Arena Seating supplied temporary upholstered seating to Sport Relief’s live fundraising broadcast from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, raising a total of £56,984,007 for charitable projects across the globe, 18th March 2016.
Arena Seating was entrusted to supply two grandstands holding 120 upholstered seats to accommodate the show’s front of stage audience, each with their own separate staircase access and integrated wheelchair platforms and wheelchair ramps leading to viewing platforms at the front of each grandstand, offering easy disabled access and a clear view of the evening’s entertainment. Directly behind the temporary seating blocks of the venue a sound desk and gantry were installed to provide the production team with clear visibility of the stage during the live transmission. Black handrails were also used throughout the whole installation so as not to detract the TV audience’s attention.
Arena Seating’s Dave Withey commented: “We worked on the design and build of the Sport Relief event with a short lead time, alongside the designer Richard Drew and BBC’s Helen Bishop, which made for a seamless event.”
Richard Drew adds: “I have done more than my fair share of load-ins over the years and this year’s Sport Relief were possible two of the calmest ever. It’s a cliché but it is purely down to tremendous team spirit and the abundance of expertise available, it’s always such a pleasure to be involved and in particular on such a record breaking show.”
The night, hosted by David Walliams and Gary Lineker, saw comedy celebrity sketches including Peter Crouch joining Little Britain, Gavin and Stacey’s Smithy running for FIFA President and Jack Whitehall enlisting Gareth Bale’s help in a bid for English football glory. Highlights from this year’s sporting challenges included Radio 1 DJ Greg James’ Gregathlon taking on 5 triathlons across the UK in 5 days, comedienne Jo Brand’s 125 mile “Hell of a Walk” and Marathon Man Eddie Izzard embarking on 27 marathons in 27 days across South Africa.
