Main Event (August 2010)

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Issue 42 August 2010 £4.75

Glastonbury ‘the safest ever ...’

Call to avoid panic over stampede

By Christina Eccles THE stampede at the Love Parade in Germany which killed 21 people and left hundreds injured should not provoke a knee jerk reaction from the UK events industry, it has been claimed.

Tragedy struck when panic broke out in a tunnel – the sole entrance to the event – causing a stampede from festivalgoers struggling to move.

The incident is currently under investigation but organisers are expected to come under fire in the report as it is understood up to 1.4m people attended the event, which had a maximum capacity of 250,000.

But although what happened at Love Parade has sent shockwaves through the industry, experts have urged the UK industry not to panic and clamp down on events held here.

TAO Productions’ Andy Cotton has worked on major events all over the world and he told The Main Event that although lessons can always be learned when an incident occurs, organisers in the UK should already know to take planning and risk assessment seriously at their events.

And he said there is no need for more red tape to be introduced

which could be harmful to the UK’s vibrant outdoor events scene.

He said: “I don’t think this will make people wary of going to events, but where it could have an impact is on councils who may see the news coverage and clamp down. But they shouldn’t need to because we should be doing it right anyway.

“We shouldn’t have a knee jerk reaction in the UK but we should do what we are supposed to do anyway, which is plan our events properly and risk assess them – if it’s not safe, then it shouldn’t be done.”

President of the National Outdoor Events Association Richard Limb added that the UK is well regarded for its ability to safely stage major events and the current level of legislation is sufficient.

He added: “The UK outdoor events industry has a very good reputation with competent organisations undertaking proper risk assessments, safety plans and also thorough site design plans, which combined would ensure that any foreseeable problems are ironed out at the planning stage and do not occur. The legislation and guides currently in place are more than adequate to control the industry in the UK.”

THIS year’s Glastonbury Festival has been labelled the safest ever after it achieved the lowest accident statistics and best medical records yet.

The event celebrated its 40th birthday this year and according to those working at the festival, there was a great atmosphere among festivalgoers and suppliers on site.

TESS has worked on Glastonbury since 2002 – promoting a health and safety culture within the festival and engaging with suppliers to improve health and safety in their own specialist areas.

The company’s Tim Roberts said: “The 40th anniversary was exceptionally good, we had great interactions from staff and the public were unfailingly positive.

Glastonbury and all the people involved have always been lovely to work with and work for.”

For more on Glastonbury see our Festival Round Up starting on Page 15

Singer and Strictly Come Dancing judge Alesha Dixon has been named as the first act to perform at Blackpool’s Big Switch On celebrations.

The weekend of events takes place in September to launch the world famous Blackpool Illuminations and is expected to attract large numbers of visitors to the town.

Picture: BBC

The Main Event is the official magazine of the National Outdoor Events Association

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Don’t miss Part 2 of our 2010 Festival Round-up featuring events like T in the Park, Godiva, Lovebox, Wireless, Glastonbury and Rockness Starting on Page 13 Lak puts success down to genuine love for event Page 6

Local authority spotlight Pages 10-11 Organisers focus on spectacle Page 8

Locals rally to help save weather-battered event

By Christina Eccles LOCAL volunteers stepped in to save this year’s Cockermouth Rock Festival after the site was hit by freak weather just hours before the event was due to start.

Strong winds and heavy rain hit the site in Cumbria which had been set up ready for the arrival of festivalgoers the next day.

After receiving a phone call in the early hours of the morning urging him to get down to the site, organiser Clint Stamper discovered that all the hard work had been destroyed.

The damage was so bad that Clint – who runs the festival with his wife Debbie – was faced with the prospect of having to cancel.

However, a plea on local radio and social networking site Facebook resulted in a group of local people coming down to help organisers set everything back up.

And although they were unable to salvage one of the stages, the rest of the festival went ahead as planned.

Clint explained: “We had finished setting up on the Thursday night about 1am and three hours later, I got a phone call saying I had better get down to the site.

“It was really bad – the site was flattened. There had been serious winds and the session tent had got completely blown over. We had to concentrate all our man power on saving the dance tent.

“We put a cry for help out on the radio and on Facebook and people

came up. We managed to get the festival back to where it was apart from the session tent and workshop tent.

“I was really surprised by how much support we got from locals. I am really flattered and overwhelmed by it.

“I thought the weather was going to destroy us but we patched it up as best we could. I honestly didn’t think we could do it but everyone helped us out and we have had lots of good feedback from festivalgoers.”

The weather was mixed for the rest of the weekend but did nothing to dampen the spirit of festivalgoers at the 5,000 capacity event who enjoyed performances from the likes of Dodgy and The King Blues.

Olympic team looks to Mendip for tips A TEAM in charge of overseeing the 2012 London Olympics has visited Mendip to find out what is involved in running a big event.

Mendip District Council was chosen because of its partnership work on the Glastonbury Festival and experts from the Joint Local Authority Regulatory Service visited the council to meet with the team involved in monitoring Europe’s biggest music

and dance festival.

They focused on the successful work the council does with the festival organisers, police, emergency services and other organisations which have made Glastonbury one of the safest events of its kind.

The team of six from the London Borough of Newham, where the heart of the Olympics will take place, praised the valuable information they

gained from the Mendip visit.

Local district councillor for Pilton coun Nigel Hewitt-Cooper said: “For the past several years, the festival has got safer and safer and is recognised as one of the best run events in the world. It’s great that we now have the opportunity to share some of our knowledge and expertise, especially with an event as high profile as the Olympics.”

On the crest of a wave NOEA Classified

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CONTACTS EDITORIAL Group Editor Andrew Harrod Tel: 01226 734639 editorial@themaineventmagazine.co.uk Reporters: Christina Eccles (ce@whpl.net) Emma Spencer (emmas@whpl.net) Louise Cordell (lcordell@whpl.net) Dominic Musgrave (dm@whpl.net)

PRODUCTION Studio Manager: Stewart Holt (sth@whpl.net) Tel: 01226 734414 Group Deputy Editor: Judith Halkerston (jhalkerston@whpl.net) Tel: 01226 734458 Graphic designer: Kyle Wilkinson (kw@whpl.net) Tel: 01226 734711

ADVERTISING Group Sales Manager: Paul Allott Tel: 01226 734484 Fax: 01226 734478 Mob: 07500 905717 Email: pa@whpl.net Sales Executive: Mandy Mellor Tel: 01226 734702 Email: mm@whpl.net Sales and Marketing Director: Tony Barry Email: tb@whpl.net

CIRCULATION Kelly Tarff Tel: 01226 734695 email: circulation@wharncliffepublishing.co.uk

www.themaineventmagazine.co.uk

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Bringing Christmas to London in July

By Christina Eccles A SPECTACULAR event brought the joy of Christmas to central London – despite it taking place in the middle of summer.

The Christmas in July event – organised by Blonstein and Associates – provided the chance for supermarket brand Sainsburys to showcase its festive products to the media in time for journalists to report on them in upcoming features.

The project involved organiser Sara Blonstein and her team replicating famous London Landmark Burlington Arcade within the atrium of Sainsbury’s head office.

The pop up arcade had a particular focus on food – with guests being able to wander though shops including a bakery, butchers and fishmongers to admire the Christmas food products which Sainsbury’s will be selling during the holiday period.

The whole thing was built off site before being transported piece by piece into the venue and followed on from the previous two years’ events where the company had

built a life size doll’s house and an indoor forest.

Sara said the biggest challenge faced with this event was working within budget and to ensure costs didn’t spiral, the team had to get creative.

She explained: “Budget is always an issue and we had to make decisions about the finish of the shops. What we did was beautiful but a mini version of what we wanted to do.

We would have liked to have more shops and made them shinier.

“We also decided not to put any glass in the windows. You have to maximise what you have got and work with it.”

The company also built a 3D card model of the arcade so that the client could take it to meetings and get a feel of what the finished article was going to look like. And Sara added this ended up working well.

“Having the model was really useful and feedback about the whole event was great. It is an unusual match as we usually work in areas such as fashion but Sainsbury’s is a lovely client and it is a really enjoyable event to work on.”

The setting before, above, and after, below

Soaring 30°C temperatures set the scene for Simply Red’s concert at Newbury Racecourse.

Visitor numbers rocketed by 90 per cent compared to the equivalent Party in the Paddock Friday in 2009, as eager race goers took an evening out to enjoy the races and to catch a glimpse of the band performing for the very last time at the venue.

Cards could be start to move to cashless events A NEW scheme was piloted at this year’s WOMAD Festival which replaced paper-based crew meal tickets with electronic cards.

Festival organisers worked with Etherlive to introduce the cards, which were based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

Each crew member working on the festival was provided with a smart card, allowing them to collect food from the canteen once the card was placed on a special reader.

And organisers claim this may be the start of a move to cashless technology at events.

Festival director Chris Smith explained: “WOMAD is an exciting test case for the deployment of RFID at festivals, and I believe it could soon be rolled out in other ways.

“This is the first step in the journey towards cashless events where festivalgoers use their wristbands to pay for their drinks, goods and food.”

Etherlive’s managing director Chris Green added that the scheme is a useful way for organisers to keep track of how many staff have claimed meals and who they are to better manage their costs.

Sell-out event was the strongest yet Crowd management company AP Security has completed its busiest weekend of the year – deploying over 2,000 crew members to seven different sites across the UK. Events which the company worked on included Latitude, Lovebox and JLS’ concert for the Forestry Commission near Bristol.

Northern operations manager Simon Miller worked with southern operations manager

Chris Hollands to coordinate the weekend’s workload.

Simon said: “The logistics of looking after multiple sites and over 2,000 crew are immense. Just one event such as Latitude takes a lot of pre planning, but when you have seven events of more of less equal magnitude with crowds capacities ranging from 15,000 at Escot Park to 35,000 at Latitude, detailed management is the key.”

ACTS including Martha Wainwright, Jools Holland and Newton Faulkner joined 4,000 fans to celebrate the Larmer Tree Festival’s 20th anniversary.

The event sold out this year and organisers are already looking forward to how they can make the festival even better in 2011.

Festival founder and co-director

James Shepard said: “We are absolutely delighted with this year’s festival and it was definitely a fitting tribute to our 20th year.

