The first heat of the competition, which is organised by the Confex Group and supported by Sternberg Clarke, IML and Event magazine, took place at Church House.

A boisterous crowd watched six acts - The Toostsie Rollers, Tony Rudd, Sean Hayden, Lekiddo, Karla Bernardi and Dan Hewitt - battle it out for a place in the semi-final and the chance to win £1,000 and a year-long contract with entertainment agency Sternberg Clarke.

Hosted by Event editor Jeremy King, the judges from this heat – Global Infusion Group global operations director Bonnie May, Church House general manager Robin Parker, Sternberg Clarke managing director Adam Sternberg and new ISES president (El Pres) Richard Foulkes – had some tough decisions to make when selecting their winner.

Through the power of the IML handsets, the audience chose swing singer Dan Hewitt as their winner, while the judges decided on magician Sean Hayden.

Pictures from the event taken by Simon Lane can be found here.

The next heat of The Next Big Thing will take place at the Eventia Summer Party, being held on 18 August at the Science Museum.

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