World Championship Series Triathlon
In 2009 I was appointed Event Director by Upsolut Sports to create, from the ground up, the first professional and mass-participation triathlon to be staged in central London.
The brief was simple in ambition and complex in reality: deliver an Olympic-distance triathlon through Hyde Park and the roads surrounding Buckingham Palace – within one of the most sensitive and heavily regulated urban environments in the United Kingdom.
The project required navigating significant political and cultural challenges, securing permissions, designing a safe and broadcast-ready course, integrating elite and age-group racing, and coordinating across city authorities, Royal Parks, security services and international sporting bodies. At the time, no precedent existed for staging a triathlon of this scale in central London.
Held over 15–16 August, the 2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series formed part of the inaugural ITU World Championship Series and became the largest race of the season. The Olympic-distance course featured a 1.5km swim in the Serpentine, a 40km bike course through central London, and a 10km run within Hyde Park.
The London event went on to serve as the template and venue for the triathlon competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games, establishing a lasting sporting legacy within the capital.
Photo courtesy of Upsolut Sport, © Copyright onEdition 2009.
King's Cross Redevelopment
Related Argent has led the long-term transformation of King’s Cross, converting 67 acres of former industrial land into a major new central London district, now home to institutions including Central Saint Martins and Google.
Over this period, I supported Argent on a series of strategic advisory projects focused on placemaking, activation and long-term market and commercial options.
This included research and development work exploring the potential future use of Gas Holder No. 8 – the largest of the site’s restored industrial structures – assessing venue, cultural and event-led opportunities within the broader masterplan.
I also advised on the redevelopment of Coal Drops Yard, designed by Thomas Heatherwick, examining how the architecture and its infrastructure could be designed to support a range of activations beyond commercial tenants – from fashion shows, markets and large-scale activations and more. The aim was to ensure the building’s services and spatial configuration were aligned with longer-term ambitions to attract luxury, fashion and high-end brands before construction began.
Coal Drops Yard.
Gas Holder No. 8.
Samsung Mysterious Symbols
Serving George P. Johnson and their client Samsung Electronics, I served as Executive Producer on a confidential marketing campaign forming part of a global, multi-platform product launch.
Inspired by a fantasy sci-fi football narrative, the campaign followed elite players attempting to defend the world from an alien invasion – blending sport, spectacle and cinematic storytelling.
In the early phase, enigmatic symbols appeared across multiple cities and media channels with no overt brand attribution, building intrigue and anticipation.
The reveal unfolded overnight: oversized “football meteorites,” marked with the same enigmatic symbols, appeared embedded in a football pitch in East London. At the same time, the symbols dominated digital screens in Times Square, New York, and were projected onto Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro.
The synchronised activation created immediate international impact, culminating in the public unveiling of Samsung’s new device to a primed global audience.
Photo courtesy of George P. Johnson.
Millennium Dome
The Millennium Dome (now The O2) was conceived to mark the turn of the new millennium and constructed on the Greenwich Peninsula in London.
Within its vast interior sat a series of themed pavilions exploring science, culture and innovation. I was one of three Senior Project Mangers at Imagination responsible for the delivery of two of these zones: the Journey Zone for their client Ford and the Talk Zone for British Telecom.
Each pavilion represented a significant architectural intervention, rising more than six storeys within the Dome’s structure. Their interiors combined museum-grade exhibits, emerging digital technologies and immersive experiential environments – requiring close integration between creative direction, technical systems, live operations and stage management.
Designed as permanent buildings, both zones were conceived and delivered against an absolute, immovable deadline: midnight on 31 December 1999.
The Dome opened with a national celebration attended by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Late Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, marking one of the most symbolically significant public projects of its era.
Journey Zone
The Journey Zone provided Ford with an opportunity to articulate its brand at the turn of the millennium – positioning mobility not simply as transportation, but as human progress.
Developed by Imagination through extensive research and narrative planning, the pavilion became one of the most visited and popular attractions within the Dome.
The visitor experience unfolded across three interconnected structures, linked by elevated bridges, walkways and galleries that physically expressed movement and transition.
Architecturally and experientially, the space explored the evolution of travel – from past innovation to future possibilities – translating brand values into an immersive spatial narrative.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Talk Zone
The Talk Zone, created for British Telecom, explored how communication technologies were reshaping the way people connect – in the present and into the future.
Designed and developed by Imagination’s multidisciplinary creative, content and technical teams, the pavilion examined emerging digital behaviours and offered visitors multiple ways to experience evolving modes of communication.
Architecturally, the zone was housed within two large glass-clad monoliths connected by bridges and elevated walkways. The scale and transparency of the structures demanded innovative construction methods and bespoke glass fabrication processes.
The content – focused on connectivity, interactivity and digital convergence – anticipated communication habits that are now commonplace but were pioneering at the time.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
Photo courtesy of Imagination.
