Why Scientology’s reclusive leader would risk re-emerging in England for the IAS gala

Several weeks ago, we told you that we were hearing from some of our sources in England that the IAS gala was going to be held there after an absence of four years.

Yesterday, Alexander Barnes-Ross reported that he had obtained a flier promoting that very thing, suggesting that the 2023 IAS gala will be held at Saint Hill, Scientology's UK headquarters in East Grinstead, over the weekend of November 3-5.

The biggest implication of that, of course, is that Scientology leader David Miscavige plans to preside over the event, marking his return to international events after several years dodging process servers in Florida.

Before the pandemic, Scientology's calendar was marked with four major international events that all wealthy Scientologists were expected to attend: A New Year's event in Los Angeles; founder L. Ron Hubbard's March 13 birthday in Clearwater, Florida; a week on the Freewinds cruise ship in the Caribbean in June or July; and then the IAS gala in East Grinstead, usually in October.

The IAS event celebrates the International Association of Scientologists and its major donors. It gives Miscavige an opportunity to hand out large gaudy trophies to Scientologists who have donated millions of dollars.

Once the pandemic hit in 2020, however, those events were confined to the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, with Miscavige in attendance. As far as we know, he has not been seen outside of the Clearwater area since his last ‘Ideal Org’ grand opening in Ventura, California in February 2020.

So this would be a big step for him, traveling across the Atlantic to preside once again in the big tent that is set up for the IAS event. The last time it was held there, in 2019, Tom Cruise not only showed up, but he brought his children Isabella and Connor for the first time.

With celebrities and big donors arriving for their trophies, Miscavige would be making something of a statement by finally leaving his Clearwater fortress and risking being exposed to process servers or other members of the public by traveling to Saint Hill.

Isn't that unusually bold of him?

Mike Rinder tells us, however, that if Miscavige is going to get international events going again, it makes sense to do it at Saint Hill for the IAS gala.

"Saint Hill is a much more controlled environment than any other venue, as he just has to get from his private jet landing into a vehicle and then drive onto the grounds at Saint Hill," Mike tells us. "When I flew there on Tom Cruise's plane with him, we landed at Farnborough, which is a private jet airport that has no direct public access, and you get cleared and drive the vehicle up to the plane."

Other venues just don't offer that level of security, he points out.

"At an Ideal Org grand opening he has to be visible on the street, (and not all General Aviation airfields have direct vehicle access to the planes). I don't think he trusts the people at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. LA is also not a 'safe' environment at the Shrine because it is really big and hard to control and he has to drive there and back to wherever he comes from, stuck in LA traffic," Mike says.

"So, if he is going to make his reappearance on the world stage, it's the IAS event that would be the venue of choice. And it doesn't hurt that they can amp up the hype for the whales with 'COB will announce you himself and if you give enough he will present you with your trophy.'"

Mike acknowledges that Miscavige doesn't have to come to England to hand out trophies to big donors, he can do that in Clearwater, as he has been doing the last three years.

There's something else going on, Mike figures.

"I think he is feeling the need to 'make a statement': 'I am not in hiding, despite what may be said.'"

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