The Queen was joined by President Trump and Theresa May yesterday (5th June) to honour the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings that kick-started the liberation of Europe from the Nazis.

Arena, an event solutions company, supplied 13 bespoke structures, a variety of seating solutions, fencing and barriers for the national commemorative event at Southsea Common as part of the D Day 75 commemorations in UK and France.

Several different structures were installed ranging from back-of-house crew catering to kitchens, medical and press tents as well as Royal and Ministry of Defence suites. 

VIP’s enjoyed lunch in the Arena facility and the head of state photoshoot was also held within one of the Arena structures. 

The Arena team worked around the clock to ensure the finish and delivery was fit for this exclusive, international audience.

Over 3,000 Samsonite chairs, over 700 tiered seats, 172 VIP chairs for the Royal Box and several wheelchair positions were installed, as well as a roof covering and fencing and barriers for the commemorative event. 

Hosted by the Ministry of Defence and The Royal British Legion, hundreds of veterans and invited guests attended the private event, including heads of state, and featured a flypast of up to 25 historic and modern RAF aircraft including a Spitfire. 

Bradley Merchant, project director of UK & Europe Seating commented: “We are really proud to be involved in this event which pays tribute to an important moment in our history. The commemorative event was especially sensitive, and we had to work around tight time constraints and a high level of security to get the structures and seating installed on time and to the highest of standards.

“It was great to also work with the team at H Power Group again who we recently worked with to deliver seating for the Royal Windsor Horse Show.” 

Molly Hookings
Author: Molly Hookings

Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com