Christopher BarrettThe creators of the new 40,000-capacity Chevron Stage at Festival Republic’s Reading Festival (cap. 105,000) and Leeds Festival (75,000) are hailing its debut at the events a great success.
Featuring a “floating canopy” of LED lights stretched 5,500 square metres above the Reading & Leeds crowds, among the artists to make full use of the Chevron Stage’s canopy at Reading & Leeds were Skrillex and The Prodigy (pictured below).
While the mesh canopy of lights can be programmed to provide immersive displays, it is 90% transparent so the look and feel of an open air venue is maintained.
The bespoke structure was the result of nine months of design and planning by lighting design company Colour Sound Experiment, which had a dedicated team of eight at each site working for a week to build the structures.
Colour Sound Experiment MD Haydn Cruickshank said, “Much of work was solving the challenge of creating a massive and highly technical structure housing thousands of lights without restricting anyone’s view. We strategically placed slim and sturdy pillars to hold up this massive canopy above the crowds, without obstructing the live acts.”
The structure supporting the huge canopy was designed and supplied by Special Structures Lab, while the stage itself was Serious Stages’ new Stellar concert and festival structure that made its debut in July at a series of concerts, presented by Festival Republic, at Crystal Palace Park.
