LIDO, AEG Presents’ latest festival launch, delivered more than just a summer soundtrack – it set a new standard for sustainable live events. Curated by Massive Attack and powered entirely by renewable energy, the Victoria Park debut blended cutting-edge production with a lineup steeped in cultural and political resonance. Nic Howden went behind the scenes for Event Industry News to capture how long-standing partnerships and innovative tech came together to make LIDO a landmark occasion.
“We’re a quality over quantity business but it’s important for us to have an event at the start of the summer. That’s where the LIDO idea came from,” Jim King, AEG Presents’ CEO European Festivals, tells this magazine on site. “And we love working in Victoria Park.”
On day one, when Massive Attack frontman Robert del Naja says, ‘It’s a privilege to be here,’ there are so many reasons why. Like actor/activist Khalid Abdalla’s impassioned speech hailing the Palestine solidarity movement as “the civil rights movement of our time”, setting a tone for the sometimes horrifying/always captivating mix of stills, film and stats running across the LED screen behind the headliner. Like bringing the Massive Attack sustainability mantra to envelop this 35,000-cap event in a London park. And like their guest heavy set…
Horace Andy singing lead on Girl I Love You and Angel. Elizabeth Fraser at the front for Black Milk, Song to the Siren and for show closer Teardrop. Deborah Miller’s stellar Safe From Harm and Unfinished Sympathy vocal. Yaslin Bey reprising his turn on I Against I. LIDO has it all. Each the perfect supplement to de Naja’s wordy rappinghood and Grant ‘Daddy G’ Marshall’s DJ chops.
Like All Points East (APE), LIDO’s main entrance is via Crown Gate – some 10 to 15 minutes from Mile End and Bethnal Green tube stations. It’s a smaller festival though, the main stage, a 20m Star Live VerTech, sits in APE’s West Stage location, while stage two, where Mad Professor is mixing up the Mezzanine and resurrecting No Protection, his dub version of Massive’s second LP, is under canvas at the opposite end of the site.
LIDO invites its headliners to serve as curator, and Massive Attack’s eclectic, inclusive, bill also features the likes of singer/songwriter Hunny, Palestinian/Jordanian ‘shamsteppers’ 47Soul, and French electronica duo Air.
Background
AEG’s production focus at its festivals is a good fit with del Naja, Marshall and company, underscored by the inaugural BST Hyde Park, think 900sq m of 9mm LED behind the Stones et al, together with sound from Martin Audio’s impeccable MLA system. Massive Attack played there in 2016, sound, and vision, so sharp it somehow projected the intimacy of a club gig right across the stadium-size spectacular.
Eight summers later, AEG Presents delivered the band’s hometown gig at Clifton Downs, Bristol, in step with the Massive Attack Act 1.5 initiative to slash emissions from live events. Alongside a concerted commitment to cutting combustion engine travel, it was wholly battery powered, wholly meat free, and hailed as the ‘cleanest, greenest festival event ever staged’.
“We wanted to bring that narrative to LIDO, which is why I asked Massive Attack to play the opening night,” Jim King says. “Sustainability is very important, from our venues through to our live business, but the inspiration for [battery power] here was driven by them.
“We have a much higher number of non-meat traders across the whole of LIDO, but today Massive Attack asked us if we would go completely vegetarian and we have,” he adds.
In step with All Points East the LIDO bars serve exclusively cans, so no plastic cup waste either.
“I have no more concern about operating this show on batteries than I do about any other technology on site,” King says, back on point. “Grid Faeries x Ecotricity partnered with us from the outset which is a very clear directive to the industry.”
Maximising use of Victoria Park’s connection to the national grid to reduce reliance on generators overall, the big Grid Faeries x Ecotricity battery sitting on the grass along from the left-hand edge of the stage is 1MW (the equivalent of a twin set of 500kVA generators). It arrives storing 3MWh of power from the wind and the sun, so it’s emission free in this context – from charge to delivery.
“The recharge frequency and speed depends on the size of charger and the usage draw – there’s a base load for the stage then each incoming production has its own load,” Claire O’Neill, co-founder of Grid Faeries and A Greener Future, explains.
“You need some redundancy and when we use less than 50 per cent the other half of the battery essentially acts as the backup.
“It’s great vote of confidence by AEG, which shows its willingness to be a forerunner,” she adds.
Team talk
Unplugged, AEG Presents has been working with many of the LIDO suppliers for 25 years, across its portfolio. “It drives that loyalty but also drives the knowledge between us all, which helps us improve what we do,” King says.
Among those familiar faces, in the LIDO deep end from the start, is Proper Productions. And MD/LIDO production director Mark Ward is, topically, in a power meeting when I knock on his cabin door.
“We love being involved in shows that tilt the planet on its axis just that little bit,” Ward says post-show. And while he cites wet build days as the greatest challenge, a quantum change battery power dynamic makes a difference to Ward’s world.
“In terms of advance and detail, it does,” he nods. “We need accurate information to work with – it’s about total kWh not just peak draw. Crew have some new issues to build into the daily reality too, but once the system’s in and up, it’s seamless.
“Massive Attack’s approach to sustainable touring is all encompassing,” Mark Ward adds. “Alongside the meat-free catering backstage and through FoH, it’s travel by train and encourage/facilitate sustainable fan travel.” Making a demonstrable difference in terms of situation and psyche.
Control
Martin Audio’s optimisation technology has been a great success for events in London parks. Solotech is able to provide proper concert levels for audiences while making sure the carry offsite is well within the license agreement, and battery-operated LIDO is no exception.
“The VIP area is 70/80m bigger than at All Points East so there is quite a lot more PA, particularly on the out-hangs,” Martin Audio MD, Dom Harter, says.
“We did power tests and calculations for Grid Faeries x Ecotricity. Ultimately though, where a generator will sag and dip – when you hear lulling bass that can be the generator dipping down – within their limits, batteries will deliver as much power as quickly as you want. You can hear it in the low end, it’s really tight. There’s a little bit of us all getting used to the idea but as a basic principle, batteries are great.”
In the frame
Universal Pixels has been behind/alongside Massive Attack since 2017 and the company replaced the de facto LIDO screen with its new for the tour ROE V8T GOB upstage LED wall straight from the band’s gig at Co-op Live, Manchester, via a KB Event electric arctic.
“The touring package is consistent show to show, but interfaces with the local IMAG screens and camera package,” UP commercial director, Phil Mercer, says. “We sent media servers, custom built PCs, cameras and three video crew to Victoria Park too.”
LIDO’s opening day was an amazing achievement. Great vibe, the best in sound and vision, and uncorrupted power, absolutely.
‘Groundbreaking’/’game changing’ cliches don’t have the clout. It was revolutionary.
Author: Nic Howden
Nic is a senior PR professional, former Editor In Chief. With strong exposure to the live music/events industry, Nic has the ability to conceive/deliver successful campaigns and on-going publicity leading to excellent media coverage.
