Squircle Events

WFES Gala Dinner, Abu Dhabi for Turret Group ME through Revelation (event management) Limited.

The inaugural World Future Energy Summit took place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in January 2008 and was hailed a global success. This high profile event was held under the patronage of HH General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and attended by royalty, ministers, heads of state and company CEO's from 22 countries.

In addition to venue production duties at the conference, Edward was employed as stage manager for the prestigious gala dinner at the Emirates Palace, attended by over 1,800 guests including numerous VIPS and dignitaries. A grand banquet was complimented by entertainment from local celebrities with May Hariri and Rola Saad topping the bill.

After assisting with AV, lighting, staging and themeing and despite some impromptu challenges backstage, Edward kept the production on schedule and ensured the events on stage flowed as smoothly as the festivities in the auditorium.

The celebrations on-stage culminated in a firework display across the water from the Emirates Palace and so timings for each act were crucial. While holding to the maxim that a good stage manager is invisible to the audience, Edward maintained a presence backstage to ensure the night’s entertainment flowed seamlessly.

Edward reprised his role as venue producer on WFES 2009.

GSK UK Conference, London for Zibrant through Standby-Go.

Glaxo SmithKline staged their annual UK conference at Battersea’s Evolution Centre attended by over 1700 directors, area managers and staff from across the country. Chaired by Sarah Montague from BBC Radio 4’s Today, the conference adopted the format of a TV magazine programme with a multi-level stage divided into various ‘studio’ areas. Each studio allowed the presentation of segments in a variety of formats to add variation into the conference i.e. fireside chat, panel discussion, weather report studio, lectern presentation etc. Every segment was broadcast on a split screen spanning the length of the stage.

Edward was employed as floor manager for the entire event overseeing backstage operations through rehearsals and live performance. He worked in conjunction with the project manager, TSM and DSM to ensure smooth running of backstage areas, set dressing, microphone assignment and presenter entrances etc. During rehearsals he walked speakers and the Chair through their presentations and facilitated their familiarization with the stage area.

During the live show Edward liaised with the PM, DSM and TSM to ensure the schedule was adhered to. He also worked closely with the Chair and presenters to facilitate their relaxed and confident performances and ensured that any unexpected issues were factored into the seamless production. He also provided VOG duties for all announcements throughout the conference.

Gastech Conference, Bangkok for DMG World Media through Revelation (event management) Limited.

The 23rd Gastech conference and exhibition was held at Bangkok’s International Trade and Exhibition Centre and attracted a record-breaking 11,500 visitors from over 50 countries including more than 5000 registrants and over 250 exhibiting companies.

As part of Revelation’s on-site management team, Edward was employed as one of three venue producers responsible for three conference streams, each necessitating a full technical crew. Each venue was networked to the speaker preview room to ensure smooth downloading of PowerPoint presentations for each of the 100+ key industry speakers. In addition, every venue had live camera feeds to large screens in the exhibition centre with footage also being streamed via the web post-event.

This was a high-profile event with over a third of conference delegates at director level or above. Edward worked closely with management to ensure his venue was well-staffed and that crew, speakers and delegates had all the required resources. Using an extensive checklist of pre-, post- and mid-show notes he ensured the stream ran smoothly despite inevitable last-minute presenter and itinerary changes.

Edward also rehearsed every Chair and speaker thereby ensuring their relaxed, confident presentations. He communicated changes to the Chair during their session and facilitated the post-show feedback forms.

Edward has been employed to reprise his role at Gastech 2009 in Abu Dhabi.