Supplier: T3W delivers 3 summer stages at Trafalgar Square

Staging and crewing company T3W were the stage suppliers of choice for a triad of major events which took place over the summer at London’s Trafalgar Square.

Chosen for their expertise, T3W provided staging solutions for McLaren Racing Live: London, run by Velocity Experience, and Pride in London and Canada Day, run by LS Events. Their structures supported a week of high-profile performances and public showcases in one the capital’s most iconic locations.

Run by brothers, Mark, Paul and Andrew Gibson, T3W prides itself on offering a personal, professional service and brings over 20 years of industry experience to every project. For these events the T3W team installed a covered 14-meter-wide performance space, which was tailored to the constraints of Trafalgar Square, along with two technical wings, two PA towers, two video wall structures and a wheelchair-accessible lift. Layer scaffolding formed the substructures and towers, and a T3W-owned custom fabrication formed the roof and decking system.

Julia Bruns, production manager, at LS Events said, “We commissioned T3W to build a Layher stage in Trafalgar Square and the team were brilliant to work with, both during the advance process and onsite, navigating the challenges of the site build space and surrounding heritage infrastructure. They were easy to work with, and their team were professional and respectful of the build environment.

“Paul and Mark were excellent at finding solutions for several build changes across three shows and co-operated with other suppliers. Their customer service was excellent, and we look forward to working with T3W again.”

Paul led the build with his team of eight skilled stage builders, who worked under tight time pressures due to the central London location to meet strict deadlines. Despite the challenges and weather conditions ranging from blistering 32°C heat to torrential rain and thunderstorms, the team successfully completed the build within the strict two-day window and dismantled the stage in one day.

Paul said: “It was an honour to be trusted to build on such a prestigious site for such large-scale events. The team rose to every challenge and went above and beyond to do our bit in making these events so successful.”

Given Trafalgar Square’s historic and architectural significance, including its designation as a listed site and proximity to the Grade I-listed Nelson’s Column, which the stage was built in front of, T3W implemented a series of protective measures. These included the use of Cap Track plastic matting beneath stillages during the build to safeguard the flagstones and using trusted operators to manage the heavy plant machinery including the 14-meter JCB telehandler, the 40-ton mobile crane supplied by Raymond Crane Hire Ltd, and the cherry picker.

McLaren Racing Live: London saw live appearances from key racing figures including racing drivers Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Mika Häkkinen, CEO of McLaren racing Zak Brown and Team Principal of McLaren’s Formula 1 team Andrea Stella. They joined the FormulaE car on the stage unveiling its new livery and showcasing the new papaya accents. J&C Joel branding company dressed the stage in papaya to reflect the new colour scheme and over 35,000 people attended the event. The stage itself went through three different rebrands throughout the week with red scrim for Canada day and rainbow colours for Pride.

Alongside the FormulaE car onstage Canada Day saw a diverse lineup of musical talent representing the Canadian music scene whilst London Pride showcased a powerful mix of legendary talent headlined by Chaka Khan and Durand Bernarr.

It was a successful week for T3W who alongside the Trafalgar Square build also supplied crew to a number of prestigious gigs and events including, Ed Sheeran at Ipswich’s Portman Road, Black Sabbath at Birmingham’s Villa Park, Oasis at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, ELO at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, Drake at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, Gracie Abrahams at Nottingham’s MotorPoint Arena and they supplied stage builders to Silverstone Race Course for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.