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Download Rocks with Star Events Group
This year Download launched a second festival site in Scotland running midweek at Glasgow Green, before the main festival at Donington Park on 5th and 6th June. Both festivals featured headlining bands Metallica and Linkin Park, but the Scottish version, in its first year was a scaled down event and ran as two separate days with only one stage for the two days live acts.
A 20m three-bay Star Orbit stage acted as the main Download stage. Two 8m PA towers were incorporated either side of the stage to accommodate the PA and video screens, with the FOH tower, follow spot platform, wheelchair user platform and five signage towers also being provided by Star Events Group. Project manager Phil Addyman ran a crew of 12 across the four-day build.
At the Donington site, Star Events Group constructed a Vertech VT 25-20 stage as the Radio 1 / Kerrang! Stage with specially designed PA and video wings. The larger wings provided greater depth for protection of equipment and increased area for working. Having previously worked at Donington and for Download, Star Events Group are familiar with the site logistics, which proved valuable information when this year, festival director John Probyn and production manager Neil MacDonald decided the stage needed re-locating and the Star Events Group team were able to calculate the technicalities of the change and carry them out successfully.
Star Vertech director Pete Holdich and crew chief Andrew Philips led the team of 15 to create a further 23 structures across the site. This included three stages, the ‘Snickers’ stage using a VT 20-15 ground support and the ‘Barfly’ Stage with a VT 15-10, both of which were assembled in Kayam marquees. A 5 x 5 m stage deck platform was used in the Exhibition Centre. The FOH structures, a wheelchair platform situated in front of the main stage and 10 observation towers across the campsite were also created.
In addition to staging construction, the Star Events team created 20m x 13m Vertech roof covering the Snickers Soul Bowl, which sheltered the skating ramp and some of the seating around the arena, a branded DJ platform in the Aftershock tent and a support structure for wooden cut out women promoting Velvet Revolver.
Star Rigging’s Mark Whittaker led a crew of six to complete the rigging requirements across the site, with 21 tonnes of equipment being rigged on a total of 50 points on the main stage. The rigging points had to be readjusted after Linkin Park’s performance on the Saturday night, into Metallica’s stage design, changing the positions of trussing.
Neil MacDonald commented: “Star Events has been a key part of our production team, helping enormously with all of the usual late changes and keeping this festival running smoothly. The main stage looks excellent this year and has been great to work on.”
http://www.StarEventsGroup.com
In picture: The Distillers on main stage
14th June 2004
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