“The line-up of musicians and comedians was the strongest it has ever been and the team surpassed themselves in creating an event which truly had something for everyone to enjoy.”

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Lak puts success down to genuine love for event Almost 20,000 people lined the streets of Skegness to watch a spectacular outdoor event which formed part of this year’s SO Festival. The resort was turned into an aquatic wonderland for the performance of Perle – with amazing sea creatures up to 25m in length telling the story of a pearl that needed to be returned to its oyster.

Heatwave plan rolled out AN emergency heatwave plan was kicked in to action at this year's Glastonbury Festival – the first time in its 40-year history.

As temperatures soared over the festival site in Pilton, Mendip District Council pulled together organisers, health teams and emergency services to come up with a two-stage festival heatwave plan.

The plan looked at a first stage of prevention – warning revellers about the dangers of the excessive heat and sun exposure – and a second stage to deal with the potential treatment of

those caught out by the temperatures.

The council’s public protection manager Claire Malcolmson said: “The great partnership work that we undertook as soon as health professionals raised concerns about the hot weather certainly paid off and meant we were able to control the amount of people seeking medical attention for weather-related illness.

“These numbers were kept under control and revellers continued to enjoy the festival in the unusually good weather.”

A FESTIVAL organiser has revealed how seeing the same old thing at other events inspired him to start his own.

Lak Mitchell organises the Boomtown Fair in Buckinghamshire – a festival which began about four years ago when he spotted a gap in the market for a new event.

Lak enlisted the help of friends and family to put on the first festival and has never looked back.

He said: “I was bored of seeing the same line up at every festival and no atmosphere so thought let’s put on our own.”

According to Lak, the key to success has been that everyone involved has a genuine love for what they do and is not out to make a large profit from the festival.

He added: “The people who come know we will put in the maximum amount of effort and not expect anything out of it. We have never made a penny out of it and for us it’s all about making sure that people have an amazing time.”

The festival has moved sites this year – relocating from the South West up to Buckinghamshire.

And Lak told The Main Event that the new location is more central for festivalgoers to get to as well as being big enough for the event to expand in

future years.

This year’s event will also have a greater focus on families with a dedicated kids’ area and family camping.

“For the last three years we have had to stop ticket sales because we have run out of space.

“If we can stay at this site it will be a blessing because we have massive plans for it.”

Jamie’s team serves Cornbury festival-goers Company continually grows and develops its range IN early 2010, The Amazing Tent Company was selected to supply tent structures for a nine-date, ninevenue roadshow, currently appearing in major cities across the UK to coincide with the BBC’s high-voltage science programme, Bang Goes the Theory.

Now in its second year, the project has increased in size due to its popularity – in addition to providing a saddle span structure, for 2010, the team at Amazing are also installing a brand new ARCO 100 structure.

Director Steve Haddrell said: “We continually grow and develop our range – sourcing, customising and supplying complementary structures that work both as stand-alone products, or as part of a much bigger production package.”

The structure houses a side-by-side

stage show as well as an interactive exhibition and both are anchored with a special ballast system.

A custom-made solution was required due to a tight logistical schedule and hard-standing sites in each city centre.

In addition to designing anchorage, Amazing Tents designed and retro-fitted side panels to the ARCO that would fit with the ‘Bang banners’ and provide clear routes in and out of the structure.

Technical director Dan Hyde added: “We relish the challenge to come up with new and innovative systems that give our customers a real differentiator.

“I am sure this is the first of many new designs which we look forward to rolling out over the coming months.”

JAMIE Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts catering team made its debut into the festival food market at this year’s Cornbury Festival.

The Fabulous Feasts menu, designed specifically to suit the family-oriented audience, was freshly prepared on site from a newly-built bespoke temporary catering facility.

And while the Cornbury crowds enjoyed the festival menu in Oxfordshire, the corporate catering team catered for over 200 guests in the hospitality area of a high-profile annual sporting event, and continued preparations to feed 2,200 people over three days at a business conference in London.

This flexibility in food offer is one of the keys to Fabulous Feasts’ success, according to managing director Glen Chadwick, pictured below.

He said: “Having three separate branches of Fabulous Feasts allows us to deliver a great range of food to a client such as Cornbury Festival. Our public concession offer brings quickly prepared, simple, high quality food to the masses at a reasonable price, and is a great alternative to traditional festival catering.

“Our corporate and private offers are equally unwavering on quality, but offer a completely different type of food suited to the requirements of VIP catering.”

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‘High and dry’ festival now back on track

By Christina Eccles THE organisers of the Brownstock Festival have told how they turned a series of challenges to their advantage when planning this year’s event.

The festival was forced to move from its planned date in July to the first weekend in September after working for four months with potential partners who then withdrew their support.

According to organiser Adam Brown, this left them ‘high and dry’ and unsure whether to go ahead with this year’s event.

But after re-thinking their plans, they decided to stage an event and Adam said plans are now back on track.

He said: “It was extremely frustrating. We had the line-up booked and the website ready to launch. It was tempting to say that we couldn’t do it but we agreed that we would go for it.

But it has been hard work.”

Adam told The Main Event that new acts are now in place and that because the revised date is towards the end of the festival season, they can benefit from lower prices for suppliers.

He added: “Quotes were coming in a lot cheaper for September because suppliers aren’t so busy at this time so it has helped us to keep our outgoings down. We also moved because we had been left short of time but the new date fits in with the farming calendar better as before we struggled to get the crops out in time.”

Adam also said that despite the issues they have had to face this year, things are looking positive for the Essex-based festival – with ticket sales up and good working relationships emerging with the local authority and suppliers, which include Sygma Safety and Event Security Solutions.

“Last year was all about getting the licence through but now the Local Authority is really happy with things.

Our relationship with Sygma has got stronger each year and this year we have also introduced a new security company which is also helping us out with logistics and site layout.”

The Main Event will be visiting Brownstock to see how everything went. Look out for our event review in the October issue.

Thousands hit by ticket cons MORE than 5,000 fans were scammed last summer, trying to buy tickets for the UK’s top music festivals, figures have revealed.

The statistics were provided by the organisers of Reading, Leeds, V, Download and Wireless as they joined the Office of Fair Trading’s Just Tick It campaign to warn consumers about online fraudulent ticket sites.

The figures are based on complaints last year by festivalgoers who had paid for tickets online and not received them, or who bought fake tickets and were subsequently turned away at the gates.

And the organisers have now joined

the OFT and music stars including JLS, Craig David and Kate Nash to support the campaign which warns music lovers about online scams.

Michele Shambrook, operations manager for the OFT-managed advice service Consumer Direct, said: “The Just Tick It campaign is here to give fans practical advice on how to check a website is legitimate before buying tickets online.

“We hope people will use our simple checklist to ensure they don't get scammed when looking for tickets to this summer's music and sporting events.”

Forest concerts reduce their carbon footprint THE introduction of new low energy lighting has made this year’s forest concerts more environmentally friendly.

The Forestry Commission has been working with Pearce Hire on the concerts, which take place in forest locations up and down the country to reduce the carbon footprint of the gigs.

And this year has seen a significant

change in the lighting design for the stage, with the company utilising iPix BB4 LED Washlights instead of the Parcans previously used.

This switch halves the power consumption of the lighting rig from previous years. Other good practices include using photo-cell light sensors onto the site lighting fixtures, which automatically turn fixtures off during daylight hours.

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In a crowded market place, organisers are having to think outside the box to ensure their event stands out from the crowd. Christina Eccles spoke to the people tasked with adding that extra sparkle.

Organisers have to focus on a spectacle FROM creating a great talking point among visitors to successfully showcasing a brand, organisers are finding more reasons to add unusual elements to their events.

Festivals, in particular, are becoming prime spots for brands who want to get their products and messages out to consumers – and are looking for ways to keep themselves one step ahead of the competition.

Philip Hughes is managing director of Ice Box – which specialises in creating spectacular ice sculptures at events.

The company has worked at festivals including V, Big Chill, T in the Park and Irish festival Electric Picnic, working particularly with brands who want to engage with festivalgoers.

And he said that using ice sculptures is a relatively inexpensive way to bring something special to an event.

He explained: “In a festival envi-

ronment where brands are competing for attention, ice is useful as it is very tactile and creates a talking point.

“It is an investment by a brand to get some additional coverage and deliver their brand in an unusual and original way.

“I think it is an under utilised and versatile communications medium.”

In the world of product launches, impressive features are the norm – with companies wanting their latest offering showcased in the best possible way.

Imagination created a dramatic event for Range Rover’s 40th birthday at The Orangery, Kensington Palace, which included the first sighting of its new Range Rover Evoque.

To reveal the car, it was suspended in mid air, 12m above the ground in a Perspex box.

The box was then lowered to the ground with a light and music

show in front of 200 VIPs including creative design executive, Victoria Beckham.

Imagination’s client services director Ross Wheeler added: “An event of this importance demands more than a ribbon cutting. We wanted to come up with something that represented the excitement of the brand and the moment itself.”

New Substance’s Patrick O’Mahony has delivered many visual spectaculars at events – including the highest ever bungee jump within a show and a flying mechanical falcon.

And he said that organisers who are prepared to be brave and offer something different at their events can reap the rewards.

He explained: “It’s all about being willing to push the boundaries and put your trust in the show design-

ers. We are seeing the market start to recover and people are wanting to come back with a bang and make a big impression.

“If you are brave enough to go that bit further, you can create a moment in time.”

Patrick added that the latest trend among organisers is to involve their audience more in performances. Instead of just watching something on a stage, performers are becoming integrated within crowds – allowing for a more interactive experience.

He said that festivals would be a great market to try this out in and is currently working with organisers to discuss how different performers and genres could work together to merge their ideas and create something special.

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The Wakestock Festival has grown from an event attracting 400 people into Europe’s largest wakeboarding and music festival. The Main Event caught up with organiser Mark Durston to find out more ...

Festival on the crest of a wave

By Christina Eccles WAKESTOCK is now in its 11th year and attracts about 15,000 visitors to the site in Abersoch, North Wales.

What makes the event unique is that combination of wakeboarding and music, which can’t be found at any other UK festival.

