Stuart WoodCardiff-based Orchard Media & Events Group has won a competitive tender to manage the UEFA Champions Festival at this year’s UEFA Champions League Final in Madrid this June.
Orchard first worked with UEFA when the 2017 final came to Wales, producing the programme for the Champions Festival which attracted over 70,000 to Cardiff Bay.
Orchard also managed entertainment for the Football Village within the walls of Cardiff Castle in the city centre, including a VIP Celebration Party hosting government heads and club presidents.
Orchard were again engaged by UEFA to work on last year’s Final in Kiev, delivering entertainment management as well as new services including filming, design and print management.
The company has now been appointed to produce the four-day, multi-site UEFA Champions Festival in the heart of the Spanish capital, around the final at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
The UEFA Champions Festival is a promotional event for the Champions League final, taking place in the host city. It features the Champions Stage where players entertain the crowd, showcases the trophy, and contains the Champions League Gallery.
Orchard head of special events Dave Driscoll said: “Our experience of working closely with the UEFA City Events Team over the previous two editions of the Champions Festival, in addition to years of experience in producing large-scale outdoor entertainment events and festivals across a range of diverse sites, enabled us to secure this prestigious contract.
“It was great to be involved with the Champions League Final when it was hosted in Cardiff, and we’re proud that, as a Welsh company, we’ve continued to develop this international partnership with one of the world’s best-known brands.”
Orchard will be working with commercial partners including PepsiCo, Sony Playstation and Mastercard. The company has taken on new Spanish-speaking staff at its Cardiff HQ to help coordinate the event.
Welsh Government Minister for International Relations Eluned Morgan AM said:
“It is great to see an economic legacy from the 2017 Champions League Final – one of the biggest and most prestigious events Wales has hosted. As one of our most successful event production companies, Orchard is showcasing Wales to a global audience.
Football Association of Wales Chief Executive Jonathan Ford said: “Orchard’s relationship with UEFA grew out of their ongoing excellent work for the FAW on match days, on our awards and other projects, so it’s heartening to see a Welsh company continue to work on a global stage as a legacy from Cardiff hosting the Champions League Final.”