On the town: The party's not quite over ...

On Thursday evening, even as EU summit leaders meet in Brussels to tackle the worst banking crisis in decades, a glamorous posse will be sipping champagne and nibbling quail's-egg canapés in London, removed from the turmoil of the city below as they gaze down from the top floor of one of the city's most iconic buildings.

The exclusive Cartier Frieze Dinner will see Charles Saatchi, Dasha Zukhova and other luminaries of the art world gather at the new, well-appointed Paramount members club on the top three floors of the Centre Point building in London's West End to celebrate the beginning of the Frieze Art Fair.

While the rest of the country contemplates the grim reality of certain recession, next week marks the start of a determined effort by a die-hard band of sybarites to party, come what may.

Frieze brings with it a merry-go-round of glamorous events. "It is a huge art cocktail party," said Geordie Greig, the editor of the society party magazine Tatler.

With more than 150 galleries exhibiting, the fair attracts artists, gallery owners and buyers from all over the world; a heady mix that spills over into the capital's coolest bars and restaurants.

From informal post-show gatherings in the Covent Garden pubs to the exclusive, invitation-only dinner that marks the opening of the fair, the stars of the art world – from Damien Hirst to Tracey Emin and Sam Taylor-Wood – will be out in force. Whether the social lubrication brings with it big-ticket sales is another matter.

"It'll be interesting to see if people are in a buying mood. If no one is buying anything, the people holding the parties are going to think it has been an expensive week," Mr Greig said.

Meanwhile, the literary establishment will also be throwing one of the most important events of the year, when it announces the winner of the prestigious Man Booker prize.

Award-winning authors Kazuo Ishiguro, A S Byatt and Anne Enright will be among the 500 members of the literary elite who will be enjoying a champagne reception and tucking into a generous three-course dinner at London's Guildhall.

"The Man Booker is carrying on as usual. There was no question of it not carrying on," said a spokesperson for the event. Nervous nominees will be soothed by the sounds of a Latin jazz quartet, which will play as diners enjoy a menu of potted Cornish crab, braised beef and treacle tart, washed down with plenty of Moët.

Tatler's own annual party will go ahead, as planned, on the grounds that it would be unpatriotic to do anything else: "I don't think people should stop partying – the best thing we can do for the economy is to get out there and spend money" Mr Greig said.

While the Tatler "Little Black Book" party will certainly cost a tidy sum, most of that is likely to come from the electronics company Philips, which is sponsoring the event.

The bright young things in attendance – most of whom hail from families wealthy enough to have their own fully stocked cellars, if not vineyards – will also be sipping free beverages, courtesy of drinks sponsors Piper Heidsieck champagne and Asahi beer.

Held at the nightclub Tramp on the 5 November, it will have a guest list that reads like a Who's Who of the young London scene, with model Poppy Delevigne, author Imogen Lloyd Webber and socialite Sophia Hesketh all in attendance last year.

But for some organisations, the champagne will be staying firmly uncorked in the coming months. The traditional charity auctions, dinners and balls – with their opportunities for self-conscious philanthropy and ostentatious displays of wealth – look as if they will be early casualties.

Tickets for the £1,650-a table Glass Slipper Ball, which usually raises more than £70,000 for the NSPCC, are failing to sell as quickly as the organisers had anticipated. "There are events that we have sold fewer tickets for, or got less sponsorship for than we would have hoped," said Kath Abrahams, development director of the NSPCC. In happier times, the charity could count on around £70,000 through ticket sales and the auction of expensive gifts.

"We need all the support we can get. There is a lot less money around than there was this time last year,",Ms Abrahams added.

Charities are not the only ones whose revels have been jeopardised by the current financial turmoil.

The City bankers who for the past decade have packed out the capital's most exclusive nightspots from the beginning of December onwards, celebrating their obscene bonuses with Jeroboams of Cristal champagne, are likely to be spending this festive season quietly.

Perhaps understandably, none of the City's financial institutions wanted to comment last week on their social calendar for the coming months.

"Very, very few banks will be having Christmas parties this year," Mr Greig said. "If you're the head of HSBC, giving a party would be a bad signal – like fiddling while Rome burns."

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