ELP Manchester get down with the kids at Urdd National Eisteddfod

The Urdd National Eisteddfod is Wales’ largest youth festival. With 15,000 competitors, 100,000 visitors and millions watching a week long schedule on TV, this is a significant National event.

The travelling festival visits different locations each year and 2010 saw Ceredigion as host location.
Run on similar lines to the bigger National Eisteddfod, this youth version is a celebration of the Welsh language and culture as well as a showcase of young, Welsh talent. Competitions, live music stages, street theatre, stalls and exhibitions make it a lively, exciting experience for Welsh kids.
Production company Avanti Media hired in the ELP Manchester team to light the main pavilion. This venue was live on S4C every day of the festival generally from 10 am until 9 pm and so there was no down time at all. The lighting rig was working flat out all day and so were the crew.
Under the direction of Gaffer Bob Dunne (AKA Sinbad), ELP’s crew constructed a 'super mega truss' ground support with ‘underslung’ supertrusses. An assortment of generic lighting, digital moving lights and LED fixtures travelled up from the ELP warehouse. The kit included:

25 x 2ks, 3 x 5ks
14 x 8lights
16 x source4s
8 x VL1000s
14 xmac700
12 x mac600
16 x macTW1
24 x pixel pars
25 x chromafloods
100 x chromastrips

All the above was controlled by an ELP Road Hog and a Compulite Vector desk. The LD was Nigel Catmur and the moving light operator was Dave Roberts.
“We had a huge input into the production and delivery of this whole event” says Gaffer Sinbad. We were lighting for TV, for live performances, for marketing purposes and for practical site maintenance”

Sinbad’s crew looked after the transmission studio for S4C which was a tungsten rig of 24 ARRI 650's. ELP also supplied all distribution and cables for the production compound and technical vehicles. Additionally ELP supplied the S4C marketing tent with LEDs and moving lights for their shop and theatre that had shows every 30 minutes throughout the day so the kids could meet their heroes from Welsh TV.
A 12m bandstand was also erected by ELP for the 'Arts Council Of Wales' that had acts on from 11am until 7pm every day ranging from breakdancers to country and western singers.
Sinbad’s team consisted of Matthew Smith, Dan Finnigan, Simon Ellis, Graham Hulm, Gafin Riley, Dan Gilbert and Peter Griffiths.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to the whole team for all their hard work” said the Gaffer.