Background
In an exciting start to the New Year, the OPS team collaborated with our sister agency, We Are Placemaking, and London BID, Better Bankside, to bring the historic Frost Fair back to life.
This iconic event commemorates a remarkable period in London’s history from around 1605 to 1814, during which time mini ice ages caused the River Thames to completely freeze over on multiple occasions. Locals would bring markets, entertainment, food and drink to the banks of the frozen Thames, and even encouraged a real life elephant to walk across the frozen river.
This year, to celebrate this unique piece of history, the Frost Fair event invited guests to enjoy a variety of entertainment – from vibrant street markets to live performances horse rides, skittle lanes and a life-sized elephant puppet parading the streets of London.
The OPS team delivered a wide range of event operation and health and safety services during the planning, advancing, build, live and break stages, to ensure the Frost Fair could go ahead.
Challenges
· The nature of this event in a vast public space meant the market had to be installed overnight and into the early morning hours. OPS provided on-site health and safety officers to oversee the safe installation of this infrastructure.
· In traditional fashion, horse drawn carriages carried out scheduled rides around the streets of Southwark. To protect passengers and pedestrians, we coordinated with the highways TFL to ensure safe routes were followed.
· One of the main spectacles was a vast parade, in which the life-sized elephant puppet was walked around the area, with performers dancing and playing instruments too. Crowd management was therefore a significant consideration and was managed by the OPS team from the planning phases through to the live event.
Delivery
· On site health and safety during the build, live and break stages of the event
· Documentation and licensing (TENs, risk assessment, fire risk assessment)
· Supplier auditing
· Stakeholder engagement with local residents and businesses
Results
· A seamless build, live and break
· A three-day event enjoyed by guests from far and wide
· A full community day dedicated to local residents and businesses
· Exceptional feedback from the client
· Significant media coverage including a full section on ITV News
