Operations and Health & Safety: GALA

Background

GALA festival was founded in 2016 and, following collaboration with our sister agency, The Fair, has grown to become one of London’s most-talked-about events of the summer.

The festival showcases the electronic dance music of the moment, inviting globally renowned DJs and live bands who are shaping today’s club culture.

OPS supported The Fair’s production team throughout the planning, build and live phases of the event, working closely with the GALA team to bring their vision to life, while also satisfying the requirements of Southwark Council and the Safety Advisory Group to deliver a successful and safe event.

Challenges

• This was a near complete sellout show across all three days, which meant the infrastructure of the show was on its maximum capacity. This also meant challenges for egress.

• A new site layout was introduced as a result of the addition of a new stage.

• OPS supported GALA’s Head of Sustainability to make changes based on the results of the 2022 sustainability report.

Delivery

• Onsite Health and Safety during element of the build, break and entire live show

• SAG Attendance

• Event Safety Management Plan

• Event Risk Assessment

• Fire Risk Assessment

• Ingress and Egress Plan

• Show Stop Plan

• Emergency Procedures

Results

• Multiple sold out days enjoyed by 10,000 festival goers each day.

• Exceptional feedback from the audience and press, with many declaring it the “best year yet”.

• The client was extremely happy with out work, and requested us to safely deliver GALA’s brand new show, Rally.