TANK Fest

This annual outdoor event is a must-go-to event for tank enthusiasts from across Europe and beyond and is attended by over 23,000 people. PEP has collaborated with Bovington Tank Museum for several years helping to evolve the event into the successful national event, it has now become.

Visitors can expect to see military vehicles of all types in live combat reenactments and experience the sounds, smells and drama of tanks negotiating the challenging terrain all from the comfort of grandstand seats.

The Brief:

The main objectives were to provide a closer and more in-depth view of the action for the audience, and increase audience engagement in the event whilst they were in the food and refreshments areas. The aim of this was to spread the footfall at the event so that visitors could take refreshment breaks at any time without missing out on the action. This would reduce large movements of people in the intervals and would therefore increase safety levels.

The Challenge:

As the event has grown from a smaller one to a larger one, there was no precedent set with regard to equipment specifications. PEP had to work with the client to develop an offering that considered the unique challenges of the event. It is an all-weather event so the equipment recommended and installed by PEP had to be robust enough to withstand challenging weather conditions.

The terrain and surroundings of the event also had to be considered when specifying a technical solution. It is a noisy event with plenty of fast-moving action that needed to be captured and broadcast to the audience. The terrain of the ground was uneven so consideration needed to be given to where and how the LED screens would be set up and housed without compromising on the audience experience.

The Result:

Our team installed a network of screens across the site allowing the audience to get indepth, up-close coverage of all the performances across the entire event. These included a 45sqm screen located on a hill with a bespoke structure built by PEP’s own experienced in-house team from pre-drawn plans. A 28sqm LED trailer broadcast the action across the whole arena, giving spectacular camera shots from static cameras positioned amongst the action, as well as close up drone footage. The network was further extended to another trailer screen located in the refreshments area. We also placed a screen next to the presentation stage where we supplied a conference control set up for presentations from historians and military professionals.