Organised by Destination Events, London’s New Year’s Day Parade is the largest event of its kind, reaching 500 million global viewers and welcoming over 250,000 street spectators. For this year’s event, leading technical solutions specialist White Light (WL) – a d&b solutions company, delivered the full audio, lighting and rigging services for headliners Chesney Hawkes and supergroup Boyzlife.
The stage was set on a float which travelled the 2-miles between Green Park and the Palace of Westminster during the performances, before stopping for an intimate VIP spectator experience. The technical production solution featured a trailer-mounted truss structure, with a full d&b audiotechnik sound system and moving lights rigged on both sides to enhance the performances from every viewpoint.
To achieve this, WL conducted the full pre-build at d&b solutions’ Reading facility, before delivering the show ready float to Central London prior to the event.
WL’s Account Manager, Mitch Jones, comments: “Having supplied the lighting fixtures for London’s New Year’s Day Parade 2023, we were thrilled to provide the full production solution this year. This event is the UK’s largest single day television broadcast, so the pre-rig was crucial to delivering a flawless solution that would be viewed by millions on the day.”
Peter Wallder, the LNYDP Float Designer, comments: “I’ve been working on the parade for over 15 years, designing and building numerous float entries. Last year saw the introduction of my mobile stage design and this year we upped the ante with the partnering of WL who were totally outstanding in their delivery of creating a light and sound extravaganza! Their facilities and professionalism are second to none, from providing the build warehousing and the truss rigging to supplying all the materials required for the build; including the very latest state-of-the-art lighting and audio equipment. Everybody at WL, from its project managers to its technicians were a real pleasure to work with, nothing was too much trouble and they went the extra mile to help us create the perfect headlining parade entry”.
Joe Bone, LNYDP’s Executive Director, adds: ‘I have been incredibly impressed with WL who have been a pleasure to work with and produced one of the best moving stages I have ever seen for LNYDP 2024! I look forward to working with them for many more years to come!’.
