massive deliver first ever Tower of London Marathon Spectator Area for IAAF World Championships London 2017

Mass participation events agency, massive, delivered the first ever spectator area outside of a stadium for the IAAF World Championships London 2017 marathons in the Tower of London, on Sunday 6th August.

Overcoming the combined challenges of working within one of the UK’s busiest tourist attractions, protecting a World Heritage Site and installing infrastructure into a site with no vehicular access, massive delivered a ground-breaking spectator and VIP experience in the shortest time from build, live through to de rig.

Working alongside the LOC to deliver a Marathon Spectator Area, the team utilised the moat of the Tower of London to create a 2,000capacity spectator and hospitality area, as well as managing an additional spectator zone next to the start & finish area for the men’s & women’s marathon on Tower Bridge.

Leading on the delivery of the event was James Kemp, massive’s Operations Director. “The Tower of London is a challenging location to work in, with restrictions unlike any other venue in the country. But with such a spectacular setting we knew that we needed to produce a world-class experience and we weren’t prepared to compromise on quality or finish,” said James.

The Tower Moat spectator area featured a 500-capacity hospitality marquee with its own grandstand, public grandstand seating with a front row view of all the action from the main stage & three large screens.

The stage featured live action commentary from a TV studio set and finished with historic medal ceremonies after the men’s and women’s marathons. Never before in IAAF World Championships history have marathon medals been awarded outside the main athletics stadium.

Whilst the Tower Bridge supporter zone saw hundreds take to a 50m running track and enjoy the marathon from deck chair seating.

The event saw the first ever installation of a DDA compliant ramp into the moat to ensure that the event was accessible to all.

“The World Championship is a once in a lifetime experience so we wanted to make sure as many people as possible could access the venue and experience the atmosphere of a world class athletics event in the heart of London,” added James.

Pulling together a team of over 150 staff, crew and suppliers supported by a 300-ton crane the massive team installed more infrastructure, in only 5 days, a shorter time period than ever before for an event in the moat.

Crew from massive, power provided by Aggreko, toilets from Loos for Dos, screens and video production by Creative Technologies, lighting design by Renegade, sound from Dobson Sound, stage deck installed by Ali Deck, stage cover provided by Nomadic Spaces, truss and rigging from Blackout, Tower Bridge screen from ADI, running track from Pop Up Arena, barrier from Live, tents from GL & temporary structures from Vantage, plant from Charles Wilson, ground protection from CapTrac, crane from City Lifting.

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