Platinum Jubilee Pageant

Kb event case study

Overview

Location: London, England
When: 2022
Type: Event

Overview

Location: London, England
When: 2022
Type: Event

On 5th June 2022, the Platinum Jubilee Pageant told the story of The Queen's 70-year reign in London

Trailer schematics
testing-the-route
Testing the route

Platinum Jubilee Pageant case study

On the 6th of February 2022, Her Majesty The Queen became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms, and the Commonwealth.

To celebrate this unprecedented anniversary, events and initiatives took place throughout the year, culminating in a four-day UK bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June.

The four days of celebrations included public events and community activities, as well as national moments of reflection on The Queen’s 70 years of service.

On 5th June 2022, the Platinum Jubilee Pageant told the story of The Queen’s 70-year reign and our transforming society. Artists were commissioned and the communities they work with to interpret different chapters of this narrative in their own unique way, placing those communities and the work they created centre stage, in a spectacular unfolding story filled with wonder, warmth, wit and wow-factor.

KB Events Involvement

KB Event was also commissioned in February 2022 to support the creation of the Pageant Parade helping source vehicles to create parade floats but also to work with the creative team and production management to bring their ideas to life in a practical way.

The initial meetings started in late February 2022, working with the Platinum Jubilee Pageant’s (PJP’s) Production Manager Punch Wilson. The timeline at this stage was from March to the end of May 2022, some three months to define their vehicle requirements, source the vehicles, work with the creative teams to align vehicles to designs and then the work on the practicality of how to build the floats.

Working under NDA at the time we couldn’t share openly the thoughts of the design team, however we were being asked to create 5 floats that would have many people standing on them and, in some cases, people dancing, so stability and a smooth ride would be critical. At this early-stage Punch Wilson suggested the Pageant team wanted trailers towed by Land Rover Defenders, however this would prove impractical due to the trailers having fixed axles that don’t ride on air and would mean that all on board would feel every bump and movement.

We quickly worked to bring KB Events experience in this field into play and come up with different solutions for both tractor units, rigids, and various trailer types. One of the big challenges at the time was just sourcing equipment. After the COVID pandemic and Brexit, being able to find trailers and rent rigids of the right spec was difficult due to supply issues, so guaranteeing equipment that could be made available for the two weeks before the Pageant became a major blocker that we had to overcome.

The other challenge was how could we make sure that whilst we delivered the right vehicle size, we also ensured that it was environmentally friendly. Again, in the early stages we explored electric, but this was impractical due to supply issues, but also highlighted the use of HVO fuel with the Pageant team, an area that KB Event has championed throughout the music and events industry. Although this became part of the solution, KB Event also delivered on their promise with two compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks helping to support the aim of the PJP by minimising carbon and waste.

Throughout the project timeline, the PJP creative team would change their mind and just when you thought you had found the right trucks and trailers it all changed again and we would have to go back to the drawing board to search again. Patience, flexibility, and agility is key in any project like this, as you have to give the client what they want at the end of the day, but always testing to make sure the solution works.

Testing the Route

Midway through the project it became clear that we would be providing articulated tractors and trailers that would then be extended sideways. Bearing in mind the route it was critical that we tested the width of the trailer as the crowd on the day would be 100,000 people the worlds press and media would also be watching with an audience of 1 billion people globally, so no room for error.

The KB Event team suggested that we should take a tractor and trailer with extended sides into the centre of London to drive the route in the early hours of the morning just to make sure it would fit. This meant coordinating with the PJP team but also the Met Police to ensure the task was completed without a hitch.

On the 21st of April 2022 the PJP and KB Event Team drove the route with the Met Police from 2am till 4am in the morning testing every turn and roundabout around Buckingham Place. Everything went to plan, and our solution was signed off by all.

The Final Solution

The final solution was signed off in early May by the PJP team and we then had to plan the sequence of delivery into build, testing, truck wrapping, and then delivery into central London ready for the Pageant itself. Everyone that was going to be working on the day, whether drivers or management also had to be security cleared and accredited, as well as substitutes just in case anyone couldn’t make it due to sickness.

The final truck call looked like this:

Truck 1 Northern Soul    –              Brown Artic IVECO Tractor Unit HVO Fuel plus flatbed trailer

Truck 2 Mamma Mia       –              Blue Artic KB Volvo Tractor Unit HVO Fuel plus flatbed trailer

Truck 3 Breakdance        –              Graffiti Artic IVECO Tractor Unit CNG plus flatbed trailer  

Truck 4 Drag / Fashion   –              Pink DAF Rigid HVO flatbed

Truck 5 Platinum Pals     –              Green Artic IVECO Tractor Unit CNG plus flatbed trailer 

To secure the vehicles listed and to accommodate the changing requirements with our client, we had to land and park vehicles up, particularly the rigid vehicle as we couldn’t guarantee they would be available unless rented early.

We managed to use our connections and buying buyer to negotiate this but also worked closely with IVECO UK to secure their market leading CNG tractor units.

With all the vehicles and flatbed trailers secured we had to the sequence the delivery of the flatbed trailers and rigid into Creator and Gemstone who were building the set designs onto each trailer. We also had to deliver the three IVECO trucks into Cube for them to be wrapped. The KB Event tractor unit just had the decals removed and the ABBA trailer was matched to our RAL.

Once the trailers and tractors were completed, we sequenced the collection and delivery into Doon St for vehicle security checks prior to being parked in Horse Guards Parade on the Saturday, ready for the Pageant Parade on the Sunday.

 Truck Details

 Date

M

T

W

T

F

S

S

M

  

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

 

 Action

        

Truck 1

Deliver trailer to Creator

        

45′ trailer

Cab to Cube for wrapping

        

(1970’s – Northern Soul)

Collect trailer from Creator

        
 

Search at Doon St

        
 

Overnight at Doon St

        
 

To HGP

        
 

Pageant

        
 

De-rig trailer on HGP

        
 

Drop trailer at Creator

        
 

Cab to Cube for de-wrap

        
 

Collect trailer from Creator

        

The Platinum Jubilee Pageant took place from 14.30 – 17.00 BST on Sunday 5th June 2022. The Pageant started on Whitehall, turned under Admiralty Arch, and then processed up the Mall before finishing outside Buckingham Palace around the Queen Victoria Memorial.

Once the Pageant Parade finished the vehicles parked up again in Horse Guards Parade to then be de-rigged and de-wrapped over the following three days in their assigned locations.

Comments from the drivers that covered the job were incredible, they couldn’t believe the atmosphere and felt incredibly proud and humbled to be part of it. Spanner and Pete Gregory were two to be mentioned.  

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