Following a weekend traipsing around the arid festival lands of
Glastonbury 2019, Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time (BST)
was a welcome reprieve for the TPi team. As has become something
of an annual tradition, we joined some of the crew and suppliers for
a mid-summer catch up.
Heading backstage of the iconic tree-clad main stage, TPi caught-up
with Production Director Mark Ward. Founder of Proper Productions, Ward
and his team – consisting of Tyler Cole-Holmes and Harr y Ford – have been
involved in BST for the past seven years. From the comfort of his office, he
walked us through his histor y with the event.
“I was originally brought in by Dan Craig and Jim King from LoudSound,”
recalled Ward. “We already knew each other from a number of shows and
worked really well together. They also knew I had a bit of histor y withsite, having run Party in the Park for a number of years.” Having steered
the production for many years, Ward has remained loyal to a selection
of suppliers, including Video Design, PRG, Capital Sound, Stage Miracles,
Production House, John Henr y’s, Star Hire and Eat to the Beat.
The PM explained how this continued deployment of the same key
suppliers all came down to the world-class crew behind each company
involved. “Nobody gets carried,” he commented. “We have an amazing crew
and I think it’s testament to the people we brought in from day one, that
there hasn’t been a change in supplier for the past seven years.”
Ward and the BST crew have overseen some ambitious productions
over the years. His secret, he claims, is surrounding himself with world-class
pros. “When it comes to the visual teams, both PRG and Video Design give
us the ability to say ‘yes’ to most incoming productions,” he commented.BARCLAYCARD PRESENTS
BRITISH SUMMER TIME
Certainly one of the more sophisticated events on our schedule this year, TPi headed to Hyde Park
for British Summer Time to meet the crew behind the annual event – all to the smooth stylings of
Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder. TPi reports...FESTIVAL FOCUS