London 2012 Cultural Olympiad - Showtime
In 2012 I served as Executive Producer of Showtime, the largest free outdoor arts festival ever staged in London and a core component of the Mayor of London Presents programme within the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad to create a summer like no other on behalf of the Greater London Authority.
Working with producers: Bridey Watson, David Belshaw, Mel Wilds, Vashti Waite and Dave Reeves, Showtime extended the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games beyond ticketed venues, delivering free, high-energy performances directly into high streets, parks and town centres across all 33 London boroughs.
Over the course of the Games period, the programme comprised approximately 5,000 performances by hundreds of artists, reaching live audiences in excess of half a million Londoners.
The festival operated as a distributed city-wide production model – simultaneously active across multiple boroughs – requiring coordination across local authorities, cultural partners and community stakeholders during one of the most high-profile periods in the capital’s history.
Showtime formed part of a mulitmillion pound cultural investment surrounding London 2012 and played a central role in ensuring the Games were experienced not only inside venues, but across the fabric of the city itself.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Photo courtesy of the Greater London Authority.
Rolls-Royce Experience Centre Development
I was invited by 2Heads to lead early-stage concept development for potential experience environments for Rolls-Royce’s aerospace division.
The work explored how one of the world’s most advanced engineering organisations might translate complex technological innovation, industrial heritage and future-facing research into a coherent experiential setting.
Operating at concept level, the brief required alignment between corporate strategy, highly specialised customer audiences and long-term brand positioning within a rapidly evolving aerospace landscape.
The focus was on distilling precision, performance, innovation and engineering excellence into environments capable of communicating credibility at global scale.
UEFA Champions League Festival
As Executive Producer, I led the delivery of the 2011 UEFA Champions Festival for UEFA and The Football Association. The eight-day, free-to-attend celebration was staged at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium.
Designed as the official fan hub for the Final, the Festival transformed Hyde Park into a large-scale football destination open to all – including those without match tickets.
The programme combined trophy experiences, live performance, interactive skills zones, coaching clinics, exhibition matches and curated heritage content celebrating the history of European competition.
Highlights included public access to both the men’s and women’s Champions League trophies, the “Ultimate Champions” exhibition match featuring international legends, a purpose-built 500-seat Theatre of Champions, and an official Museum of Champions showcasing rare memorabilia.
Ambassadors Gary Lineker and Graeme Le Saux supported the programme, which ran daily for eight consecutive days and culminated ahead of the Final at Wembley.
Delivered in one of London’s most visible public spaces, the Festival required close coordination across city authorities, security services, local residents and stakeholders, and UEFA – to create a free, inclusive and globally visible civic celebration around one of the world’s most-watched sporting events.
Battle of Trafalgar Bicentennial
Titled ‘Trafalgar 200’, this hour-long live production marked the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.
As Executive Producer at Innovision, working alongside Robert Alge and Stuart Blake, we created a large-scale theatrical event staged in Trafalgar Square for the Royal Navy – beneath Nelson’s Column itself.
The production combined Royal Marine Commandos abseiling down the façade of the National Gallery, battle-esque pyrotechnics across the Square and integrated performances from military personnel and dancers, immersing a live audience of approximately 10,000 people.
This production required coordination across defence, security, heritage and broadcast stakeholders within one of the UK’s most symbolically sensitive public spaces.
Broadcast on the BBC, the event was attended by His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, forming part of the national commemorations.
Fiat 500 Launch
Whilst Managing Director of Innovision, I served as Executive Producer for the launch of the Fiat 500 at the London Eye.
The brief was to reintroduce an iconic car through an equally iconic London landmark.
The evening combined a live concert featuring Mika and The Feeling with a globally broadcast brand event hosting hundreds of VIP guests.
In a defining moment, the new Fiat 500 was elevated within one of the Eye’s capsules to the top of the wheel, overlooking the London skyline.
Additional capsules were converted into live broadcast studios, enabling international media partners to share the launch with audiences worldwide.
NATO Summit
As Event Director for the 2014 Wales Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), for M-is working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, I led the delivery of one of the largest gatherings of world leaders ever staged in the United Kingdom.
Hosted in Newport, Wales, the summit required one of the most extensive security operations undertaken in the UK in peacetime.
More than 60 Heads of State and Government attended, including Barack Obama, David Cameron and Angela Merkel.
The programme brought together representatives from all 28 NATO member states at the time, alongside approximately 70 Foreign Ministers, 70 Defence Ministers and more than 4,000 delegates and officials from around 60 countries.
It was a politically sensitive, logistically complex and globally scrutinised operation delivered under intense security, diplomatic and media pressure demonstrating delivery at geopolitical scale.
Photo: Secretary of Defense, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.