Join the Event Industry News team at the Resorts World Arena at the NEC, Birmingham, to delve behind the scenes of the British Gymnastics World Cup, 2019. Talking to us from the British Gymnastics team was: Ben Willcox, the event technology manager, Gareth Finchett, the digital production manager and Dom Elsom, the show caller.

Welcoming us onto the arena floor first was Ben Willcox who ran through the agenda for the weekend, the preparation of the event and the pros and cons of the venue itself. 

Ben talked us through the planning involved in using a different venue, operating special effects and overcoming obstacles. He referred to the roof height, visuals, presentation and the stage set-up when informing us about what goes into organising each aspect of the event. 

Describing his role as “managing the content side of the sports presentation”, Gareth related the various challenges with which his “small team” was faced regarding the preparation and presentation of the event. He praised Novum AV, the company working with British Gymnastics to help create a presentation “as spectacular as can be”.

Due to the venue not having permanent sports lighting, Novum AV installed a bigger lighting rig that enhanced the British Gymnastics opening light show. Alluding to this, Dom described how audiences’ expectations have been raised due to productions such as The X Factor and how the BG team needed to create something of a similar standard to allow their audience to leave feeling captivated.

Talking us through the logistics of organising the British Gymnastics World Cup, Dom informed us that he is the man in charge of telling his team “what to do and when to do it”. He revealed that, unlike some other shows, he is involved in the planning from the beginning, ensuring fewer surprises on site.

The British Gymnastics World Cup took place on 23rd March and was broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two.

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