Nigel Catmur is a highly experienced lighting designer with a career spanning 35 years. He recently played a pivotal role in creating the lighting design for The Coronation Concert, which took place at Windsor Castle in May. Speaking to TPi’s Alicia Pollitt, the LD shared his thoughts and experiences of the spectacle.
“It was an amazing experience, and I am proud of what we achieved,” he began. “I had to pinch myself at the prospect of creating the lighting design for such a landmark event, while concentrating on the task at hand.”
Catmur discussed the impact of staffing the event amid the Eurovision Song Contest. “We wanted to get the right team in place, which was compounded by the Eurovision Song Contest taking place simultaneously. Thankfully, we were able to consolidate experienced and accomplished crew members for this event,” he said, explaining his approach to staffing and fostering a positive workplace culture. “It’s key to create an environment for the people you’ve booked where they feel valued and that they can contribute, it engages them and that makes them go the extra mile,” he remarked.
Staging a royal event is not new for Catmur, having designed the lighting for the Platinum Jubilee’s Party at the Palace in 2022 and multiple memorial events including 2020s VJ Day anniversary and the Festival of Remembrance in 2022. For The Coronation Concert, the LD harnessed a Union Jack-shaped lighting rig for an extensive range of performers including Katy Perry, Lionel Ritchie, and Andrea Bocelli, among others. “Over the years you get to know each of the performer’s creative and support teams. It’s a pleasure to reconnect and work with them to create spectacles.”
Catmur highlighted Cameo lighting solutions by Adam Hall Group as among the ‘workhorse’ fixtures on the rig. “We ended up with Cameo FLAT PRO 12s, FLAT PRO 7 G2s, Zenit W600 washes, and OTOS B5s, alongside Robe MegaPointes, FORTE HPs, and Martin Professional MAC Aura XIPs,” he reported.
Staged and produced by the BBC, the concert for the 20,000-strong audience and a broadcast viewership of 12.3 million, came with its own unique set of challenges. Catmur explained: “It’s a challenge, while all the crowd experience the same sound, many are only seeing the close-ups on the IMAG screens, so it’s key to create an overall picture, while the detail is picked out and enhanced by the LED screens.”
Collaborating with the project’s lighting provider, Liteup, was a highlight for Catmur, who praised of the company’s passion: “Liteup is an exceptional operation and perfectly poised to handle a job of this magnitude. It was all hands to the pump for the company and that’s the atmosphere I like in those jobs because people put their all in,” Catmur said, reflecting on the undertaking. “This event took place during the only good day in a week of continuous rain. There was a particularly beautiful moment with Lang Lang and Nicole Scherzinger which was the first time we put the projection on the Castle, soundtracked by a beautifully emotive song which was performed beautifully.”
