For more than 45 years, White Light has supplied technical solutions to a range of markets, from theatre to concert touring to themed attractions to corporate venues. Last year it was appointed as Production Service Partner at Central Hall Westminster – Central London’s largest conference centre. Following its first year at the venue, the technical solution specialist has installed a range of the very latest equipment throughout the venue; allowing its spaces to become multi-purpose and offer clients more options than ever before.
Central Hall Westminster is a Grade II listed building, located opposite Westminster Abbey and adjacent to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Built in 1912, it housed the first-ever meeting of the United Nations and has welcomed historic figures such as Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi and Sir Winston Churchill. Today the venue is used for corporate, public and private events and its spaces range from intimate meeting rooms for five delegates to exhibition space for up to 1000 guests to the Great Hall which fits a potential audience of 2400. Over the past year, WL has worked to bring the very latest technology to Central Hall’s various spaces.
WL’s Venue Director Jonjo Glynn comments: “Our role at Central Hall is to provide the technical equipment that allows every single room to achieve its potential. Due to the recent advancements in AV equipment, when people host either conferences or meetings, they expect to be able to draw on the very latest technology. At Central Hall, not only are guests surrounded by the beautiful architecture of the building but now have the technical facilities to ensure their event is a complete success”.
As part of its role, WL has invested in a range of Yamaha equipment that has been installed throughout the various spaces at Central Hall. Jonjo adds: “Central Hall now boasts the largest in-house installation of Yamaha equipment in Western Europe. This includes the Yamaha DRX7 Digital Mixer which we have managed to integrate with our own Dante system; ensuring the audio equipment is easy to control for the client. Similarly, we also have a range of amplifiers and speakers installed which means the highest audio quality possible - regardless of which space is being utilised”.
With video technology and projection playing a greater role than ever before in the event world, WL has invested in a range of Christie equipment. Jonjo adds: “Christie manufactures some of the most powerful projectors available on the market. They have an extremely high output and are very easy to set-up. We’re finding that more and more conferences, AGMs and award ceremonies are drawing on projection as part of their technical set-up. Thankfully, at WL, we have invested in an entire fleet; something which those using Central Hall can draw on”.
WL has also installed a revolutionary Crestron system in almost all of the major event spaces at Central Hall. This digital matrix system helps connect the other equipment within the venue. Jonjo adds: “By connecting all of the other equipment, the Crestron technology makes the entire set up a coherent system and much easier to use. This technology is available in virtually every space, including the more intimate meeting rooms. This allows technical possibilities that previously weren’t there – offering every client the widest range of options”.
As part of its role as Production Service Partner, WL has a team of on-site technicians whose dedicated role is to work on events taking place within Central Hall.
Paul Southern, Central Hall Westminster’s Managing Director, comments: “We are delighted with what WL has brought to the venue with this installation. We have already seen a whole host of events draw on this technology and the immediate impact it has had.”
The equipment has already been used on the DevWeek Conference, PiXL’s Celebrating Success and the prestigious Templeton Prize Ceremony.
Jonjo adds: “Ultimately, what we’ve done at Central Hall is make each space multi-purpose. Anyone can now use the venue and have the complete confidence knowing that, whatever the occasion, they will receive the best technical support possible”.