For this year’s festival, organisers secured a line up including the Ting Tings, Maximo Park and N-Dubz as well as some of the world’s best wakeboarding competitors.

But Mark revealed that organising the event hasn’t always been plain sailing and the team have managed to overcome a number of challenges and issues to get where they are today.

He explained: “With no real organisational experience, it was a case of try it and see if it worked. But we realised very quickly that we had to work with the local authorities.

“We try to invest our time wisely.

We haven’t applied for any funding

Gearhouse South Africa delivered all technical aspects of a spectacular closing ceremony to mark the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The company provided services including rigging, power, sound, lighting and large format projection (which was contracted out to French-based ETC) – utilising the dynamics, skills and services of most companies in the Gearhouse Group.

The 30 minute show at Soccer City Stadium in Soweto happened just ahead of the final match and featured a cast of 740 plus 35 headline artists.

Event on course to attract a million UP to 1m visitors and £16m in revenue could be generated for the North East when Hartlepool hosts the Tall Ships Races.

The event takes place over four days in August and will be England’s biggest free event in 2010.

And to maximise the impact of hosting the event, organisers have identified three key objectives.

These are: Attract higher visitor spend Welcome visitors to the Tees Valley Enhance Tees Valley’s profile and change perceptions by staging a major event.

For more on the Tall Ships Races, see next month’s issue of The Main Event.

and instead have tried to put all our time into the marketing and production. Marketing through the internet is crucial and you can react very quickly if you update it yourself. We get 6.5m unique [website] users each year so it is a really powerful tool.”

we first made a profit. But the belief was always there that we would get to the point where it is financially viable.

Mark also said an integral part of the event’s success is having the right team on board.

“The mudbath in 2007 was one of our biggest tests. We had to cancel the second day of the event and it was touch and go whether the festival could survive. But we came out of it with our record intact.

He added: “The team has been crucial to the event’s growth. Hard work is essential and it was year five when

“We love music and the spirit of the area and it is a privilege to host the event in such a beautiful location.”

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LOCAL AUTHORITY SPOTLIGHT The area covered by Kirklees Council ranges from rural villages to large towns such as Dewsbury and Huddersfield. Christina Eccles paid a visit to see how a detailed events progamme is reaching out to over 400,000 people.

How Adele rises to the challenge of delivering events

Fireworks are a popular addition to events in Kirklees as local people like to remember the area’s links with the firework industry. Adele added: Fireworks are a really important part of our events because Huddersfield used to be the home of the firework industry in the UK and the town has a long history of firework displays.”

Pictured is the firework display at last year’s Concerts in the Park event.

Teamwork pays off for area ADELE also explained how partnership working is helping Kirklees Council to deliver safe and successful events in the district.

She added: “My role is to lead the team that does the operational delivery of the events while Anne Marie Parker leads on communications and has a strategic approach.

“We contract out the event management side – a local company TG Events has won that contract for a number of years – and their work is making sure that all the infrastructure is put in place, put together the event plans and deal with health and safety aspects.

“We also have an event co-ordinator, Alison Povey, a job which is also contracted out, whose responsibilities include pulling together the proj-

ect team meetings.

“The project team model is working well for us. In 2006, the Queen came to Huddersfield and it was decided to put a major event on to celebrate.

What was found was that the services and agencies didn’t work very well together. Since then we have worked on changing that whole culture. The project team meet two to three times through the course of an event and we have a fantastic partnership with West Yorkshire Police.

“Everyone involved sits on that project team and once we have programmed for an event, we call that team together and everybody contributes. After the event, we will all get together again for a debrief to see how we can improve for next time – evaluation is really important to us.”

ADELE Poppleton works with a team to deliver events in Kirklees as part of her role as arts and creative economy development manager.

Her job also involves aspects such as working with arts businesses, running music programmes and using the arts to tackle issues within communities.

She says that one of the biggest reasons why the council organises events is because of the impact which they can have on towns and local residents – presenting them in a positive way and giving people something to be proud of in their area.

Adele told The Main Event that one of her biggest challenges is connecting with all residents and finding events which fit well in certain areas.

Some places are good at planning their own and the council has limited involvement, while others are benefiting from more support.

She explained: “About 410,000 people live in Kirklees but the issues don’t spread out across the district.

“When it comes to organising the events programme, people in rural areas are more self sufficient. For example, the people of Holmfirth are incredibly active and have events such as an arts festival and a festival of folk. Our only intervention is to provide a small amount of funding.

“But in the north, around the Dewsbury area, it is very rare for people to do things for themselves and it will be a long time before they have the skills to do their own events. So we have developed a programme around Dewsbury to raise aspirations

and confidence in local people.

“We also have a very multi cultural community so it is important for us to find ways to bring different communities together.

“We don’t go for mono cultural events anymore. We prefer to expose people to different cultures at an event.

“We are not just talking about ethnic diversity but also involving other aspects of the community who don’t always get exposure in a positive way.

“In town centre events we don’t allow concessions as we want to encourage people to use the facilities that already exist.

“We are also trying to get residents to travel to other parts of the district so it is important that our events are quite different and towns find something that is unique to them.

“My approach when working with communities is to say, what are you proud of and then take it from there.”

Another challenge is budget and delivering engaging and valuable events without breaking the bank.

She added: “The problem with budgets, particularly with local authorities, is that they are looking at what essential services they have to deliver. When they are being asked to make such significant cuts, they have to look carefully at things which are deemed to be nice to have. But we feel that events are more than nice to have. They stimulate investment and bring communities together and I would hate it if anything to do with communities is not prioritised.”

Carnival in successful move to town centre ANOTHER popular event is the Huddersfield Carnival – organised by the Huddersfield African Caribbean Cultural Trust (HACCT) with support from Kirklees Council.

The HACCT has been organising the event for over 25 years but a partnership with the council has helped it to evolve even further.

This year’s event was different as the main part of the carnival is usually held in Greenhead Park. But as the park is currently being renovated, it was held instead in the town centre.

Adele said although it was challenging to move the event, it worked out well because it reached people who wouldn’t normally go if it was held in the park. She added that the event is

popular in Huddersfield because it successfully manages to be both a celebration of the African Caribbean community but also embraces other cultures and age groups who also enjoy attending.

“This is the only event we do which could be deemed as being mono cultural but we feel it is really important to recognise the contribution which the African Caribbean community make in Huddersfield.

“The event is really successful at working with other parts of the community which some other events don’t manage to do and attracts a very diverse audience. It was a beautiful day and the town centre felt really vibrant and exciting.”

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LOCAL AUTHORITY SPOTLIGHT

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Popular festivals allow people to reclaim the streets ...

Festival wins praise for Adele‘s team ONE of the council’s most recent successes was Festival in the Park, which took place at Crow Nest Park in Dewsbury.

The festival was made up of two parts – Concerts in the Park and A World Together – which had been previously held as separate events.

With savings having to be made wherever possible, Adele and the team realised they couldn’t deliver both events to the level that was expected – so combined the two together.

She said: “The event used to be held in Huddersfield but Greenhead Park is currently being renovated so for the last two years we have taken it to Dewsbury.

“On the Saturday, we usually do something which appeals to an older audience. But we knew classical music wouldn’t appeal to audiences there, so last year we had Beyond the Barricades, which is material from West End shows, and this year we had the Magic of Motown.”

The Sunday was a combination of Concerts in the Park and A World Together which included a pop concert – with performances from acts including Roll Deep and Gabriella Cilmi.

Another addition to the line up was Northern Irish band Ignition who actually paid the council to perform at the event in order to gain exposure. The extra money generated from this was then used to pay for rising star Eliza Doolittle to also come and play.

Adele added: “The first time we put the concert on, we were heavily

criticised for not having local bands so for the past two years we have done a battle of the bands competition. Four local bands from that now play at the festival.

“Around the other parts of the park were the World Together activities. Our aim with this was to create more of a festival atmosphere, almost a ‘mini Glastonbury’ as a lot of local people could never afford to go to Glastonbury.

“We also created a childrens’ zone for children under 12 where they could take part in activities such as circus skills, story telling, mosaic making and henna painting.

“Saturday night tends to appeal to the 35 plus age group and there was nothing really for teenagers so we aimed the programme at that age group. But we also wanted to make the event as family friendly as possible. We wanted to promote the fact that was a good event for people of all ages but one where trouble was not welcome.”

Other areas at the festival included an activity zone for older children and the Bizarre Bazaar where local crafts people could display their goods.

And Adele added that the council has received really positive comments from the people who attended.

“We have had really good feedback from people, particularly families. With money being so tight, they really appreciated something that was free and gave them full day out. It was great that we managed to reach so many people who can’t afford to go to a commercially run event.”

THE Festival of Light started in 2004 as a way to make the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival more accessible to the public.

It has now grown into an event attracting thousands of people every year who enjoy witnessing spectacular art performances which they aren’t used to seeing in the area.

Past projects have included giant inflatable fish parading through the streets and acrobats suspended in the air using cranes.

And Adele said the appetite from local people to see this kind of work is growing every year.

She added: “Sometimes we get criticised because we are not programming local work but it is a real dilemma for us.

“Although we want to support local artists, there is also the demand to see international work. We were the first ones in Yorkshire to programme this kind of work.

“That’s why we are attracting audiences in who don’t get to see it anywhere else in the region.

“We also have a real problem now having to please 15-17,000 people.

So our challenge is finding shows where we can reduce the audience.

This year, we are having two nights to split the audience in half. But it does mean that we are faced with budgeting problems as we haven’t got twice the budget to put two shows on, so we have to look at cheaper ones.”

Out of the success of Festival of Light came Spirit – a similar event which is held in Dewsbury.

This year’s Spirit included fire breathing dragons wandering through the streets and Adele said the great thing about the event is that it allows people to see familiar spaces in different ways and appreciate the towns they live in.

She added: “With events such as Spirit, we tend to shut the streets down in the middle of town which allows people to reclaim them.

“There is no worry about traffic and you can walk around freely.

People all comment about how safe they feel and how proud they are to have realised what a beautiful place they live in.”

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A partnership between a Yorkshire university and one of the biggest names in the industry is giving students the opportunity to learn new skills at festivals. Christina Eccles found out more ...

Partnership gives students the chance to work at festivals ...

