July 31 saw the official opening by Her Majesty the Queen at a Gala organised and choreographed by Torvill and Dean. The crowds gathered to enjoy an evening packed with music, ice-skating and celebrations, featuring Nottingham Symphony Orchestra, the local ice hockey team and the world's finest figure skaters, including two Olympic Gold medallists, plus local skaters. The evening began with a demonstration of the skating skills of local children, followed by speeches from the Lord Mayor of Nottingham and Her Majesty the Queen.
Providing lighting to match the celebrations on the ice was lighting designer Nick Jones, using Fourth Phase London to supply him with Molefays, Martin MACs, Cyberlights and Wybron colour scrollers. "We didn't have a great deal of planning time for this event," explained Jones, "which is why I specified moving lights for the rig."
Rehearsals began on the previous Sunday, although the French World Champions didn't arrive until the evening of the day before. Generally the skaters had only an hour on the ice to rehearse their routines, "which meant we didn't have a lot of time to work out what we were going to do," said Jones. "Fortunately I had an excellent team with John Harris as assistant lighting designer, Steve Rusling as chief electrician and James Tomlinson as dimmer technician. Fourth Phase London also provided great support and were brilliant to work with. Alan Thomson and his team were very willing to offer help where it was needed and their professionalism proved invaluable on many occasions. I am looking forward to working with them again in the near future."
Alan Thomson, managing director of Fourth Phase London, said: "The whole evening was a joy! Considering the crew had never worked together before and the enormous time restrictions and pressure, everyone showed tremendous patience, efficiency and professionalism."
(Lee Baldock)
