Yorkshire Company Flies High At PyeongChang 2018 Opening Ceremony

EMBARGOED 11:00GMT 09 FEB 2018

Tockwith, North Yorkshire, UK. 09 February 2018.

Yorkshire Company Flies High At PyeongChang 2018 Opening Ceremony

This morning marks the opening of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. North Yorkshire based company Stage One Creative Services has been commissioned to install and operate the aerial flying system for the Opening Ceremony.

Stage One won the contract in summer 2017 and since then has designed and installed a flying system above the stadium where the opening ceremony will be held. Comprising fourteen winches and steel wire cable installed 50m above the field of play, this flying system adds a strong creative dimension to the spectacular opening show.

One of the largest technical challenges has been ensuring that the engineering remains operational in exceptionally cold conditions. Although today’s forecast anticipates temperatures just above freezing, the system has been exposed to temperatures as low as minus forty degrees. Forty degrees below is the only temperature that has the same value in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.

To cope with these conditions, the winches have been enclosed in insulated shipping containers that are placed at the base of each of the large towers around the perimeter of the stadium. The technology seems to have adapted well to these extreme conditions, despite the system operators still feeling the chill.

Mark Johnson, CEO commented “Being asked to deliver Olympic Ceremony work is a tremendous privilege. The technology we have to offer is world class and well proven. We’ve been at every Games since Athens in 2004. However, with the eyes of the world watching, there is always an air of anticipation ahead of the show. These are, after all, live events."

The company is scheduled to deliver three more ceremonies at PyeongChang, the Olympic Closing Ceremony and both ceremonies for the Paralympic Games.

ENDS

About Stage One Creative Services Ltd.

Stage One are makers. Based in Yorkshire, their high-profile creative portfolio includes Opening Ceremonies, Architectural Pavilions, Event Environments, TV Sets and Stage Engineering. The company has worked on every Olympic Games since Athens in 2004. They are best known for manufacturing Wolfgang Buttress's Hive, and Thomas Heatherwick’s iconic 2012 Olympic Cauldron. More information on the company and its projects is presented at www.stageone.co.uk

For more information please contact

Tim Leigh, Marketing Director, Stage One Creative Services Ltd.

+44 (0)7921 212976 | tim.leigh@stageone.co.uk

Notes to editors

Project photographs can be downloaded from http://bit.ly/2H20L6fha