Symphotech supported UK Live at their first events in Scotland with safety management and launched a new independent noise management division, Acoustech in June 2018.

This was the first time for event organisers UK Live to hold events in Scotland. Symphotech lead securing the license for Let’s Rock and Sunday Sessions in Dalkeith Park, outside of Edinburgh, which marked the first time for event organisers UK Live to hold an event in Scotland.

Symphotech has extended the company’s noise management offering to clients with the launch of a specialist division, Acoustech, with Principal Noise Consultant Ian Taylor working alongside Sophia Livett and team.

Ian commented: “Acoustech offers clients an extension of the Noise Management services we have been supplying within Symphotech over the past few years. I’m very excited that we can now specialise in this key area and extend our knowledge and client base.”

UK Live has been running large scale events for 10 years, running several brands – Let’s Rock (now the UK’s largest retro festival), PennFest, Sunday Sessions and Lockdown Festival. The festivals take place in multiple locations across the UK including Cookham, Norwich, Bristol, Sunderland, Leeds, Scotland, Exeter, Southampton, Shrewsbury and London. Symphotech was brought in to advise, plan and implement safety management along with specialist advice and noise management from Acoustech at 11 festivals locations and 13 shows.

Acoustech undertook responsibility for sound monitoring at UK Live’s events. This involved recording levels at front-of-house with sound engineers along with taking site boundary and off-site metering at different locations across the day. The team keep a log in case of any complaints to the council and also act to mitigate any complaints on behalf of their client.

Sophia Livett, Acoustech Noise Consultant, comments: “Our role is to ensure that UK Live’s sound output stays within the levels agreed by the local authority and the event license. We have developed a good relationship with the council and the aim is to alleviate the client having to worry about this.

“We work with any complainant to ensure a personalised approach. The goal is ultimately to ensure everyone is happy so they can come back next year and rock it again.”

Symphotech collaborated with all of the relevant joint agencies to orchestrate the safety management as including Mobile Medial Cover, Specialised Security, Police Scotland and their partners Controlled Events.

Will Hodgson, Director at Symphotech said: “We worked with our client prior to the event and during it on safety management. Our primary objective was that we can have up to 20,000 people on site at these events and it’s important that we facilitate them having a good time, whilst ensuring that they go home safely at the end of the night”

Nick Billinghurst, Director of Let’s Rock at UK Live, commented: “This is a new location and country for us, the local authority here did not know who we were but they were pleasantly surprised when we went to the meetings with Symphotech and Acoustech alongside us. We have now worked with them for about four years and we give them more and more to do because they are very competent.”

Paul Allott
Author: Paul Allott

Paul Allott is a director and co-founder of Event Industry News, Event Tech Live and the Event Technology Awards.