The aspiration for the Platinum Jubilee production was to create a design that truly embodied the space in a 360-degree experience and used the front facade of Buckingham Palace in a way that has never been seen before. The proposal strived to be respectful to the site and have the iconic architecture as the main protagonist, while completely transforming the public space into a unique show.

The stage design emanated from the Queen Victoria Memorial and enveloped the whole site with four main stages and 70 platinum white columns, representing the 70 years of HM Queen Elizabeth’s reign. It created a continuous journey that connected the different elements of the site and enabled movement across all stages for unique choreographies and audience engagement. This layout preserved the main axis of the site and orientated the focal point towards The Palace. It also ensured an immersive feel and constantly evolving sight line for both the live and TV audience.

The stage on the monument, framed by video columns, faced directly towards the audience down The Mall and was a place for performances and spoken word. A 70m walk from the main stages to the centre of the monument stage was connected by a catwalk, which delicately sat in front of the gates across a 110m wide stage to make a fully panoramic landscape that frames the Palace. The Orchestra stage hosted a large-scale military orchestra on multiple levels. The Pop stage became a dynamic landscape for bands and artists to perform. Between these two stages, The Palace Gates stage with its unique background of the Palace was a great platform for additional performances and presentations.

At night, the Palace was illuminated by projection mapping and became a canvas for storytelling and digital art. The 70 columns lit up with beams that created an immersive lighting show around the audience and an ever-changing drone display animated the skies above.

The stages had to accommodate various acts, ballet, musicals, pop and rock shows, for which functionality and providing good circulation was key. Under the stages in front of the palace, the design incorporated a spacious underworld, which served as technical compounds, changing areas and storage for props. To follow the BBC’s green mandate for the production, the design was created so that anything that was custom fabricated would be re-used. The choice of finishes for the design also strives to be respectful to the iconic site and blend with the materiality of the Palace and monument with a platinum white colour that is echoed throughout the set to create a classic but modern white architectural statement. The main staging and structures are 95% created from off the shelf rented modules to reduce bespoke manufacturing. The two stages at the Palace end have innovative, long span cantilever roofs, to provide a dry environment for the orchestra and the bands, while appearing lightweight to open maximum sightline towards Buckingham Palace.