Tony White, Owner & Director writes: “We received a contact request via our website for cleaning services on 29th July, upon speaking to the contact it soon became clear this would be no ordinary request.
Our initial telephone conversation gave little away as to the size of the forthcoming event but just enough to know this would be something special for our operations team to ‘get their teeth into’ and put their own unique stamp on from the get go!
There followed a number of telephone and email communications between myself and our new client. It was now apparent that the event in question would be taking place the week commencing Monday 10th August, comprising of two days set up, building staging and TV podiums etc. This would be followed by two days filming and a final day taking down and removing all evidence of there ever being a film set complete with full size stage, presenters areas, kitchens, crew and artists restaurant and of course washroom and toilet facilities.
Due to the current restrictions concerning large gatherings we knew numbers would be kept at a minimum, but then with over 125 people in attendance on filming days alone, we knew we had to implement strict Covid-19 related cleaning regimes to ensure all in attendance, including our own staff, would remain safe and well. At this point everything was officially ‘hush hush’ all we knew was the event would be held within the Chelmsford area.
Each day that followed that initial contact saw a change in the client’s requirements, hours required each day, services being requested changed as I raised questions ensuring that the client had considered every angle and potential circumstance. I was now utilising my own experience gained from providing similar services to events such as the Commonwealth Games and Olympics. Specific terminology came flooding back which served me well when speaking to my client as she was immediately put at ease by my knowledge of providing services to similar services such as hers. Numerous questions were raised, had they taken this into account, had they considered this, did they have this specific service covered, right down to consumables, waste removal requirements and site venue security and access protocols.
Planning everything in as much detail our end was even more paramount because of all the weeks they could have chosen to hold this event I would be on holiday in France (due to obvious reasons I wasn’t to know until the morning of Friday 7th if our holiday was even going ahead) now to add to all the final preparation a business owner has to do with his or her team before leaving their business in very capable hands, this filmed event was also taking place.
Wednesday 5th August dawned and the news had finally broken across the various media channels that ‘our’ hush hush event was actually the V Festival, held every August in Chelmsford for the past twenty plus years. This years event would be on a smaller scale, but with the emphasis on safety and hygiene I believed it would be far more demanding with every cleaning task directly under the microscope!
Yes it’s official, my client has confirmed it is the V Festival, with Olly Murs, Dizzie Rascall and Anne Marie headlining and with celebrity guest presenters in attendance. The hours required have now more or less been agreed with our client although I knew there would be changes with these right into the event going ‘live’ I told my team as much and was pleasantly pleased to hear that I was proven right, there were significant changes requested the evening before filming began.
Thursday 6th August, I had my final briefing with my client whom I have to say was open to suggestions and honest throughout the process. My final briefing with our Operations Manager Fran and our Office Manager Sue was basically going over prior ground with one or two added points from the earlier client discussion. My main piece of advice to my team was ‘be prepared for the unexpected, be flexible, adjust to whatever comes your way, but above all enjoy yourselves because in my experience working at events such as this is a great experience!
My part was completed. My Operations Team expertly lead by Fran rose to the challenge ahead, Fran and Sue communicated with our client from the Thursday onwards with Fran on site daily throughout the week working full shifts herself within Hylands House ensuring the performing artists and their backing groups were all looked after.
So some 40 shifts later, a team of 8 operatives plus 1 Ops Manager and Sue in head office delivered a very successful support service to V Fest 2020.
But don’t just take my word for it, read our client’s testimonial for yourself.
Priority Support Services were a huge help during V Fest 2020. From the get-go, Tony and his team were incredibly proactive and so accommodating towards all of our needs. They were more than happy to work around our ever-changing schedule and last-minute requests, and provided very thorough proposal documents which fully broke down all relevant costs based on each day's various requirements. It was extremely reassuring, especially in the current climate, to know that all the different components of our site were being regularly sanitised and deep cleaned each day. The on-site operatives were happy to crack on which meant it was one less thing for us to worry about and oversee – we very much appreciated being in the very capable hands of Tony, Fran, Sue and all the operatives.
- Krupa Kuntawala, Production Secretary, Twofour Broadcast Ltd
The team have done Priority proud and I'd like to especially thank each member of the team:
Fran ( Operations Manager), Jen, Sean, Perry, Ben, Kate, Jay, Fiona, Tracy and Sue (Office Manager)."
V Fest 2020 will be shown on ITV2 7pm and ITV 10.45pm on Friday 21st August and on ITV2 7pm and ITV 12.05am Saturday 22nd August.