The Southport Flower Show is the UK’s largest independent flower show, attractive over 55,000 visitors across the 4 days it runs. The event is incredibly diverse, showcasing inspirational show gardens, spectacular floral displays, gardening advice, cookery demonstrations, live music, entertainment and so much more. With hundreds of traders, producers and exhibitors across the 4 days, there is something for everyone at the Southport Flower Show.
For the 100th anniversary of the Southport Flower Show, Moonlight Events had the pleasure of working on all 3 stages at the event, installing our equipment and operating each of the stages.
The 1st of the 3 spaces we looked after is the VIP Marquee. An area for special guests to enjoy afternoon tea during the day plus additional live entertainment on ladies’ day. Each with exceptional food served to their tables by another local company – D’vine Catering. For this space, our team installed a 16ft by 10ft carpeted stage, accompanied by a 2m by 4m video wall behind it, providing an elegant area for acts to perform. On top of the video wall, we also installed sunstrips as part of the ground lighting package.
For our main lighting package in the VIP Marquee, we supplied up-lights for around the marquee in each 5m bay which were positioned in between the marquee drapes and side panels to give an aesthetic glow effect around the room without the eye saw of the lighting fixture itself or trip hazard. Additionally, we installed a 16m long truss, that we scrimed in white and flown down the centre of the marquee with a range of beams, washes, pin spots and blinders evenly distributed on along the truss.
In front of the stage, we assembled a 16ft by 14ft LED dance floor for the VIP guests which provided the perfect space for dancing as the evenings rolled in. For the sound package in this marquee, we used our FBT system with 2 subs and 2 tops either side of the stage. A further 6 tops were distributed further down the marquee to give effective coverage for all guests. Our team also positioned 2 FBT monitors on stage for the performers. Additionally, we added 2 hazers to the side of the stage to allow all the lighting effects to stand out.
The Piazza Stage was the second space which our team had the privilege to look after. We constructed a 8m by 6m apex roof stage with “cow shed” to the left that gave space for our technicians to prep for the next act. The stage is a great focal point for the event where bands, singers, musicians and choirs to perform to the public.
We installed 4 large FBT subs beneath the stage, hidden by the stage skirt, and 6 box hang of FBT line array – hung from the truss which provided ample coverage for the event. The stage also featured a range of lights flown from its truss structure to illuminate the stage where the performers were positioned. Our experienced technicians ran the Piazza Stage for the event, accommodating for all different types of performers across the weekend.
The 3rd and final space our team installed for the 100th Anniversary was the Garden Theatre. The set up in the garden theatre was very similar to the VIP Marquee, with the same size stage and video wall being installed. Additionally, the lighting package installed was very similar in both areas, with the Garden Theatre also having a 16m truss rig installed.
However, the Garden Theatre did not have our dance floor installed but instead had 42 running meters worth of pipe and drape installed either side of the stage. This was put in place to allow celebrities and other special guests to enter and make their way to the green room without being seen by the audience. The pipe and drape provided a professional and complete look to the space, tying the 16ft by 10ft stage into the marquee.
Overall, The Moonlight Team had a busy few weeks working on the show with over 560-man hours, 8.5 tons of kit and 2.3m kilometres of cable! We are excited to return next year to help produce another successful show.
For more information on the Southport Flower Show or to book your tickets for next year, follow the link below:
www.southportflowershow.co.uk
