Tourist Board of Istria with the world–renowned Sotheby's Auction House, on Monday 25th November 2019, will organize Istrian white truffle auction, for the first time in London. The event will take place in the prestigious Harry's Bar in Mayfair – elite area of the West End in London, one of the most exclusive private clubs whose members are the representatives of the London and international jet set as well as UHNW (ultra high-net-worth individuals).

The auction will be organized in cooperation with the world famous Sotheby's Auction House, which will be held by its president for UK, Lord Dalmney and with the support of the PR agency FOX Communication from London.

„Istria gives more importance to the UK market where for a lot of efforts have been made in promotion and attracting more tourists from UK, improving the existing flights from UK and opening new ones – especially in pre and post season. Moreover, since the last year, Tourist Board of Istria cooperates with London PR agency, FOX Communication, so Istria is even more present in UK media and events, as a result of which the region marks more British tourists. After the Time Out Istria edition for the English speaking area, which was entirely dedicated to our region, Tourist Board intensively works on being even more popular in London and its greater area with the focus at middle and higher purchasing power potential customers, so the auction is one of activities that will help Istria to maintain its positive image and reputation and it will help the affirmation of the bran of Istria.“, stated director of Tourist Board of Istria, Denis Ivošević, and he concluded that Istria is recognized in the world within the gastronomy and lifestyle.

The most important thing is that all funds collected with truffle auction will have the humanitarian purpose.

During the auction, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a dinner based on Istrian white Truffle, as well as extra virgin olive oils and wines from Istria. Zigante Tarufi d.o.o. - the leading company for processing and selling truffIes from Plovanija near Buje is included in this important project for Istria which will provide the main products for the auction and the Istrian dinner.

The auction will be conducted in four parts and will be intended for both guests present and those interested who will be able to bid by phone. In the first part, smaller-sized truffles will be auctioned, while in the second part, medium-sized truffles will go on auction, then the package “Truffle Experience in Istria” will be auctioned. At the end of the auction the biggest truffle of the season will be auctioned because of which the dinner was sold out within few hours and many people who couldn't book their place are on the waiting list and hope that they will have their place there.

In addition to Istrian white truffles, Istrian extra virgin olive oils from the Chiavalon family will be presented and served with truffle-based specialities on all tables at Harry's Bar and all guests can taste it.

Along with the extra virgin oils, wines from the Kozlovic family of Momjan including Malvasia, Teran and Momjan Muscat will be served to all guests.

Harry's Bar in Mayfair, London has around 400 members, including some of the richest people in the world. The restaurant belongs to the famous Caprice group which encompasses the best London clubs like Annabel’s, Marks Club and other.

Sotheby's has been gathering world-class art collectors since 1744, and it became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955). It was the first auction house to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), followed by India (1992) and France (2001), and became the first international artwork auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries around the world and presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris. Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world.

Harry Dalmeny joined Sotheby’s in 1991, initially working in the Old Master, Furniture and Silver departments. In 1993, he joined the House Sales department, becoming a Director in 1999. In February 2003, Lord Dalmeny was appointed Chairman of Sotheby’s Olympia and now, as an integral part of the Chairman’s office at New Bond Street, he has executive responsibility for business development. His role includes contacts with clients because of which he has developed tight business connections with many leading buyers and merchants all around the world.