ADIPEC Opening Ceremony
In 2019 I served as Executive Producer with Action Impact for the Opening Ceremony of ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi – one of the world’s largest energy conferences.
The ceremony featured a keynote address by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of ADNOC, alongside global industry leaders including Condoleezza Rice.
The stage design centred on a fully automated LED system, with large-format screens moving in choreographed sequences to support a narrative exploring the future of energy and data. At the time, it represented the largest deployment of LED technology for an event in Abu Dhabi and involved considerable research and development.
Delivered within a politically and commercially sensitive environment, the production required the integration of advanced stage automation, disciplined storytelling and careful stakeholder management – resulting in a measured and high-impact opening to a globally significant industry gathering.
Photo courtesy of Action Impact.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dubai Parks and Resorts Grand Opening
In 2016 I served as Executive Producer at Action Impact for the Grand Opening of Dubai Parks and Resorts – then the largest theme park destination in the Middle East.
The brief – create a single, coherent opening experience spanning multiple global IPs, international stakeholders and senior government leadership.
We constructed a purpose-built theatre floating on the resort’s central lake and delivered a live production integrating film, music, character performance and emerging technology.
Opened by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the event featured a live performance by Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken and incorporated the first large-scale drone show staged in the region.
With a cast including Shrek, The Smurfs and Legoland characters, it was a high-profile, technically complex and politically visible launch – designed to promote the UAE as a global entertainment destination. A full integrated multi-intellectual property spectacle under head-of-state visibility.
Photo courtesy of Action Impact.
Photo courtesy of Action Impact.
Photo courtesy of Action Impact.
Photo courtesy of Action Impact.
Photo courtesy of Action Impact.
Photo courtesy of Action Impact.
Photo courtesy of Action Impact.
Tour de France
As overarching Event Director, working with the Mayor of London, Transport for London and the UK Government, I led the delivery of the Tour de France’s 2007 Grand Départ in London and the South East of the UK.
The event included an opening ceremony, the central London prologue, and Stage 1 running from London to Kent before the race continued to France.
At the time, it was without precedent in the UK. Many of the governance structures, operational templates and cross-agency models now considered standard practice had to be created.
More than 20,000 people worked on the event. Over two million attended in person. Hundreds of millions watched globally.
Its success was formally recognised in an Early Day Motion in Parliament as “an excellent showcase for the United Kingdom and its ability to stage major sporting events as London prepares to host the Olympic Games in 2012.”
It remains one of the defining demonstrations of what coordinated ambition with effective leadership can achieve at scale and established foundations for national event governance models.
Photo by John Pannell - CC BY 2.0 - via Wikimedia Commons
Events in Space
It was inevitable. Events, marketing and tourism are beginning to extend beyond Earth.
Weightless performances have already happened. Media stunts too. Now brands are exploring what meaningful presence in space might look like – beyond spectacle.
Most of these conversations are confidential. But I’m increasingly asked to help translate ambition into something real – concepts that are creatively compelling, technically viable and commercially grounded.
If you’re considering activity off-planet, let’s talk. I can still (for now) be found on Earth.