Scaffolders have spent a month mocking up a scaffold in a field to test out the TV viewing platform for the royal wedding.
The London firm building the 20ft-high structure first erected it in the Cambridgeshire countryside before attempting to create the “best view in the house” outside Westminster Abbey.
The scaffold, to hold 33 TV and radio staff, plus press photographers from around the world, is nearly complete.
A prime spot has been secured by the Standard to ensure readers see the best pictures of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s April 29 wedding. The 24-ton steel structure consists of about 2,000 pieces of German-made scaffolding.
Geoff Tyler, general manager of Croydon-based Media Structures, said: “We built the whole thing in a Cambridgeshire field in one month.
“We rented the field off a farmer to ensure everything was perfect. There are a lot of different platform levels and we wanted to resolve any issues before getting to the Abbey.”
Every detail was recreated in the field beside the Fens near Soham.
The structure is so big a construction licence was needed by Westminster council before 15 men could begin assembling it.
The scaffold will be covered in plywood and painted in a Cumberland stone finish to match surrounding buildings in Victoria Street and the handrails will be painted silver. A technical firm will ensure the ceremony can be broadcast in high definition.
The firm, which impressed with its work at events such as Wimbledon and Trooping The Colour, is building an even bigger media village for 3,000 near Buckingham Palace. Other broadcast structures are being built on the procession route.
Via: www.thisislondon.co.uk