British Summer Time

Power Logistics has been providing a complete project management solution for AEG’s Barclaycard presents British Summer Time festival, held in London’s Hyde Park, since 2014. This includes the delivery of all site and show power and site lighting requirements, including: all stages, back stage and production areas, the VIP gardens, numerous bars and concessions and brand activation areas around the site.

AEG Live and LoudSound are committed to improving the impact the festival is having on the environment and have always strived to deliver as sustainable a festival as possible. We have worked closely with the team to reduce energy consumption resulting in reduced fuel usage and carbon emissions. This includes comprehensive power monitoring throughout the site with the data gathered at the 2018 event analysed and used to specify a more efficient power system for 2019. We evaluated that it was possible to install a smaller set in each of the large generator banks for use during the build and breakdown period, resulting in a reduction of 8000 litres of fuel during the event’s build that year.

At the 2019 event we implemented several industry firsts. Green D+ HVO fuel was used in all generators and plant equipment across the site, the first event of its size an scale to do so. We also implemented battery technology in two separate areas. Area one was a traditional bunkabin and shower areas providing a sustainable solution. Whilst the second area was for the Barclaycard Stage (the second stage), another industry first and a step forward in making battery power a reality for main stages in the not too distant future.

The overall result was a 30% reduction in fuel consumption and a fantastic example of what can now be achieved when a power provider and organiser work together closely and want to make positive change.

Due to the pandemic, BST didn’t return until July 2022 and increased to three weekends of music, now 9 show days rather than 6. The first weekend included headliner performances from Sir Elton John and the Eagles who we were also out on tour with. Our touring electricians were looked after by our senior stage electrician.

This year we were able to consolidate and build on the progress made in 2019. This included the introduction of a battery into the production area and solar hybrid systems at Queen Elizabeth Gate and North Carriage Drive. We also combined more areas into power farms minimising the number of generators required onsite, which reduced our transport requirements.

Analysing the data since the event we can see that despite an additional 3 show days in 2022 our overall fuel remained consistent, averaging at 20.5k litres per show. Furthermore, the number of Kw/H actually increased from 2.12 Kw/H to 2.98 Kw/H showing an improvement.