LEEDS Metropolitan University joined forces with Festival Republic in 2007 to give students access to volunteering and work experience roles at the company’s Latitude and Leeds festivals.

Roles can range from team members – which assist festivalgoers with directions and information – to more specific jobs such as artist liaison and stage crew, working alongside the professionals at the events.

After completing the placements, some students have even gone on to secure full time jobs with Festival Republic.

According to project manager Patsy Robertshaw and project co-ordinator Caroline Bonser, the success of the programme comes down to several factors.

One of the most crucial is the effort put in to match students to the right roles.

Although event management students are the obvious choice to take on placements at major events, students from courses as diverse as management and PR have also found a role which suits their skills – setting them up with valuable work experience and giving them contacts in the

industry.

Patsy explained: “About 200 students a year take part and we try to find opportunities that fit with other types of courses to fit in as many groups of students as possible. The project is always popular and we have a large number of enquiries.”

Each year the partnership kicks off with a big advertising campaign including leafleting around campus and a dedicated website.

Students wanting to take part fill in an application form before numbers are narrowed down for the interview stage.

Successful students then meet several times before their event to get to know each other and be briefed on what their job will involve.

Caroline added: “From the interview stage we do the scene setting.

We talk through the roles and have briefing sessions so they can learn more about the role they have got.

There is a really clear pyramid structure so every role is supported. We also take them on site a couple of days before the festival begins so they can get used to it.”

Since Festival Republic has been working with the university, they

have also started working with the University of Suffolk on Latitude and are considering linking up with a London university for the Reading festival.

And Patsy claims this is something which other organisers could also benefit from getting involved in.

She added: “This is something more organisers should do. A lot of students volunteer in general but with

schemes like this, they get to apply for roles which they want to do in the future. It takes time to set it up and you have to have a dedicated team of people. But it is definitely beneficial for students and something good to link in with their courses.

“The students say they work hard but get so much out of it. They then want to come back because they have had such a good experience.”

Air show aiming for recycling target

By Christina Eccles

Sizzling success for 21cc SCOTTISH-based firm 21cc Fireworks has scooped a prestigious award. The company was named Professional Fireworks Display Company of the year by Media Today Online for its services to the corporate and wedding markets.

Director Geoff Crow said: “I am absolutely delighted. This really is great news. We celebrate our 10-year anniversary this year and what better way to celebrate than to be given an award. We work very hard behind the scenes to ensure that we constantly deliver our products and services in a fully professional, flexible and competent manner. If we’ve not exceeded our client’s expectations, then we’ve not done our job. We love what we do and we’re passionate about delivering all that we promise. Winning this award is testimony to the

hard work and commitment of our whole team.

I also need to thank our existing clients who have recognised the quality of our services and I hope that this award goes some way to confirming to prospective clients that they are in safe hands.”

The company manages professional firework contracts for local authorities, festivals, groups and corporate clients and recent projects have included presenting a spectacular display in front of the King of Spain. Geoff added: “It is a tremendous privilege to be asked to manage and fire a show to such a special audience. We carefully scripted the show using our own inhouse software and fired the show simultaneously over seven firing sites. It was incredible.”

THE world’s largest military air show has launched a campaign to encourage visitors and suppliers to recycle 40 per cent of all waste from this year’s show.

The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is urging everyone involved in the show to do their bit to ensure that this year’s event is the greenest yet.

Sponsorship manager Francesca Heap said: “In 2009 we recycled 14 per cent of our waste so a 40 per cent target for 2010 is a big increase. Reaching this target is dependent upon

success in two distinct areas; the co-operation of the 160,000 visitors; and hard work by all the suppliers, contractors, caterers, volunteers and staff who work behind the scenes.

For the public we have created recycling hubs around the showground with big 7m archways that you cannot miss. This is supported by promotion of the recycling message via as many on-site channels as possible – radio, billboards, the programme and website.

“To reach the ‘back of house’ teams we have been a bit more creative enticing staff and vol-

unteers with a competition to encourage their engagement and support. When you are working flat out to stage an event, recycling often gets pushed down the list of priorities.

“We have tried to create an emotional connection with our back of house teams by building an awareness campaign entitled the “14:40 Challenge”.

This puts the focus firmly on supporting us and helping our event to achieve something great rather than the big generic title of recycling.”

A giant peacock, a mechanical tiger and a winged horse were just some of the unusual objects which appeared for a day in Manchester city centre They formed part of the first ever Manchester Day Parade, featuring more than 1700 participants and many local community groups.

Thousands of people lined the streets to watch the parade, which was designed

by Walk the Plank.

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Sustainability is one area which all organisers must take seriously, according to Andy Cotton. In this month’s column he explains why.

Event sustainability does not have to be a burden on budget WHEN looking at event sustainability, the three R’s to be thought about are reduce; reuse and recycle. There are many sustainability experts coming into the entertainment industry at many levels on a daily basis as it is very much the buzz word and maybe, and I say this cynically, a way to make money.

I have no idea who the ‘ozone layer’ is, or who is responsible for this tragic action but I do know that sustainable events are the way forward.

I also know there is a worldwide recession and clients are looking at budget and profit lines, therefore, the introduction of sustainability to most events has to be cost effective in the current climate.

Practical and cost effective ideas to make an event sustainable can be implemented throughout the life cycle of any event, starting with the planning and licensing.

Paperwork can be produced and distributed electronically, not only saving paper and ink but also reducing event administrative costs.

Some meetings for event planning, especially on international events, can be undertaken via VOIP (voice over IP) Skype, video conferencing or telephone, reducing carbon emissions from air travel and the budgetary costs involved in planning an event.

One of the most important parts of the event life cycle to organisers is ‘bums on seats’. Marketing can also be undertaken using email drops, websites and the electronic medium, however this needs to suit the audience demographic. There is not a lot of point computer marketing to an older audience that may not have daily access to computers – my mum (67) loves Tom Jones but can’t even use a mobile phone to text, bless her!

When marketing events, it costs an organiser very little to promote safe car sharing, public transport or supplying map links to show

50,000 people have attended a spectacular free event, which took place on Liverpool’s famous waterfront.

Culture Liverpool worked with Walk the Plank to deliver On the Waterfront – an event which included light,fire, pyrotechnics and music to delight the crowds.

For more on the event see the September issue of The Main Event where we will be chatting to its organisers.

Latitude organisers put car alternatives in place

Andy Cotton pedestrian routes to a venue. There is a good chance that fewer vehicles on site will save in car parking and traffic management costs whilst reducing the event’s carbon emissions – audience travel will be by far the highest carbon emissions of any travel related part of an event in your own country.

Other things to consider include: Low energy LED lighting rigs Waste management and recycling Safe drinking water taps on festival sites as opposed to bottled water Local produce from your caterers Fairtrade and organic products Alternative power such as solar, wind or bio-diesel.

Event sustainability does not have to cost excesses on budget and will help make the planet better, even if it cannot be guaranteed to save it.

In our ever competitive industry, the adoption of sustainability policies and procedures can enhance business and open doors for expansion of a company – therefore let’s all download the PDF version of the new BS8901:2009 and tender for the 2012 Olympics.

LATITUDE’S organisers made it as easy as possible for festivalgoers to leave their cars at home by putting in place a number of public transport options.

Festival Republic arranged a network of coaches, trains and shuttle buses to help visitors to get right to the heart of the festival without having to

bring their cars. Those who were determined to travel by car were urged to do their bit by travelling at off peak times and transporting as many people as possible. Festival-goers were also encouraged to travel by bike – with bike racks provided on site for cyclists who chose to arrive that way.

Record numbers at festival LOUNGE on the Farm celebrated its fifth birthday with a record number of visitors to the festival.

Over 200 bands played across six stages with the 7,000 strong crowd also being treated to a full comedy and theatre line up.

Promoter Matt Gough said: “We’re now well and truly making our mark as one of the south-east's biggest and bestest summer events, and we’re ready to keep bringing the best music, best food and best farm animals to this corner of Kent for a good while yet.”

Time for our industry to take a step back?

These days everyone in our industry is looking at costs. But what if there were a way to save money without compromising health and safety? Heath Freeman, managing director of Pinnacle Crew, believes there is ...

IN a previous life I was a teacher and a sports coach and it became very apparent from the onset that knowledge was the key to building a successful sports team, besides all the hard training.

This knowledge was about knowing what we were trying to achieve and how we are going to go about achieving this goal without team injuries.

I believe the same principles apply in our industry, especially on site as this is where all the hours, days and

months of preparation that have been put in by the production company come to fruition. The last thing anyone wants on site is different people working to different objectives.

Not only is this inefficient, it compromises health and safety.

Overcoming this is not rocket science. Quite simply, creating a unified goal-orientated team working safely on site requires the proper integration of the production team and outside contractors.

But before proper integration can be reached, I believe there are three key steps that need to be taken at every event.

First, introduce outside contractors to all personnel and decision makers on site. This can save time during the job, since contractors will know exactly who to speak to when something unexpected happens or they need advice.

Secondly, contractors should receive a good briefing. This may seem obvious, but how can the contractors possibly appreciate what the client is trying to achieve without knowledge? A short, detailed briefing means that contractors know exactly what is expected of them and what the deadlines are. The most important factor in this briefing should be information on what has already been carried out on site.

This will help contractors avoid any risks by making them fully aware of

health and safety hazards.

The third factor that can be very valuable is a familiarization walk through of the venue. This will also highlight such things as potential health and safety dangers. And, remember many contractors will be able suggest alternative plans since it is very likely that they have worked at this venue before and have found safer, better and more efficient methods.

None of this costs anything, and in fact may even save money by empowering contractors to be more efficient. Neither is it anything we don’t already know. Unfortunately, it is just something that slips by the wayside when we are pressurised and deadlines are looming.

But for efficiency, better health and safety, and greater cost-effectiveness, I believe that it is time our industry took a step back and seriously looked at how it manages its on-site teams.

