
Before the gala, Jasmin aligns the running order, the technology and the stage management with the team in charge, including an afternoon rehearsal for complex programmes. How a gala evening is structured is shown in running order and programme of a gala. The format is described in the gala hosting hub, and all assignments in the city are bundled on the Zurich city page.
Enquire about your gala in Zurich
Send the occasion, date, venue and number of guests through the contact form. You will receive a quick assessment and, after the briefing, a written offer with a fixed fee, travel costs to Zurich listed separately.