The new , more “ rock ’ n ’ roll ”, stage at Hampton Court Palace
Joel Smith
“ We can ’ t crane a stage in , it must be brought in and put up by hand .”
base Court ,” says Smith . “ Decisions around what infrastructure goes into the courtyard must be taken carefully because there are many conservation considerations to take into account .
We can ’ t crane a stage in , for example , it must be brought in and put up by hand .”
He says IMG has much experience of working in historically important settings but each venue comes with its own challenges . In the case of Hampton Court Palace , the entrance to Base Court means travelling over a weight-restricted moat bridge .
“ That means everything has to be loaded off a truck and onto a smaller vehicle and then once the stage has been delivered it has to be erected by hand rather than cranes ,” says Smith .
Among the many other issues that must be considered is the ban on food and drink in the palace building but thanks to IMG ’ s close relationship with the Palace ’ s management team at Historic Royal Palaces , it was able to open a bar in Base Court to service show attendees .
“ That took a lot of a lot of time working with the palace to overcome some of their concerns and understand what would work and what would be acceptable . We can ’ t serve red wine , for example , because the risk to the fabric of the building is so high . We also need to make sure that the floor is heavily protected , and the bar is taken out every night ,” says Smith .
That working environment not only impacts the way in which the IMG team and suppliers build and design the show , it also influences the festival ’ s entertainment offering .
“ Because of the setup in base court , it doesn ’ t really work to have a support act on before the headliner as once the audience is in , you can ’ t really let them go back out and in again ,” says Smith . “ Unfortunately , we can ’ t just knock down some walls and make the entrances bigger .
“ There ’ s a lot of working together , but I think we ’ re lucky to work with a team at Hampton Court that understands what we ’ re trying to achieve , and we understand why the restrictions are in place .
“ There are many considerations but the by-product of all that work , and having that patience , is you ’ re in a beautiful , amazing , setting that very few event concepts can come close to .”
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