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NOEA

Auntie NOEA

Diary Dates September 21 – 22 Event UK NEC September 30 – October 1 Northern Ireland Conference October 20 – 21 Showman’s Show, Newbury Mid November Scottish Conference (venue tbc) November 26 Regional Conference and AGM (venue tbc) Contact details: Susan Tanner PO Box 4495, Wells. BA5 9AS. (T) 01749 674 531 (E) secretary@noea.org.uk NOEA Stand at Event UK September 21-22 NEC Birmingham FOLLOWING the success of last year’s show, this is the largest exhibition for the events market outside London.

Event UK offers a diverse visitor base: around 4,000 industry professionals created new business contacts right across the country last year.

NOEA will be exhibiting at the show and members are invited to attend as part of the NOEA area. There will be a pod system and for £1,400 ex vat you can have a presence on the stand. This fee will cover the stand fee and all graphics, you provide your literature. If you would like to join NOEA’s stand please contact Susan Tanner on (01749) 674 531.

Northern Ireland Conference 30 September – October 1, Belfast THE Northern Ireland NOEA conference will take place in Belfast on Thursday September 30 and Friday October 1.

There is a wide variety of speakers attending from the police, and the ambulance services. Also speakers from the Emergency planning College and the Belfast Metropolitan University. Some of the topics to be discussed will be licensing, PRS and training as well as the Young Professionals Initiate. There will be opportunities for exhibiting as well as attending.

Venue sought near Chichester ...

Joanne has written to me asking for a suitable venue near Chichester where she can host a fundraising event for the British Red Cross.

It would be perfect if there was room for parking, a woodland area for the treasure hunt, a fairly large picnic area and space for camping.

This event is scheduled for mid-late October. Please email your suggestions to auntienoea@googlemail.com and I will forward them to Joanne.

Can you help with this month’s plea and please do take on board Phil's lengthy response to the tap water conundrum – this could catch many of us out! Send your letters, pleas or pics to auntienoea@googlemail.com Dear Auntie I have heard that all pubs and restaurants have to give customers free water. How does this affect things like beer tents at outdoor events?

Joe, Maidenhead Dear Joe I have asked lovely NOEA lawyer Phil and this is what he said:“The new regulation is that from 6th April 2010, the ‘responsible person’ at ‘relevant premises’ has to ensure that free tap water is provided on request to customers where is is reasonably available.

This seems pretty straightforward but unfortunately, it isn't.

Relevant premises for this purpose means anywhere that is licensed to sell alcohol, either under a premises licence, club premises certificate or temporary event notice (TEN).

That would include a Beer tent.

Responsible person means the holder of the licence, club certificate or person who gave the TEN, the DPS and anyone over 18 who is authorised to sell or supply alcohol at the premises i.e. just about everyone.

The catch is that it doesn't explain what ‘tap water’ is.

I assume that what they mean is water from a tap connected to the mains but that's not what they said, nor did they say ‘drinking water’.

So suppose that you have some

Event Risk, Safety and Security Conference September 20 - 23 2010 Olympia Conference Centre, London NOEA is supporting this event and members who wish to attend will be entitled to a 15 per cent discount.

The Effective Strategies to Manage Event Risk, Safety and Security Conference (ERSS) 2010 is a unique platform for sharing best practice and effective strategies to manage critical issues of risk, safety and security which apply to every public or participant event, large or small.

ERSS 2010 will bring together 250 senior event risk, safety and security decision makers, event professionals and key influencers for two days of intense debate and discussions. This

water for washing your hands that's in a water butt.

The butt has a tap on it so does that make it tap water? What if the butt is filled with nice sustainable rain water – does it become tap water when it comes out of the tap at the bottom of the butt? And what is reasonable when it comes to being available? How far are we expected to go and when? Should we have filled a few barrels from the tap before we left home and brought them with us and besides, what do we mean by a customer? If someone walks in and doesn't buy

leading edge conference will provide a wealth of practical information, management solutions and case studies from a variety of events, all delivered by industry experts, to ensure you have the opportunity to learn and share best practice with industry leaders, peers and colleagues. The conference is a unique platform for sharing best practice and effective strategies to manage critical issues of risk, safety and security which apply to every public or participant event, large or small. For further information please contact Chris Trainor. T: +971 4 3365161 F: +971 4 3364021 chris.trainor@informasportsgroup.com www.eventrisksafetyandsecurity.com

anything but asks for a cup of tap water, does that make them a customer or not?

What if he wants a beer and she wants free water and is the answer different if he asks for a beer for himself and free water for her?

I don’t know but I do know that falling foul of this could cost a fine of up to £20,000 and six months in prison so better give anyone who asks for it water if you possibly can.”

Damn, I should have known better than ask a lawyer ...

Happy flows, Auntie NOEA

PRS Consultation PRS, Performing Right Society, are now out for public consultation on a review of their LP tariff. This is the one that affects festivals and events of all kinds, where music is involved.

Currently the licence charge is three per cent of box office takings, less booking fees, commissions etc. The proposal is to increase this and bring it more inline with many other European countries. The consultation is open until early September – please click on the PRS web site so that you too can contribute and comment. http://www.prsformusic.com/users/ businessesandliveevents/musicforbusinesses/customerconsultation/Pa ges/default.aspx

The launch of NOEA Young Professionals AT the last NOEA convention, the ball was set in motion for NOEA to launch a Young Professional division.

This innovative division will be the first of its kind to support young event professionals making NOEA more relevant and inclusive to young people and students from all walks of the events industry and invite them to get involved with the association.

This idea was first discussed at the NOEA Annual Conference with Emily Burrows from Plaster Creative Communications stepping forward to suggest finding younger members and help find members and spread the word in its first year.

The concept is to offer a place for young people to network with others in similar circumstances and attend events with relevant content for them.

For students it will also provide connections into the industry and the chance to find employment after graduation or work experience to get that valuable first step on the career ladder.

To further support the needs of students, Sheila Russell, event management and PR lecturer at the University of Derby Buxton, is exploring an idea with NOEA which will use the NOEA website to link up student placement and employment oppor-

tunities that NOEA members may have with students who are looking for a placement or employment upon graduation.

It is hoped that this will be beneficial to both parties and help make students more attractive to future employers.

Working more closely with NOEA members will help students gain an understanding of what it is like to work in the events industry and will provide NOEA members with a unique opportunity to meet tomorrow’s event professionals, accessing a wealth of new talent and ideas that may help their business.

The NOEA annual conference will

be attended by all members of all ages with a dedicated seminar room during the day with a new Youth Seminar programme.

This will attract young people to carry on the legacy that the association has developed and raise profile of NOEA as an influential body within the industry as the only association reaching out to encourage legacy within the events industry.

Emily is currently in the process of finding other young professionals to get this process started so anyone interested should get in touch with either Susan at NOEA 01749 674 531 or Emily on 0117 953 0320 or email: emily@weareplaster.com

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Festivals back shrinking footprint campaign SOME of the UK’s most popular festivals have signed up to a programme which will see each event cut its carbon footprint by 10 per cent this year.

The events have joined forces with 10:10 – a carbon reduction campaign which also works with businesses including hospitals, councils and schools – to minimise their impact on the environment.

As part of the scheme, organisers will also be assisted by Julie’s Bicycle to help them identify and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Festivals taking part include Latitude, Lovebox, T in the Park, Bestival and The Big Chill and under the 10:10 festival programme, event organisers will seek to reduce carbon emissions from onsite energy use, waste and water consumption.

Events will be encouraged to look at things such as: Using solar power and biofuel Using energy efficient lighting Onsite waste separation and recycling Introducing biodegradable or recycling cups

Composting toilets Director of Julie’s Bicycle Alison Tickell said: “Music festivals in the UK have been making huge efforts to reduce their environmental impacts and Julie's Bicycle is really pleased to provide practical support which will help them fulfill their 10 per cent reduction ambitions.

“10:10 is an ideal campaign for festivalgoers to sign up to, and we hope there will be plenty more summer pledges.”

10:10 and Julie’s Bicycle are also supporting festivals in promoting

transport alternatives such as lift sharing and the use of public transport to get to and from events.

Director of 10:10 Eugenie Harvey added: “British summertime wouldn’t be the same without music festivals and we feel privileged to be working with some of the very best this year.”

What should organisers and suppliers be doing to make their events more environmentally friendly? Email your views to ce@whpl.net or contact our editorial team on 01226 734463.

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T IN THE PARK

Campaign looked to educating the kids ...

MRL Eye oversees T THE MRL Safety team (Julian Bentley, Judy Jackson and John King) travelled to T In The Park with a new role this year.

Not only was the company there to manage the JOCC (Joint Operations Control Centre) but for the first time, to assist with live footage and images from the MRL Eye. T in the Park was one of the MRL Eye's first official jobs and pilot, John King, was looking forward to capturing images of the arena, campsites and car parks for DF Concerts, who were very pleased with the results.

MRL was also highly successful in broadcasting live images from the MRL Eye direct into the JOCC which proved to be very beneficial to every-

one there, this was made possible by working in conjunction with Chris Burke, from the event’s CCTV provider, IFCV. For several years MRL Safety have ensured that T in the Park's JOCC is managed and run efficiently 24 hours per day, throughout the event.

Judy Jackson, one of MRL Safety’s directors said: “I take my role of being the JOCC manager very seriously and recognise it is necessary that information is passed through to the correct team at the right time.

Once again T in the Park turned out to be a good event with the usual types of incidents but nothing that the JOCC team couldn't handle by working together.”

ENCOURAGING festivalgoers to look after themselves and each other was another vital part of the campaign, according to Colin.

He added: “It is all about educating the kids so they are aware of how they behave and remember that festivals can present risks so to stick with their friends and look after each other.

“It is important that people remember that.

“The problems which occur in everyday life don’t stop when people come to T in the Park so Citizen T is all about making people more aware about looking after themselves and

their neighbours.

“We have also been engaging with police, stewards and campsite staff and encouraging festivalgoers to see them as people who are there to make their weekend the best possible.

“We also set up a Citizen T campsite to try and put people with a like minded approach in the same area.

“Even at the end of the festival, in that campsite, they had clean toilets and it was a litter free, tent free area.

“If we can get people in the right mindset, then we can give them the best possible camping experience at a festival.”

‘A tent is for life, not just for T’ AS PART of Citizen T, organisers are also hoping to tackle the number of tents left behind at the festival.

Colin added: “We know we have a problem with tents as people are buying them so cheap.

