Liverpool’s River of Light is an annual, free-to-attend cultural festival that transforms the city’s iconic waterfront and adjoining city centre into an expansive outdoor gallery of illuminated art. Funded by Liverpool City Council alongside a range of public and cultural partners, the festival is commissioned, curated, produced and operationally managed by Culture Liverpool, working each year with an international and local cohort of artists, designers and creative practitioners. Through large-scale light and sound installations exploring themes such as science, nature and technology, River of Light has grown into one of Europe’s most recognised light festivals, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors and offering interactive, accessible experiences for audiences of all ages.
To deliver an event of this scale across multiple high-profile public sites, Culture Liverpool appoints a wider delivery team of specialist partners. Following a competitive tender process, Richmond Event Management (REM) has been appointed to deliver the site and production services on Culture Liverpool’s behalf, since 2018. This includes coordinating the complex logistics required to safely install and de-rig artworks across the festival footprint. As REM’s preferred crewing partner, Showforce supports the delivery of the installation.
This long-standing partnership is built on strong communication, early planning and a shared understanding of what’s required to deliver the logistically demanding project.
Installed across multiple public locations, often in high-footfall areas, during October and November’s often unpleasant weather conditions makes for a challenging event build.
The success of the build relies on:
- Tight sequencing between artworks
- Predictable schedules
- Detailed labour mapping
- Safe working practices in public spaces
- Seamless communication between artists, technical suppliers and site management
Crew Numbers
40+
crew on-site at peak periods
Type of Crew
crew chiefs, crew & plant operators
Key Skills
Adapting to shifting schedules, installing artwork, safety conscious following detailed plans
Location
Liverpool, UK
With only a limited delivery window, both teams must operate as one. Two weeks before arriving onsite, Showforce receives detailed briefs from REM. These include artwork-specific requirements, plant machinery needs, schedules, and site layouts. For Showforce, this level of clarity is invaluable, It allows us to allocate crew chiefs, crew and plant operators with the right experience. It also ensures the team arrives fully prepared, knowing exactly what’s required and reduces the risk of last-minute changes or miscommunication.
From REM’s side, the early involvement of Showforce is essential. It supports safer working, smoother handovers between suppliers and gives everyone onsite the confidence that the installation can be delivered on time.
In the planning phase, Showforce’s operations team thoroughly reviews REM’s documents. We confirm crew profiles, shift patterns and the specialist skill sets needed in advance.
During the build, communication is described by REM as clear, timely, well structured, proactive and solution focused. Being aligned ensures that plans can adapt quickly to weather, public flow or changes to technical installation timings.
Onsite, our crew chiefs liaise continually with REM, artists and technical partners. Tasks are clarified before starting and progress updates are communicated throughout the shift.
REM highlighted several strengths in our delivery:
- Efficiency across multiple artworks and locations
- Strong public-safety awareness
- Adaptability to shifting schedules
- Positive attitude during long night shifts
- Seamless integration with artists and other contractors
- Leadership from Showforce supervisors, keeping momentum even under pressure
These elements combine to maintain a safe, smooth installation.
Ben Hardy, REM’s managing director said: “Showforce offer reliability in delivering the right crew with the right skills, they’re highly professional, committed to delivering welfare standards and have a safety culture. They also have the ability to integrate naturally with the wider team. Initiative and experience were used to get the job done within the time limits, safely.”
We look forward to continuing our partnership with REM for many years to come.
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