Queen Elizabeth’s
Platinum Jubilee

The year 2022 marks the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and in honour of this historical anniversary, the United Kingdom enjoyed a roster of events celebrating her 70-year reign, the UK and the Commonwealth. Kick starting this season was The Royal Windsor Horse Show, which presented an opulent, expanded edition of its annual Pageant broadcast live on ITV. The three-hour performance at Windsor Castle showcased all the pomp and ceremony befitting of a royal event, featuring the royal military, 1,300 performers, 500 horses and an all-star cast of British and international talent including Helen Mirren, Damian Lewis, Omid Djalili, Alan Titchmarsh and Tom Cruise. 

PRG has a long history with the Royal Windsor Horse Show and Producers HPower, having provided lighting rigs for the illustrious equestrian show for over 12 years. Head of Event Services, Rich Gorrod and team PRG were on hand yet again for this special edition of the show, working with Lighting Designer Paul Cook and delivering a vastly increased lighting rig of 600 fixtures, 130 hoists and 500m of truss. 

“The nature of this particular Pageant meant that everything had to be bigger,” says Gorrod, “our long history with the show really gave us the upper hand in our ability to confidently enhance the show’s design to deliver the spectacle it needed, as well as being able to adapt our technical delivery to the production as it grew.” This year’s rig featured a vast number of Elation Proteus Maxiumus fixtures, updating the rig to a more sustainable LED option and offering much needed waterproof protection for any rainfall on show day. Further to this, PRG also provided several extra rigs for the production, including lighting for the VIP boxes and break out dining areas for guests and dignitaries at the event.  

On his experience with PRG on this Platinum event, Production Director Harry Guthrie said: “Rich Gorrod has led the PRG team at Windsor for a number of years and there isn’t anyone I know of who could have done the job better. The challenges of creating a dramatic and theatrical lighting rig on an arena scale with 3-day rehearsals and a daily Horse Show running concurrently was always going to be a massive challenge. Going into that process you need a team that will not only be reliable but, most importantly, one that you can trust and know will work as part of the wider production team. Rich and PRG provide and deliver just that.” 

It was Team PRGs honour to light up such a historic celebration. PRG congratulates the HPower team on an impressive show and sends huge thanks to Harry Guthrie, Nick Brooks-Ward, Simon Brooks-Ward, Paul Cook and the wider PRG team for their collaboration with us.