This year marks the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and in honor of the historical anniversary, the United Kingdom is holding several events celebrating her 70-year reign. At The Royal Windsor Horse Show in May, Elation Professional had its own workhorse on display albeit not of the equine variety. PRG provided a full lighting rig for the event that incorporated 171 Elation Proteus Maximus IP65-rated LED moving heads as the key luminaire in the design.
The challenges of creating a dramatic and theatrical lighting rig on an arena scale with a daily Horse Show running concurrently are vast, but PRG has a long and successful history with the event and has provided lighting rigs for the illustrious equestrian show for over 12 years. This year, the company made the decision to update to a more sustainable LED option and much needed waterproof protection. Richard Gorrod, Vice President and head of Event Services at PRG UK, has led the PRG team at the event for a number of years and names the Proteus Maximus's 50,000 lumens of brightness, ingress protection, framing shutters and gobo selection as key reasons for its choice.
"We have used non-IP65 discharge wash fixtures in previous years but this was a great upgrade and worked fantastic," Gorrod commented. "The Maximus has everything in one fixture and was the workhorse for the main arena. It was very reliable, especially in the British weather." Gorrod adds that of the 171 active Maximus fixtures used on the show only a single unit was swapped out. "Amazing!"
Produced by HPower, The Royal Windsor Horse Show is held annually at Windsor Castle with this year's Platinum Jubilee event an upgrade over past years. PRG worked with lighting designer Paul Cook and delivered a vastly increased lighting rig of 600 fixtures, 130 hoists and 500m of truss.
"The nature of this particular Pageant meant that everything had to be bigger," says Gorrod. "Our long history with the show really gave us the upper hand in our ability to confidently enhance the show's design to deliver the spectacle it needed, as well as being able to adapt our technical delivery to the production as it grew." PRG also provided several extra rigs for the production, including lighting for the VIP boxes and break out dining areas for guests and dignitaries at the event.
The Royal Windsor Horse Show showcased all the pomp and ceremony befitting of a royal event and featured the royal military, 1,300 performers, 500 horses and an all-star cast of British and international talent. The Theme of the event was 'Gallop Through History' and was attended by Her Majesty The Queen and hosted by a number of celebrities.
Photos: Platinum Jubilee Celebrations / Peter Nixon
