We are the new era of live events

On Saturday 6th May, the nation gathered to witness the historic Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla. While the excitable crowds camped outside and the media speculated on what the day would bring, Identity worked tirelessly behind the scenes to deliver an event fit for a King.

London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations were open to the public for the first time in two years, and it was certainly a night to remember.

Organised by the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority, Identity helped ring in the new year with an incredible show of light, colour, sound, and the all-important fireworks!

Our creative expertise enabled us to deliver an exceptional and memorable event. We explored how we could champion the New Year’s Eve show and the glorious London skyline to bring the vibrant city to life. We wanted to inspire an atmosphere of joy and nostalgia through reflecting on some of the key events of 2022, as well as celebrating new beginnings.

We used modern drone technology and storytelling to celebrate the late Queen Elizabeth II through the creation of images in the sky. The choreography of the drones championed the Queen’s service to her country and honoured his majesty, King Charles III. The display was supported by voice clips from Mayor Sadiq Khan, and Paddington Bear, as well as a powerful message from Peter Tatchell from the Gay Liberation Front.

The event highlighted the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 victory, 50 years of London Pride, as well as solidarity with Ukraine. The unforgettable performance saw industry leading names across lighting, music, and pyrotechnics, united in delivering one exceptional experience for the city. The iconic London Eye was at the heart of the show as the events unfolded along the Embankment.

The soundtrack of the event was inspired by the rhythm of the city and was carefully timed with the lightshow. Championing London through the international language of music, the night showcased globally recognised and emerging London talent. The music enabled each stage of the night to flow seamlessly, building up the suspense before the midnight moment.

In 2021, Pure Imagination Studios broke new ground in taking the phenomenally successful Netflix franchise, Army of the Dead, from the screen into real life with Viva Las Vengeance, an immersive, virtual reality experience set in a zombie-infested Las Vegas. Described by Forbes as a “next-level immersive experience”, it takes Netflix into location-based entertainment in a first for the company and an industry-leading move. As owner and operator of the experience in the USA, Pure Imagination selected Identity as their design, build and logistical partner for the Viva Las Vengeance VR tour across the UK and Europe, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Deliverables

Identity worked closely with Pure Imagination, Netflix and their partners, global ticketing and marketing partner, Fever, US project managers, Experiential Supply Company, 310 Merchandise and UK staffing company, Continuum Attractions, from initial strategy and planning through to design and delivery. Identity undertook full venue liaison with Westfield to create a peerless experience for this exciting physical and virtual activation, set in a 360-degree environment with VR headset, hand trackers, full-body capture and simulated weapons.  

With the client and major partners based in the US, Identity translated and augmented a complex brief, based on US specifications and geography, to establish a seamless transition to the UK, deploying an inventive approach and significant adaptations to create a living, breathing, immersive and apocalyptic Las Vegas in central London.  

Identity created and constructed all elements of the entire physical environment, including the front of house, the Quarantine Zone, shipping container-style briefing rooms, warehouse, photo opportunity and retail spaces, scenically treated with life-sized, bespoke replica props. We reprogrammed all measurements to ensure absolute precision in the relationship between the VR and physical environment. Our highly-creative design achieved a Hollywood-grade look and feel throughout the experience from check-in to merchandising, including the bespoke design and build for the central heart of the immersive experience – a suite of motorised taco trucks with motion flooring – from scratch.  

The activation is designed to be used by anyone and can be deployed anywhere. Built for touring and adaptable to any environment, the experience is fully modular and mobile, easily and efficiently built up and down, with all scenic elements pre-built and packaged to maximise speed and efficiency for onsite installation. All technical elements were pre-designed and tested to a tour grade level, with plug-and-play installation and minimal onsite calibration. Accessibility was at the forefront of this immersive and physical experience, with access to the taco trucks being wheelchair friendly. 

31^st October – 13^th November (plus Pre-Sessionals, 25^th – 30^th October) 

Engaging with the world whilst showcasing Glasgow on the global stage, COP26 brought together delegates for one shared goal, to tackle climate change, in the most well-attended COP in history, and the largest international summit to ever take place in the UK, broadcast on the world stage, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. After 13 days of intense negotiations, COP26 concluded with every Party at COP26 – representing almost 200 countries – agreeing the Glasgow Climate Pact.

To ensure success, COP26 would need to engage with audiences in person and with participants across the world and across time zones, to build a sense of unity and amplify key themes; and every element of event design and delivery would need to support the coming together of this disparate audience of in-person attendees, virtual attendees, and people watching at home.

Identity’s role as sole production partner was to underpin the event with responsibility for creating a unified, inclusive and sustainable design and for flawless delivery on an unprecedented scale.

Deliverables

Identity took ownership of all infrastructure, facilities, overlay, production services and host broadcast/media services and virtual conference offering, working closely with FCDO, Cabinet Office and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to ensure the smooth delivery of this extremely important event.

With just under eight months to deliver, Identity convened a hand-picked and highly skilled team of event experts to plan and produce this event; our team comprising over 4000 event experts and experienced event delivery crew, plus 1000 volunteers.

The scope of our brief encompassed the design of every space at COP, and a key consideration was putting Glasgow on the map, for which we developed a treatment that would work expansively and tie COP26 into the city with a tonal range of events, vibrant and engaging where they needed to be, others calm and reflective, all cohesive and inclusive.

COP26 was vast, taking place across two separate zones, one for delegations, and one for public attendees, comprising the entire SEC campus in Glasgow and a public ticketed zone across the river Clyde at the Glasgow Science Centre. The footprint covered more than two square kilometres and saw the installation of 78,000 square metres of temporary structures – in effect designing and building a town within a town – to support over 30 meeting rooms, lounges, bilateral rooms, secure delegation offices, pavilions, a media centre and press conference rooms, stand uppers and broadcast platforms. All underpinned by exemplary project management, stakeholder engagement, supply chain resilience, and sound budget management for the public purse.

RAF World is a real-time multi-zoned virtual recruitment event series that evolved from RAF Access All Areas virtual event designed to engage audiences aged 16 – 24, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the post-pandemic world, RAF World has continued to impress and attract potential candidates, adding a unique virtual element to the RAF’s in-person recruitment event programme. 

The RAF World virtual airbase comprises three media-rich zones, each one designed and built by Identity’s in-house team. The zones give potential candidates detailed information on different specialisms and were curated to feature priority recruitment roles for the RAF. Situated in an RAF base and in the context of a real-world operation ensuring that the recruitment messaging was conveyed with authenticity.  

This experience offers potential candidates a glimpse into what their working life in the RAF could be like. Users navigate their way through the virtual base on their own, granted unprecedented levels of access to what were previously exclusive and secure environments. This unique feature captures the audience’s attention and maintains their engagement, fully immersing them in the simulated experience.