When top entertainment company Merlin decided to build an ice-rink at its world famous London Eye, it turned to leading entertainment technology suppliers and mobile ice-rink experts, Stage Electrics. Now the UK's largest mobile ice-rink supplier, with rinks in regular use in many locations up and down the UK and in Ireland.
"As a company we already did quite a lot of work with Merlin, supplying lighting and effects for the London Dungeon and Madam Tussauds," explains Stage Electrics' project manager John Burgess. "We started to talk to Merlin last May about the possibility of a rink at the Eye. They liked the idea and quickly realised that, given the level of finish that they would require and the amount of work they would need in terms of logistics, we would be the perfect partner for the project."
Stage Electrics worked alongside the client, before going through a series of design options and choosing the most suitable one.
There were a number of restrictions that made the job challenging, not least the terrain itself. Says Burgess, "It's a difficult site, because the ground slopes away from the street down to the riverside, so a strong and rigid supporting structure was needed to create a perfectly level platform for the ice-rink. The other major factor was its location on the South Bank, which meant there were a number of other protocols to be got through to achieve the project."
Along with restricted parking and limited vehicle access, another major logistical issue was the fact that the120m-long avenue of trees flanking the proposed site of the ice-rink is also the emergency vehicle roadway for the whole of the South Bank, and had to kept clear at all times: "We weren't even allowed to drop so much as a pallet there; everything had to be built entirely within the space it occupied."
These physical site restrictions dictated the size of the rink, but a fortunate aspect was that a suitable power supply was available in the ground on site, negating the need for generators.
For the client, however, the main priority was the position of the rink. It was vital that it was positioned directly beneath the Eye to achieve maximum impact in publicity shots, taken from the ground as well as from the highest point of the Eye.
Another essential requirement for Merlin was a smart corporate look and finish. Stage Electrics answered this with a combination of subtle branding with the 'Eyeskate' logo on a cool blue band on the clear polycarbonate side walls of the rink, and by freezing the Merlin and London Eye logos into the ice. A further touch was to carry the blue theming through to the festoon lighting of the avenue trees and over the rink, mirrored again in lighting fixtures around the Eye's rim. "The surrounding trees were lit by the local authority," says Burgess, "but we recommended what was used."
Inside the temporary rink building, blue carpeting complemented the lighting and a covered skate exchange area provided bench seating and space for spectators to watch the skaters. A reception area with ticketing and refreshment facilities completed the package. Anticipating the rink's popularity over the Christmas and New Year season, skaters were given 30 minutes on the ice in groups of no more than 50 for safety reasons. The rink was as busy as predicted despite the often bitter winter weather, while the Stage Electrics ice-rink service, which includes providing an Olympia ice-resurfacing machine, ensured the rink could continue to operate safely in all conditions.
As well as the client's requirements, the demands of the local authority needed to be taken into consideration. "There were very strict health and safety regulations," says Burgess.
Stage Electrics provided a qualified Health and Safety project manager to oversee the design and build of the rink and barriers. "Our project manager worked very closely with the local authority to ensure the smoothest possible build, and equally importantly, a smooth load out. The council was very pleased, which is rather important to the consideration of installing a rink here again next year."