The Full Effect

Date: January 2009

The Full Effect wins Special Events Gala Award for Most Outstanding Spectacle

On Friday 30th January 2009, 700 guests attended what is billed as the most prestigious competition in the event industry calendar: The Special Events magazine Gala Awards ceremony. Held at the San Diego Convention Centre, the awards honours the finest work in special events worldwide and amongst this year’s winners was UK-based event production company, The Full Effect, which took home the award for Most Outstanding Spectacle for the production of “Light Fantastic”.

A unique event for a unique city, Light Fantastic premiered in the heart of the City of Milton Keynes in October 2007 and attracted over 160,000 people, achieving all it’s clients ROI objectives. From an initial brief to create a bespoke event for the city of Milton Keynes, The Full Effect handled all the creative, logistical and technical aspects of the event which included closing the city centre off to vehicles to make way for jaw dropping entertainment, special effects and interactive experiences.

Supported by Milton Keynes Partnership, the city’s main shopping centre thecentre:mk, Midsummer Place and regional sponsors amongst others, Light Fantastic was a free public event that featured a lantern parade, French aerialists Maudits Sonnants performing a stunning display suspended from a 150ft crane, acrobats suspended from giant balloons, gas jets flaring into the night sky, stunning images projected onto landmark buildings and a futuristic Exploratorium, all set to a bespoke soundtrack.

“This is the ninth time we’ve won a Special Events’ award,” says The Full Effect’s Director, Mark Harrison. “All entries are anonymous and a panel of experts chooses the winners and one of the most gratifying aspects is being nominated by one’s peers. To also receive an accolade such as this is fantastic and we’re very proud to be recognised as market leaders in event production.”

“We were delighted to be so closely related with an event that was so professionally organised and had acts of an international standard coming to Milton Keynes. It really put the city on the map.” says Jackie Tracey, of thecentre:mk.

“It engendered a great deal of civic pride and it drew enormous crowds who visited thecentre:mk, which was particularly good for our catering outlets. The Full Effect team was very professional, well organised and easy to work with.“

[ENDS]

« Back to index

About Light Fantastic

The Full Effect was approached as event producers and asked to come up with a number of different ideas. Milton Keynes is set out on a grid system and the city wanted something unique that, when the centre of the city was closed off, would work with the road system, naturally leading people from place to place, with the building projections used not only as a spectacle in themselves, but to let people know what was going on.

The event ran from 5pm until 11pm, with shows repeating throughout the evening, so no matter what time people arrived, they wouldn’t miss out on any of the action. It was a full three years in the making, with The Full Effect in charge of raising the funds to bring the concept to life. This included donations from English Partnerships, the UK’s national regeneration agency, Sales MK and the various participating companies.

Each of the companies involved wanted something different out of the event: product placement, general exposure and its building lit so that people could see it as they went by. High quality food from Milton Keyne’s top of the range caterers was also supplied.

Harrison and his team fully realised their brief. By creating an evening of first class entertainment and special effects, Light Fantastic transformed the look and atmosphere of the city centre, engaging with the community, both local and from further afield, and local businesses.

With over 160,000 people attending and Shopping Centre Magazine confirming that the event drove a significant increase in footfall at thecentre:mk, the event ensured it was the busiest Friday and Saturday of 2007 in the City centre. In addition, people were staying later and taking their time to stroll about, have something to eat and enjoy in all aspects of the spectacle.

Light Fantastic was unanimously deemed a success, with many unsolicited positive comments being left by members of the public on the Light Fantastic web site. A year on, its success is even clearer to see from the influx of emails to thecentre:mk’s web site, asking when it is going to happen again.

“We were delighted to be so closely related with an event that was so professionally organised and had acts of an international standard coming to Milton Keynes. It really put the city on the map.” says Jackie Tracey, of thecentre:mk.

“It engendered a great deal of civic pride and it drew enormous crowds who visited thecentre:mk, which was particularly good for our catering outlets. The Full Effect team was very professional, well organised and easy to work with.“

Having achieved such success with the debut event, The Full Effect’s creativity is set to dazzle Milton Keynes again in 2009.

“2007 was the first Light Fantastic,” says Harrison. “We had dedicated team members to ensure that all sponsor requirements were fulfilled, so that event can be repeated. We’re working hard on Light Fantastic 2009, when we will light the ‘spine’ of Milton Keynes – people will go to work in the morning in an ordinary office building and when they go home it could have been transformed into the Taj Mahal!”

www.thefulleffect.co.uk

Press Contacts

Sarah James at Gasoline Media
Tel: +44 (0)1372 471472
Email: sarahj[at]gasolinemedia[dot]com
Skype: sarahconte
Twitter: twitter.com/sarah_gasoline