A BIGGER BANG
How the night skies will light up on Hogmanay Calling a fireworks display com- pany on 4 November about an event next year is probably not the smartest move. But Toby Alloway, a director of
Titanium Fireworks, exudes the calm of someone whose respon- sibility is to safely detonate four tonnes of explosives in front of a large crowd. He and his colleagues would complete 46 shows in a fortnight, including one for 75,000 people in Tower Hamlets, in London. After 5 November, they were busy pre- paring for a display at Wembley Stadium, part of an Olympic- style reception for the Indian Prime Minister. Te company’s directors have
more than 50 years combined experience in delivering hun- dreds of displays, including the closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic and Para- lympic Games. Since 2013, they have delivered both the London New Year’s Eve celebrations and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. Last year, after founding Titanium, their own company, there was the Glasgow Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. Tis year, there was the Rugby World Cup opening and clos- ing ceremonies, and some big matches in between. As well as these highlights,
Titanium is also busy deliver- ing displays for villages, towns and cities, for companies and local authorities, for weddings and birthday parties. All born of a passion for fireworks which, in Alloway’s case, began with his parents entrusting him as a youngster with the fam- ily’s bonfire night
“2,200 cues deliver 11,000 shots into the sky with an incalculable number of stars in 18 different colours”
display. Even for such an early enthusiast, he probably did not envisage what he would be do- ing in 2012: “Sitting at a desk in the middle of the Olympic Parkwaiting to fire four tonnes of fireworks across a mile of the river leading up to the stadium was an incredible experience. Te assault on the senses was something I will never forget.” But each display has its own
reward: “Every time you watch a show that you’ve designed and see it come to life exactly as you envisaged is such an incred- ible feeling.” For Edinburgh’s Hogmanay
2016, work began in Octo- ber when organiser Unique Events discussed with them the soundtrack selected for the display. Titanium spends around 70 hours choreographing the display using a software and hardware system called FireOne, known as “the Photoshop of the
fireworks world”. Another piece of software, ShowSim, simulates the display on screen in 3D; use- ful for broadcasters in deciding on camera positions. Trough late November and
early December, the team spends around 480 hours preparing the fireworks, sourced from China, Europe and the UK and named after flowers - such as Peony, Chrysanthemum, Willow and Dahlia - for the shapes they cre- ate on exploding. Tey are on site from 27 December; a crew of 14 pyrotechnicians will walk in the region of 17 miles between the positions at Edinburgh Castle, West Princes Street Gardens and on Calton Hill to prepare the shows. Tere are more than 2,200 cues
delivering nearly 11,000 shots into the sky with an incalculable number of stars in 18 different shades of colour. Te display lasts five minutes, but if each effect was fired individually it would last more than four hours. William Peakin
“For me, off the M8, a multi- purpose stadium for football, rugby, 2020 cricket, pop concerts … that would probably be the icing on the cake.”
Paul Bush interview, p46➜
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
In the year of food and drink it’s fitting that destination management companies are selling more corporate packages tailored for those who want to explore Scotland’s ‘natural larder’. ‘Food events’ have risen steadily
up the agenda in 2015, and one such beneficiary has been Linlithgow-based Gavin Hunter, a blue badge tourist guide, who this year completed a Master’s in Gastronomy from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. Gavin, who has worked with
corporate and private travellers in this burgeoning market, says: “It is an engaging way to introduce people to a city, a place, or a region. And also allows us to communicate the story of food and its provenance.”
EVENTSBASE | NOVEMBER 2015 | 7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68