Debbie McWilliams Simon McGrath Ross Allerton
million-pound investment in the RHC ’ s facilities : “ It is a plug-and-play ready venue that ’ s hugely flexible .
“ Scottish weather isn ’ t as kind as we would like so to have the mixture of spaces works really well . DF used the West Arena for its Big Top series . To have 50,000 people on site on the Saturday of the Royal Highland Show and a sell-out Biffy Clyro show the same day , with no issues , shows how much space and what a professional team we have .”
Supply and demand
Scotland has not been immune to the industry-wide supply chain issues resulting from a combination of huge demand , rising costs and a shortage of manpower and materials .
With some of its regular suppliers caught up in other projects , including The Open , DF Concerts is working with some new suppliers this year , and Ellis is happy with the results so far . Among them are Glasgow-based Loc Hire and Gap Hire Solutions , and Perth ’ s Scotloo .
“ We are welcoming some new suppliers into the rock and roll industry and hopefully they will stay ,” he says .
EE Live ’ s Simon McGrath says it is usually possible to use suppliers based in Scotland for around 90 % of his festivals ’ requirements , with the remainder being resourced from south of the border .
For Otherlands , We Are The Fair is working with Edinburgh-based Five Star Group , which comprises four divisions including event crew ,
security and projects ; with the latter supplying temporary structures and rigging services .
For Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival and The Gathering Festival , Brown says Inverness-based Limelight Event Services play a key role : “ They have grown in tandem with Belladrum and they provide full production and set-up for The Gathering . On Belladrum , they provide full production , PA and lighting for the main stage as well as lighting on the second and third stages .”
Qdos Event Hire may be headquartered in Surrey , but its reach extends into Scotland via a depot in Newmains near Glasgow . Qdos has been busy working across Scotland on some of this year ’ s biggest events , including The Open , Women ’ s Scottish Open , Women ’ s Open , Royal Highland Show and many of DF Concerts ’ shows .
“ This is the busiest June and July in Scotland I can recall . We have been inundated with work , which is great following the challenges we have all faced over the last couple of years ,” says Scotland regional manager Jonathan Reid .
He says Qdos ’ work on The 150th Open involved the supply of cabins , modular buildings , ticket offices , anti-vandal and anti-doping units , hospitality units and storage containers – around 400 units in total . It added 40 units to its fleet this year , especially for the contract with The R & A . Reid says he has a long-standing relationship with both
The R & A and DF Concerts but with The Open being bigger than ever this year and demand being huge across the board , something had to give : “ We ’ re doing a huge run of stadium shows with DF this year ; including The Killers , Harry Styles , Coldplay , Gerry Cinnamon , The Eagles and Calvin Harris . While our involvement with TRNSMT this year isn ’ t as much as we ’ d like , due to our contractual commitments with The R & A , we ’ re pleased to still be supplying a large number of toilets .”
Earlier this year infrastructure specialists GL events acquired multi-service specialist Field & Lawn , which has a base near Edinburgh . The combined operation has seen a significant rise in business in Scotland , and GL ’ s new contract with the European Tour Group to deliver temporary infrastructure for the Scottish Open , over the next four years , has seen the UK Group ’ s revenue from Scottish events double .
GL events has worked with The R & A as a supplier of temporary infrastructure to The Open since 2013 . Among the items it provided this year were TV Towers , grandstand seats and a double-deck player ’ s lounge . Field & Lawn ’ s key Scottish clients include the Royal Highland Agricultural Society , St Andrews University , Scotland RFU and Archerfield House .
GL events UK CEO Scott Jameson says the company invested heavily in its rental fleet in preparation for the 2022 season , both in terms of structures and seating . Meanwhile , Field & Lawn MD Nicholas Radcliffe says it is using temporary distribution depots at additional locations in Scotland this year in order to operate as efficiently as possible .
Says Jameson , “ 2022 has been a year like no other , following on from a couple of other years like no other ”.
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