“So we wanted to highlight that a tent is for life, not just for T and that they can re-use it.

“We are trying to get away from the psychology of buying a cheap tent.”

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T IN THE PARK

Pictured from left, clockwise, Kasabian, Muse, Paolo Nutini and Eminem.

T in the Park focuses on improving litter record

By Christina Eccles A NEW five-year plan was used at this year’s T in the Park to encourage festivalgoers to look after themselves and each other.

Citizen T was created by organisers in order to make sure everyone on site had a safe and enjoyable experience at the festival.

The plan was broken down into different areas which organisers wanted to tackle and they came up with fun and quirky ways to engage with festivalgoers – particularly on areas where they had previously had problems.

As part of Citizen T, visitors were asked to clean up after themselves and not to drop litter on the floor and event manager Colin Rodgers told The Main Event this was one thing they were keen to improve on at this year’s festival.

He said: “From a site perspective, we had a disappointing time with lit-

ter in 2009 so we refocused our attention on how we would tackle that.

“Environmental issues are very important to us and we try to be leaders and ambassadors so this also fitted in with that. We set up a whole management plan which we worked through with contractors.

“One of the key factors of Citizen T was putting litter in the bin and we have been able to see a remarkable difference in terms of the amount of litter on the ground. We made sure the bins were getting emptied regularly. We knew that if we could keep our end of the bargain by emptying the bins, it would encourage people to use them and the idea would work.

“We also had some more quirky things. We set up a stage which was surrounded by bins and had performers on it. If people put litter in the bins, they got to see something back from one of the performers.

“It’s something we definitely want

Healthy food goes down a treat A CONSISTENTLY popular area at T in the Park is Healthy T where festivalgoers can choose from an extensive range of festival food and drink.

And Colin said that the area – which was also introduced into the campsite this year – is going from strength to strength because customers like having that level of choice.

“We would like to see the whole industry change so that healthy food is as common at festivals as burgers

and chips.

“We have noticed that in the Healthy T area, it is as much about the environment. It works because it is a nice area to sit down in.

“But at the end of the day, after the headline act when people want to grab something on the way back to their tent, the burger vans have a place as well.

“So it is all about striking the right balance.”

T’s success down to team COLIN also revealed why T in the Park’s lasting success is down to the team of people who work on the festival.

He added: “The week before the event, we were reminded how vulnerable this industry can be to the weather and we had to go in to a full bad weather plan.

“It shows how important it is that we have staff who are experienced and who have the knowledge and the confidence to use it.

“We have planning meetings regu-

larly and do table top exercises so we are very thorough.

“If there was a theme that ran through the event this year, it was how good the team are.

“We are 18 months ahead in terms of the planning.

“After the event we have a thorough debrief and we are now sharing information with other festivals.

“I am a big fan of having a level playing field and I am always open minded to listen to other people’s experiences.”

to expand on – if something is made more fun then people will do it.”

Bags for waste and recycling were also handed out to campers who were encouraged to leave them outside their tents for collection the same as they would do with their rubbish at home and Colin added that this idea also worked really well.

“I’m not yet satisfied 100 per cent but it is certainly an improvement. I do believe that if you improve the environment, then the whole event will improve in general.”

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T IN THE PARK

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T IN THE PARK

‘The decision to appoint Mediatec was the right one’ IN association with commercial and visual solutions supplier Screen Activation, Mediatec UK delivered and supported five LED screens at this year’s T in the Park.

The products used were four 20sqm modular screens on each side of stages one and two, along with a 56sqm truck mounted screen for replay purposes.

Director of Screen Activation David Llewellyn said: “Screen Activation was given the opportunity to supply screens, cameras and ancillary equipment for this year’s T in the Park festival for the first time. We were conscious that the organisers were dedicated to reproducing what had been

a successful formula in previous years.

“With that in mind, our first choice as supplier of screens was always going to be Mediatec UK. Their track record at the festival was exemplary and yet again the team did not disappoint either Screen Activation or the festival organisers.

“Conditions on site were difficult this year with adverse weather conditions and Mediatec UK coped with this in a way that minimised any disruption to the bands on stage, the festival organisers or the paying public. We were proved right to appoint Mediatec UK for this year and look forward to using them again.”

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T IN THE PARK

A popular area at the festival was King Tut’s Wah Wah Tent where festivalgoers watched performances from acts including Ellie Goulding, Diana Vickers and David Guetta.

The ADLIB Audio team, this year crew chiefed by Hassane Es Siahi, was contracted to work in the tent – designing and installing the PA

system.

Hassane said: “Everything went very smoothly from our perspective.

“It's one of our favourite festivals – the schedule is completely full on, the line up exciting and varied and everyone on site is helpful and friendly.

“It's such a well run festival and we are always really happy to be there.”

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GODIVA Organisers of the Godiva Festival have claimed this year’s event was by far the best yet. CV One’s Mick McLaughlin explained why the festival’s 90,000 visitors were so impressed.

Godiva Festival stripped bare ...

What worked well at the festival?

The 80s night was really well received. I think this was due to a number of factors, namely the strong and diverse line up and the support from our media partners as the themed evening was talked up on air with tracks from the artists being played during the run up to Godiva.

We also secured a lot of coverage in the local press and ran a VIP meet and greet with the artists.

The carnival was fantastic and as it made its way from the city centre to the park on the Saturday it picked up thousands of spectators en route.

The micro Acoustic stages in both the main bar areas were really popular and a laid back alternative to the musical entertainment on Friday and Saturday.

Did you make any changes or improvements this year and why? Were they successful?

After listening to comments made from last year’s festival we added more public toilets to the event, concentrating on increasing numbers around the entrances and exits. We also evenly dispersed the catering units across the site with more food units on offer in the family field. The final improvement we made this year was to clearly display the various stages and tents’ programme details for the weekend on giant mesh banners outside the tents and stages.

What were the biggest challenges and issues you faced when working on this event and how did you deal with them?

We faced a challenge with the Godiva Unsigned Competition as we opened this up to the West Midlands as a region. The people of Coventry are, rightly so, very proud of Godiva and regard it as an event in the city, for the city. When we announced the final bands in the unsigned competi-

tion we received some criticism from certain members of the public for not keeping it local. As a result, CV One invited the people who had voiced their opinions in for a meeting and the Godiva Fringe was born. The fringe event was held on the Friday evening in the Belgrade Theatre and the two stages were programmed exclusively by local people with only acts hailing from Coventry appearing on the bill. The event was highly successful and as a result we are hoping to make the Godiva Fringe a permanent addition to the programme.

Why do you think the festival is so popular?

The festival has always been regarded as the highlight of the city’s event calendar – each year it has grown and evolved in both size and popularity. I think the festival’s main unique selling point, which sets it apart from other events taking place, is that it is and always has been completely free of charge. Godiva is somewhat of a Coventry institution, offering a weekend of entertainment which is suitable for the whole family.

How did you market the event and what methods worked well?

We used a variety of methods to market the event, including, the official website, e-shots, social networking, printed media, in house publications, competitions, interviews and PR. Social media really took off this year

Contractors Main Stage – Wangos Music Tents – Albion Woods Show Tents Other Tents – Kingsmead Marquees PA Systems – Stage Audio Services, Blackford Production Services PA Towers – Star Events Stage Lighting and Risers – LightCo Design Site Power – Gofer Trackway – Lion Hire Cabins – Konstructa Fencing, Barriers, Sign Structures and Acoustic Fence – Harsco

Perimeter Fence and Front of Stage Barriers – Alpha Events Noise Management – Vanguardia Toilets – Andy Loos Waste and Recycling – Coventry City Council Water Supplies – Watermills Security and Crowd Management – Show and Event Security Furniture – BE Event Hire Plant – Morris Leslie Traffic Management and Road Closures – Highway Traffic Management

Mick McLaughlin with thousands joining the Godiva Festival group on Facebook. We were also very busy with the forums on our own website.

Was the festival well received this year.

What sort of feedback have you had?

On the whole we have had really positive feedback and received brilliant reviews in both local and national listings. We are currently undertaking a Godiva Festival 2010 online survey to collate with our surveys taken over the weekend at the festival to identify the opinions of our customers.

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LOVEBOX

Stepping up security THE biggest thing which organisers hope to tackle at next year’s festival is enhancing the security of the event.

Rob added that as Lovebox has grown and become more well known, it has also appeared on the radar for ticket touts and people trying to get in without a ticket.

He said those involved with the running of the festival will be looking at extra measures for next year to try and protect festivalgoers from falling victim to touts who are managing to exploit the event’s current wristband entry system.

On stage at Lovebox Stars performing at this year’s Lovebox included: Dizzee Rascal Roxy Music Grace Jones Mark Ronson Noisettes Ellie Goulding The Maccabees Paloma Faith Hot Chip

Flexibility pays off THE key to success at Lovebox was giving visitors the flexibility to be a part of as much of the festival as they wanted, according to organisers.

For the first time this year, the event ran over three days – with the new Friday date headlined by Dizzee Rascal. Each of the days was also given a clear identity – Friday appealing to a younger demographic, Saturday to the traditional Lovebox audience and Sunday particularly geared towards a gay audience.

Festivalgoers could choose to buy a ticket for one of the days, two days or the whole weekend and according to organiser Rob Silver, it was that level of choice which appealed to the crowds.

He explained: “London is a big city and there are enough people out there to target so we did the different combinations of tickets. We added Friday because we thought that if we were building the site and spending that amount of time, effort and money, it makes sense to try and use it for a day longer.

“Sunday was our biggest success and a fantastic day. In the past, we would always sell more tickets for Saturday so we wanted to come up with a concept that would work for Sunday. We created a day with a very strong identity which took elements

Pictures: Oliver Boito from gay culture and we are really delighted that it did so well in the first year.”

Almost 60,000 people visited the festival in Victoria Park over the weekend and Rob also revealed why he thinks the event has become such a success. He added: “We are inspired by other festivals to raise our game and have tried to create a boutique festival in the heart of London where

people don’t have to commit to buying camping tickets.

“They can have that festival experience in the middle of the city but with a much cheaper ticket price.

“We are really pleased.

“There are a lot of festivals out there and a lot on offer for customers so we are delighted at how many people chose to come to Lovebox.”

