The brief
To produce and provide overall event management for their Annual Awards plus their 25th Anniversary to celebrate 25 years of presence within the UK & Ireland for 1500 guests. The challenge was to build a temporary structure on a sloping concrete surface within the lorry park of their new distribution headquarters without adversely affecting construction of the final building phase. The theme for the night was 80’s to link in with their arrival in the UK.
Our solution
As the build area was on a 30 degree slope the installation of a load bearing heavy deck temporary flooring sub-structure had to be built to provide a level base upon which the marquees were then constructed. The decked area purely for dining was 2600 sq.m, built across three split levels, the lowest of which housed the stage and sunken dance floor. In addition we installed two large production kitchens, integrated toilet blocks, an 80’s themed reception area with a floating bulb ceiling and dancing fountains outside the main entrance.
Guests were greeted by typical 80’s characters such as Stormtroopers, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2D2 & C3PO, ECTO 1 from Ghostbusters, the A-Team Van plus Mr T , KITT from Knightrider and Alien! The final challenge was to reveal a ‘Back to the Future’ Delorean time machine after dinner! Ramps were constructed underneath the sub-structure with access into the sunken dance floor via a hidden doorway. The car was successfully revealed on the main stage through a mask of smoke effects as their CEO appeared from the car to begin the awards. In total the build took 4 ½ weeks to complete for a seven hour event which received very positive feedback from the attending guests.
Facts about the event:
- 3440 sq.m of tentage
- 3500 man hours for marquee rig and de-rig
- 300 tonnes of steel
- 900 amps of power
- 750 Bottles of wine
- 375 lbs of cheese
- 750 chickens
- 7500 carrots
- 350 cabbages
- 15,000 raspberries
- 375 litres of coffee
- 3000 chocolates
