Venice Simplon-Orient-Express last night handed over a cheque for �15,575 to the Venice in Peril Fund, the British committee for the preservation of Venice, at the charity�s annual members� dinner.

The money was raised from a donation of �25 for every Venetian Overture package booked through Orient-Express� own tours brochure �Journeys of Distinction�, during the 2005 season which ran from March to November.

The cheque was presented to Venice in Peril Honourable Chairman The Viscount Norwich CVO by VSOE Chief Executive Nick Varian who said, �Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is a proud supporter of Venice in Peril and I am delighted that we are able to contribute to the good work that the charity does in preserving the beautiful city of Venice.�

The project chosen to benefit from the money raised is the restoration of an XVIII Century Chinese screen housed at the Museum of Oriental Art in Ca Pesaro, Venice. The works should be completed by next year.

Mr. Varian added: �This collaboration will continue into 2006 with a donation from each booking made of all three Venetian packages offered in our brochure � Venetian Overture, Venetian Rhapsody and Venetian Serenade. We hope to generate a significant donation each year which will help to rescue and restore Venetian monuments, buildings and works of art.�

As far back as the early 20th Century when Society was first discovering the richness of Venice, the Orient-Express was deemed the only way to arrive. Today the distinctive blue and gold Wagons-Lits carriages still trace their way across Europe from London and Paris to re-create this golden age of travel.

For further information on journeys to Venice call Orient-Express on 0845 077 2222 or visit www.orient-express.com. For further information on Venice in Peril visit www.veniceinperil.org

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For press enquires call Kathryn Malone in the Orient-Express PR Department on 0207 805 5064 kathryn.malone@orient-express.com. Images of the cheque presentation and the XVIII Chinese screen are available on request from Kathryn Malone.

Notes to Editors 1. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express travels between London and Venice from March to November each year. This legendary train also offers departures to/from Paris, Rome, Vienna, Budapest, Prague and Istanbul. The classic London to Venice departure costs �1,390 per person.

2. The Museum of Oriental Art contains one of the most important collections of Japanese art of the Edo period (1600 � 1868) in Europe. The collection was created by Prince Enrico di Borbone, Conte di Bardi, in the period 1887 � 1889 during a long journey in the Far East with his wife, Adelgonda di Braganza, when they visited China, Indonesia and Japan. During these travels he acquired more than 30,000 objects which he arranged in his mezzanine apartment on the first floor of Palazzo Vendramin Calergi, where he was a guest of his grandmother, Duchesse Caroline de Berry.

At the end of the First World War the collection was acquired by the Italian Government as part of reparations for war damage. In 1925 an agreement was reached between the State and the Municipality of Venice to house the collection in the museum of Ca Pesaro.