Sunbaba rises to Lovebox challenge FOR the third successive year, Sunbaba provided all the stage and site branding at the Lovebox festival in Victoria Park.

The company lit up the Relentless Energy Tent with a dramatic series of back lit PVC panels and spruced up the main stage with PVC stage scrims.

Digimesh Triangular shaped scrims were provided for the Gaymers Stage and individual Foamex lettering was used to brand the magical archway entrance created by American set designers The Do LaB.

HT Coasted Polyester banners and DigiPly backdrop were selected for the HMV signing tent and event signage was created using PVC, Correx and Foamex, to integrate with each of the themed locations.

Sunbaba director Jonathan Booth said: “One of the special things about Lovebox is that there’s such a variety of stages and tents all with their own unique style. We used a wide variety of materials and printing processes to fit each of the locations’ specific needs.”

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HYDE PARK

Power Logistics’ Pete Wills and Phil Screeton

Firm plugged in to series’ needs POWER Logistics successfully managed all of the power requirements for this summer’s series of Hyde Park concerts.

Dave Oxley was the company’s project manager and installed over 60 generators around the event site, while ensuring the efficient, safe provision of all electrical services and fuel management.

The concerts, which attracted 400,000 music fans, began with Hard Rock Calling featuring Pearl Jam, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, followed by midweek ‘Serpentine Sessions’ for up and coming bands and a Kings of Leon Concert before ending with the Wireless Festival featuring Pink, LCD Sound System and Jay-Z.

The company’s large twin packs delivered around six mega watts of power to the stage to supply the technical production, while the rest of the gen-sets were distributed around the park to feed the concessions, catering outlets, bars and hospitality areas.

Dave said: “I have worked within Hyde Park before, so was prepared for the environmental sensitivities required when working in any of the Royal Parks regarding overspill lighting issues that could affect the indigenous wildlife, which is always important to us.

“This was like a large nine-day festival spread across two weekends, without the camping aspect, and I look forward to coming back for many years.”

Security flexibility needed SHOWSEC’S Simon Battersby was head of security for the series of Hyde Park gigs – working with the Royal Parks, licensing bodies, emergency services, Live Nation and all other key stakeholders to ensure all security and crowd management requirements were met.

With over 400,000 people coming through the doors over the seven scheduled events, the team planned and delivered a complex security and crowd management operation, which

was flexible to the requirements of the different shows and artists.

The changes in audience profile and artist requirements between each gig were also significant – with Mojo Barriers adapting its crowd barrier system to suit each audience ranging from Hard Rock Calling to the midweek Kings of Leon gig to Wireless.

In addition, for the Wireless gig a new third stage was added, so a wider strategy was also needed which took this change in to account.

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HYDE PARK

John rolls up his sleeves ...

THIS year’s event also provided John with a chance to roll his sleeves up and get right to the heart of the action.

He added: “It was difficult this year.

My festivals manager Hannah Farnham is on maternity leave so I have got more involved than I normally would. But I thoroughly enjoyed it as it enabled me to see more and focus on things which may need to be tweaked or changed. It was great to be working on the ground as it also showed me how much we rely on the people we work with and how good they are.”

Contractors Power Logistics Eve Search Showsec Guard Force Security PKL Toilets De Boer Hewden Watkins Hire Star Events Eat to the Beat Event Medical Services Ryan’s Cleaning XL Video

‘Wireless was absolutely brilliant’ GLORIOUS weather and spectacular headline performances kept the crowds happy at this year’s Wireless Festival.

Popular sets over the weekend from the likes of Pink and Jay Z combined with warm and dry weather helped to create a trouble free atmosphere among festivalgoers and another successful event for organisers Live Nation.

The festival – which is sponsored by Barclaycard – takes place in London’s Hyde Park and according to organiser John Probyn, everything went well.

He said: “This year’s Wireless was absolutely brilliant and the weather made such a difference.

“We had a really good mix of acts – Pink’s was a stunning show and Jay-Z was mindblowing. It was also possibly the best behaved crowd we have had in Hyde Park.”

John revealed to The Main Event the changes which were put in place at this year’s festival and how they have helped to improve the experience for festivalgoers.

He added: “We put in a couple of systems to improve security and the number of people without tickets trying to gain entry. We rumbled a couple of people with fake passes – Showsec are getting better and better

at spotting fake laminates and wristbands. It definitely helps to build up these relationships with suppliers and it’s something I have always sworn by. I am very loyal to contractors and get the same in return.”

Live Nation has had a busy year so far working on sites including the Faenol Estate in Bangor for BBC Radio One’s Big Weekend and Donington Park for Download.

And John added that working in Hyde Park provides a different set of challenges to those faced on other

events.

“Hyde Park is a nightmare – there are so many rules and regulations. It is essentially the Queen’s back garden so when we are working there we have to use a certain standard.

“Also, we might have 65,000 people at the event but there may also be another 30,000 people in the park having a day out, so it’s almost like two venues.

“But it is a big, prestigious venue and it was great to see 65,000 people having such a great time.”

XL rises to the Hyde Park challenges FOR the eighth year running, XL were back in Hyde Park for another awesome summer line up.

Providing an HD PPU, five camera system and playback for the main stage throughout, XL put pictures to screen for the acts of Hard Rock Calling, Kings of Leon, and Wireless.

Chris Saunders headed the 15-strong team from XL with Ruary MacPhie cutting the screens for the main stage.

Along with the main festival installation, XL have also been supplying touring cameras and LED to a number of the headline acts. This included Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon, Pink, Jay Z, Chase and Status and DJ Shadow; so smooth integration between systems was essential. The challenging task of combining XL’s HD PPU with a

variety of different touring systems, fell to engineers Richard Carroll, Wolfgang Schram and Ray Gwilliams who made everything run smoothly throughout .XL’s new AJA Ki hard disk recorders also came in useful for those last minute record requests.

VT playback and announcements were handled by Jack Dickinson using XL’s OnTheAir Video playback system. Run alongside a Final Cut edit suite, this provided a flexible solution for on site alterations.

During the Hard Rock Calling weekend, XL also supplied a B10 LED truck and a 4 x 4 Lighthouse R7 screen to the Hard Rock Café VIP areas.

Plasmas in the press, VIP and artist areas relayed live screen footage as well as the all important England match.

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GLASTONBURY

Company supplies over 1,200 stage units to Glastonbury ALISTAGE was among the suppliers working at this year’s Glastonbury.

The Harlow-based company was heavily involved with supplying staging for the event, supplying over 1,200 modular stage units – an increase of nearly 30 per cent on the previous year.

The units were used in a variety of locations across 26 different stages on the vast site. These included Acoustic, Avalon, Block Nine, Kidz and Shangri La. According to the team, moving such amounts of equipment is not easy and calls for a lot of teamwork and logistical expertise – the company

was also very grateful that the weather was kind to everyone this year.

Even with its own large hire-stock (upwards of 2,500 units), things could have been difficult if Alistage had not managed to get the equipment offsite at the end of the festival as it was needed on other jobs across the country soon after. This situation was also made worse by the timing of the Baccus “Adicup” five-a-side tournament at Somerset House that required nearly 200 units all at low level at the same time as the Glastonbury build.

The company has also recently worked on Lovebox and Latitude.

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GLASTONBURY Close working relationships between all parties involved ensures the Glastonbury Festival happens safely year on year. The Main Event heard from the people who make it happen.

‘A tented city the size of Sunderland’ FROM humble beginnings in the early 1970s when just 100 people attended, the festival has now grown to attract more than 150,000 revellers – creating a tented city the size of Sunderland.

Festival organisers, Mendip District Council, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the emergency services work together to deliver the event – but it hasn’t always been plain sailing for those involved.

In the 1990s, as the licensed attendance grew, so did the number of illegal entrants and security provisions were unable to cope.

This came to a head at the 2000 festival when an estimated 250,000 were on site, which put public safety at serious risk. The event was branded uncontrolled and unsafe, and the district council prosecuted organisers later that year.

The following year, organisers decided to take a year out and contemplate their plans for future. It was also clear that the council and police equally had to improve their ways of dealing with the festival.

This was the beginning of partnership working between the three key agencies – and the transformation of the festival.

The main challenge for this group was to make improvements for the benefit of public safety, crime reduction, emergency planning and to minimise impact on the local community.

Since then the group has helped create a safe and controlled event which is held up as a beacon for its multi-agency approach to planning large scale events.

Some of the key successes of the partnership working are: Compliance with licence conditions Improved noise management Reduced impact on the local community Halved the percentage of hospital referrals Reduced reported crime Improved emergency planning Prevented unauthorised encampments Eliminated ticket touting near the festival Reduced vehicular movement Reduced ticketless fans arriving Here’s what the people involved had to say ...

Coun Nigel Hewitt-Cooper, local district councillor covering the

Glastonbury Festival site and the portfolio holder for neighbourhood services, which includes licensing the event: “Since becoming a councillor I can clearly see the huge improvements that have taken place regarding partnership working.

“It has also been very encouraging to see the proactive approach that the new organisers have to listening to our concerns and acting on them.

“This has become a world renowned event and other authorities use it as a standard when organising similar large scale events.”

Rachael Rogers from the Local Authority Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS): “It is clear strong working relationships have been developed between all agencies, particularly the key agencies. This can now be put forward as an exemple of how a large event should be planned, organised and licensed.”

Melvin Benn, licence holder for Glastonbury Festivals: “What really makes this extraordinary festival work and be safe is the incredibly strong partnership working with Mendip District Council and Avon and

Shakira who performed at the event Somerset Constabulary. There is no question that I am responsible for the festival with Mendip and Avon and Somerset being the judges and monitors of what I do.

“No-one should ever underestimate the valuable and often unseen role that the district council and police undertake as public bodies working with a private one to make Glastonbury Festival the greatest event on earth.”

Eve ready to protect Banksy’s unique mark ALTHOUGH the prolific British graffiti artist has been keeping a low profile in the UK recently, it is alleged that Banksy didn’t break with tradition and made his usual pilgrimage to Glastonbury festival – leaving his legendary mark on the iconic Super Fortress high security perimeter fence.

