WONDERFUL WORLD

CROWDS WATCH WONDROUS STORIES

A flying book, digital projections and a cast of hundreds comprised Wondrous Stories, a large-scale spectacle that opened Birmingham 2022 Festival

The Birmingham 2022 Festival opened on March 17 with Wondrous Stories, a large-scale open-air performance that took over Birmingham’s Centenary Square. The free show, created by Motionhouse, the Leamington Spabased dance circus company, was performed seven times over four nights. Produced by Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces, Wondrous Stories featured a flying book, bicycles, a large globe, digital projections, and a cast of hundreds, combining dance, acrobatics, and aerial displays.

The Birmingham 2022 Festival is a six-month long cultural programme taking place across Birmingham and the West Midlands, and it will be one of the largest ever cultural programmes to surround the Commonwealth Games.

Comprised of more than 200 events, including an immersive 3D experience on public transport, photography exhibitions across billboards, a city centre forest of magical proportions, and a mass tap-dancing extravaganza, Birmingham 2022 Festival will run until September 18 when giant fabricated trees and thousands of plants will take over Birmingham’s Victoria Square in celebration of the cross-pollination which has shaped UK culture.

Martin Green, chief creative officer at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, said: “The Birmingham 2022 Festival is one of the biggest cultural festivals ever associated with a Commonwealth Games and it’s absolutely central to Birmingham 2022 as a global event. The festival is an incredible opportunity to showcase the amazingly vivid cultural world that is reflected in Birmingham and the West Midlands. The festival brings together diverse artists from across the region who are working in a huge range of art forms and community participation and inclusion is crucial to so many of the events. Above all, this is a festival made in the West Midlands for the Commonwealth and everyone is invited.”

Time to shine

Visitors flocked to RHS Illuminated, a five-minute-long immersive experience marking the 200th anniversary of the Royal Highland Show

Last month, the Royal Highland Show (RHS) marked its 200th anniversary by animating and projecting never-before-seen images onto historic landmarks and buildings across Scotland. Over four weeks in March, the RHS opted to celebrate its 200-year milestone with a series of immersive storytelling installations. Dubbed RHS Illuminated, the sensory events raised awareness of the Royal Highland Show and its positive impact on Scotland throughout the years.

Organised by the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), the installations documented a long visual history of the event in a five-minute display. RHS Illuminated took place in eight locations around Scotland, from Dumfries and Galloway to Inverness, and referenced how the show would tour the country annually before it settled permanently at Ingliston in 1960.

Bill Gray, chairman of RHASS, said: “To celebrate the bicentenary of the show, we wanted to do something special. The Royal Highland Show Illuminated is the perfect way to give back to regional communities and the RHASS membership across Scotland and herald the return of the show.

“After two long years without a full show, we are going all out to make the 200th anniversary Royal Highland Show the best one yet. The events are a powerful and poignant portrayal of the show’s value and importance to Scotland’s communities.”

The Royal Highland Show will take place at Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh, from June 2326, 2022.

ALLOA TOWER, STIRLING

Blazing a trail(er)

Anything is possible with a trailer or promotional unit. Industry experts discuss the latest trends

It has often been said that the only limit is your imagination. Chat to Tim Cook, managing director of Versatile Venues, and he will tell you that anything is truly possible within a trailer.

“Don’t be restricted to what you think traditionally a trailer can offer you,” he says. And he is right. Trailers and promotional units can be used in a variety of ways – as ticket booths, production offices, temporary showrooms, merchandise units, and hospitality lounges. The options are boundless.

This year, Versatile Venues, the promotional unit and trailer hire specialist, will be assisting clients at Rail Live, Boomtown, Hillhead, Seaworks, and the Scottish Game Fair, to name a few. According to Cook, the company, which will soon expand into North America, is experiencing a higher level of enquiries than it has ever experienced before. As a result, the business continues to invest, manufacture, and innovate to give the company the capacity to take on more work.

Cook describes an intensified events programme, as the events industry bounces back after a tough two years. Brandon Weston, managing director of Cube Modular, agrees. He comments: “We are seeing a much greater confidence from event organisers in their events going ahead, which means that they are committing to booking in suppliers and services earlier than last year. We’re putting in place multi-year deals and taking bookings for our whole range of products. It’s great to see the events industry bouncing back.”

WORLD DEBUT

Cube Modular, a division of Cube International, has recently acquired Caboose and Co, and has appointed A Space as the sole provider and distributor of Continest Portable Buildings in Ireland.

With such growth, Weston and his team are preparing for a busy summer. He continues: “The latest model of our retail unit has already made its debut at the World Athletics Championships in Belgrade, and now we are working on the Commonwealth Games. We are building a huge megastore in Birmingham City Centre and

UNITS ARE VERSATILE

our new pop-up merchandising units will be appearing all over the city. We are also supplying many Continest units to Formula E in Monaco, which will be used to build their event infrastructure, including two-storey Race Control offices, retail units and security and production offices.”

EVENT IMPACT

Weston states that organisers are more interested in their carbon footprint than they used to be. He adds: “They are very interested in the sustainability of our Continest folding cabins. Being able to deliver an entire event infrastructure, including box/ticket offices, production offices and retail/merchandising units on just two trucks is very appealing – both from a sustainability and transport cost point of view.”

Increasing costs – production and haulage – will be the biggest challenge that the industry faces this season, says Weston. As a result, organisers are looking for equipment that is high quality, versatile, and easily transportable. Cube Modular’s Continest foldable portable units are a big hit as they fold down and stack, giving an 80 per cent reduction in storage and transportation costs.

Weston continues: “We will continue to build our fleet of Continest cabins with improvements and modifications to make them even more flexible and easy to install in challenging conditions. Our point of sale merchandising units have just undergone further development, now featuring a lift up canopy and fold down shelf section, all incorporated within the Continest folding system.”

According to Weston, the live events market and the supply chain have changed dramatically during the pandemic. Hence, organisers are advised to confirm orders early and to look at multi-year contracts to secure product availability in the years ahead.

Weston concludes: “Also, with the drive towards sustainability of events, we’d recommend using a carbon footprint calculator to help assess and report on the impact of your event and the suppliers and products you use. Our charity partner ecolibrium has a free one that’s easy to use and can be downloaded from their website.”