Background
London’s first ever Uzbek Culture & Food Festival was brought to life in Potters Fields Park, overlooking the iconic Tower Bridge. Out sister agency We Are Placemaking produced the festival, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Uzbekistan, the Embassy of Uzbekistan in England, Uzbek Diaspora UK and Oshpaz – a company infamous for its award-winning, traditional Uzbekistan recipes.
The festival, which took place on both Saturday, June 17 and Sunday, June 18, was organised to celebrate the diverse cultural heritage of Uzbekistan – showcasing the country’s traditional cuisine, craftmanship, music and dance performances.
The OPS team was requested to provide a range of services to ensure this event could go ahead safety and smoothly, including documentation, supplier auditing, and festival health & safety during the build and live stages of the event.
Challenges
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One of the highlights of the event included the ceremonial cooking of plov, a whole tonne of which was prepared by Muzaffar Sadykov, head chef of Oshpaz, and his team. OPS was required to ensure the pot was safely transported and delivered for the food to be prepared on site.
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This event was free, un-ticketed and took place in a popular tourist spot in Central London. Managing crowd safety was therefore a vital aspect of the event.
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We spent many weeks communication with the client over 3,500 miles away in Uzbekistan, and there was often a language barrier between our teams and the teams based in Uzbekistan.
Delivery
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Set-up and transportation of multiple heavy pots, as a result of careful event health and safety management
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Auditing of over 20 suppliers and traders
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On-site health & safety manager for the build, live and break stages of the event
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Careful translation of vital documents
Results
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A successful event with just over 6,000 visitors throughout the weekend
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Excellent feedback from customers
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Language barrier overcome with careful translation from all parties
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Excellent client feedback and request for us to provide OPS services at the event again in the future