Yet to be authenticated by the Chesterfield based firm Eve, the latest artwork shows all the signs of being the creation of the elusive street artist, with echoes of previous work running throughout, such as the CND symbol and strong stencilling. With one of its three metre fence sections used as the

canvas, Eve is currently taking steps to authenticate the artwork before deciding where the section can be housed for fellow Banksy fans’ enjoyment.

Eve’s managing director Rick Barnett said: “Both Banksy and his artwork are surrounded by intrigue and speculation, so we’re extremely pleased this piece of modern art was found and that we can now protect it to share with all.

“The eight kilometre fence not only serves a vital security purpose during the event, but over the years it has grown to become an iconic symbol of the festival – a status which has been further increased

with this potential Banksy mark.”

Eve has worked with Glastonbury Festival for nearly 40 years providing temporary access solutions and related services and in 2002, to ensure the future of Glastonbury festival by stopping illegal entry and providing a safe environment for legitimate festival goers, Eve and Glastonbury Festival engineers worked together to design and develop the formidable fence.

Standing at 4.12m high and nearly 8km long, it has unique high security features including an attached external roadway to prevent tunnelling, 45-degree overhangs to prevent climbing and no nuts and

bolts to prevent the fence from being dismantled.

Eve also supplies the festival with over tens of kilometres of temporary roadways, additional fencing, bridges, crowd control barriers and walkways to ensure the organisers, contractors, security and festivalgoers can move around site safely. This year, it did the same and more.

As the festival grew in size for the anniversary, the requirements for Eve’s products and services have grown, including an extension to the fence and internal infrastructure.

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ROCKNESS

Rockness 2010: another highly successful event JOHN King from MRL Safety attended Rockness as the event safety manager for the third consecutive year.

This was another successful year for the event with bright weather and plenty of happy people. The planning had begun months earlier with the event management team from Loudsound.

The MRL Safety team were updated about changes to the site and event and drafted safety documents and evacuation plans.

John King worked closely alongside the contractors at the event to ensure it all went smoothly without any health and safety issues. MRL Safety

believe in continually striving to improve relationships with the site teams they work with and include the local authority in this, in this case the Highland Council. The event passed without any incidents during the build or break of the event.

John said: “It’s always a pleasure working with the Loudsound team, all of us that are involved in putting the event together work very closely, professionally and safely to ensure the event runs smoothly and that staff and the public enjoy the event.

Overall Rockness 2010 was yet another highly successful event put together by Loudsound.”

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ROCKNESS

BRENT RESPECT FESTIVAL

This year’s Brent Respect Festival attracted its biggest ever audience – with over 25,000 people attending the celebrations in Roundwood Park. Organiser Melissa Inman spoke to The Main Event.

‘A festival by, for and about our community ...’

BRENT Council is responsible for organising the Respect Festival and has a remit to include as many sections of the community as possible.

Attractions on offer this year included musical performances, free horsedrawn carriage rides from the Household Calvary Mounted Regiment, a roller disco and dance and DJ workshops.

Expressions of interest for the festival go out about five months before the festival, inviting members or the community to submit ideas for consideration in the programme.

And Melissa said this generates a lot of interest from local people who are keen to get involved.

She explained: “Brent Respect Festival is a festival by, for and about our community.

“It is an opportunity for some to showcase their talents in the performing arts on our stages, to display and perhaps sell their creations at our stalls areas or for members of the community to come together in their leisure or recreational pursuits, be it dance or participating in a sports taster session.

“It is always a challenge to fit as many of the worthy expressions of

interest we receive, especially from young people, into the official programme, not wanting to dampen spirits and enthusiasm but also wanting to showcase the very best we have on offer.”

According to Melissa, the event changes each year as communities experience new things which they then want to show others.

She added: “The event evolves each year in the same way our communities evolve; as they come together and as they experience new and positive activities in their lives that they wish to share with the wider Brent community.

This year saw the culmination of our Flavours of Brent capacity building programme for outdoor caterers.

Roller Disco, an activity that has been taking place at Bridge Park Sports Centre in Stonebridge as part of our physical activity in the borough was also immensely popular, as was the world record attempt at the Electric Slide – with a massive turnout of people of all ages in our attempt to break the record for the largest single outdoor electric slide performance.

“The festival is one of Brent's most

popular with council staff, residents and visitors to the borough alike and has over the years morphed into a festival that reflects not only Brent residents’ interests but their skills and passions.

“It is where they come to see, present, learn, challenge, engage, and communicate with one another. In essence it is the very definition of what a community festival is all about.

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Audio Visual Arcstream AV Unit 22 Nonsuch Industrial Estate Kiln Lane Epsom Surrey KT17 1DH T: 01372 742 682 M: 07813 825 215 F: 01372 737 279 E: neil.m@arcstreamav.com www.arcstreamav.com

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Eagle Event Bars 58-60 Vicarage House Kensington Church Street Kensington London W8 4DB T: 0207 368 3344 M: 07790 614401 E: dyrig@eaglehospitality.co.uk www.eaglehospitality.co.uk

Backline & PA Hire Sensible Music Group 90-96 Brewery Road London N7 9NT T: 020 7700 9900 F: 020 7700 4802 E: studio@sensible-music.co.uk www.sensible-music.co.uk

Crowd Management A.P. Security (North) Ltd. 33 Metro Centre Dwight Road Watford Herts WD189SB T: 0870 412 2232 E: johnphillips@apsecurity.co.uk www.apsecurity.co.uk Event Security Solutions Limited B1-B6 The Alison Business Centre 40 Alison Crescent Sheffield S2 1AS T: 0114 283 5948 E: info@eventsecuritysolutions.co.uk www.eventsecuritysolutions.co.uk G4S Events Sutton Park House 15 Carshalton Road Sutton Surrey SM1 4LD T: 0800 085 9899 E: sales@uk.g4s.com www.g4s.com/uk-events Specialized Security 4 Fairways Business Park Deer Park Livingston EH54 8AF T: 01506 442255 E: tom@specializedsecurity.co.uk www.specializedsecurity.co.uk

Emergency Heating & Cooling Carrier Rental Systems Wigan Road Leyland Preston PR25 5XW T: 0800 026 4717 E: info@CarrierRentalSystems.co.uk

365 - SUPPLIER DIRECTORY

Event Power BRM Productions Unit 12 Canalside Industrial Park Kinoulton Road Cropwell Bishop Notts NG12 3BE T: 0115 989 9955 M: 07860 285305 F: 0115 989 9977 E: power@brm-productions.co.uk

Insurance Services ARC International St. Clare House 30-33 Minories London EC3N 1PE T: +44 (0) 207 977 7630 F: +44 (0) 207 977 7631 E: twaller@arc-int.co.uk Event Insurance Services Limited Event House 20A Headlands Business Park Ringwood BH24 3PB T: 01425 470360 E: info@events-insurance.co.uk www.events-insurance.co.uk Robertson Taylor 33 Harbour Exchange Square London E14 9GG T: 020 7510 1234 E: enquiries@rtib.co.uk www.Robertonson-taylor.com

Marquees Danco Plc The Pavilion Centre Frog Lane Coalpit Heath Bristol BS36 2NW Tel: 01454 250 222 Fax: 01454 250 444 www.danco.co.uk

Paramedico No 1a Storage unit Tannery close Croydon Industrial Estate Beckenham Kent BR3 4BY T: 02086565956 M: 07515287962 E: events@paramedico.info www.paramedico.info

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Medical Management SP Services (UK) Ltd Unit D4, Hortonpark Estate Hortonwood 7 Telford Shropshire TF1 7GX T: 01952 288 999 F: 01952 606 112 E: sales@spservices.co.uk www.spservices.co.uk

The Outdoor Staging Company Ltd 1 Langley Drive Castle Bromwich B35 7AD T: +44(0)7866 470 293 E: info@outdoorstage.co.uk www.outdoorstage.co.uk

PKL Group (UK) Ltd, Stella Way Bishops Cleeve Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL52 7DQ T: 01242 663000 E: postbox@pkl.co.uk www.pkl.co.uk

The Revolving Stage Company Ltd Unit F5, Little Heath Industrial Estate Old Church Road Coventry CV6 7ND T: 024 7668 7055 E:enquiries@therevolvingstagecompany.co.uk

Promotional Staff

19 Prestwood Road Weoley Castle Birmingham B29 5EB T: 0121 603 8367 M: 07738 900 762 E info@thestagebus.com www.thestagebus.com

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Revolving Stages Movetech UK A division of British Turntable Co Ltd Emblem Street Bolton BL3 5BW T: 01204 537682 E: rental@movetechuk.com www.movetechuk.com/rental

Screen Hire XL Video 2 Eastman Way Hemel Hempstead Herts HP27DU T: 01442 849400 E: info@xlvideo.tv www.xlvideo.com

Marquee Stakes and Accessories Sound & Lighting Ansell Hand Tools 72 Catley Road Darnall Sheffield S9 5JF T: 0114 244 8098 E: ansellhandtools@aol.com www.ansellhandtools.co.uk

Steeldeck Rentals Ltd Unit 58 T.Marchant Estate 42-72 Verney Road London SE16 3DH T: 020 7833 2031 E: richard@steeldeck.co.uk www.steeldeck.co.uk

Stage Electrics Third Way Avonmouth Bristol BS11 9YL T: 0844 870 0077 F: 0117 916 2828 sales@stage-electrics.co.uk www.stage-electrics.co.uk

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Venues Fabric London Level 2 Greenhill House Cowcross Street London EC1M 6B T: 020 7549 4844 E: celine@fabriclondon.com www.fabricevents.com Wicksteed Park Ltd. Barton Road Kettering Northants NN15 6NJ T: 01536 512475 F: 01536 518948 E: info@wicksteedpark.co.uk www.wicksteedpark.co.uk

Walkie Talkies Wall to Wall Communications Unilink House 21 Lewis Road Sutton, Surrey SM1 4BR T:020 8770 1007 F:020 8770 9700 E:hire@walltowallcomms.co.uk www.walltowallcomms.co.uk

Water supplies Water Direct Ltd B-26 Earls Colne Business Park Earls Colne Colchester Essex CO6 2NS T: 0845 345 1725 F: 01787 223354 E: enquiries@water-direct.co.uk www.water-direct.co.uk

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POWER SUPPLY

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