Manchester Central is preparing to install a self-contained production studio at the leading conference and events venue.

Set to be the first of its kind in the heart of the city centre, Studio at Manchester Central will offer TV broadcast-quality production facilities to help businesses professionally communicate to and engage their audiences virtually, or as an enhanced hybrid component to a live event. Delivered with Sterling Event Group, Studio will feature a fully integrated set with customisable LED backdrops, lighting, full audio and vision equipment and an expert crew to create professional and engaging output.

The venue’s unrivalled internet connectivity – the result of a stand-alone fibre network that ensures no interruption of service and guaranteed speeds of 10,000Mbps – means that content can be live-streamed to thousands or recorded and edited for future distribution.

Housed within the Cobden Rooms and accessible via its own dedicated entrance, Studio can be used entirely standalone, or integrated into a live event footprint. Green room and dressing room space is provided for presenters, as well as a full catering and hospitality offer; all managed in accordance with COVID-Secure guidelines.

 Hair and make-up support can be pre-booked, along with TV presenter coaching delivered by Manchester Actor’s Platform (the education arm of 53two) for anyone looking to hone their presenter skills.

Shaun Hinds, Chief Executive at Manchester Central said: “We’re incredibly excited to launch Studio at Manchester Central. Following the launch of our ‘Live from the Auditorium’ hybrid solution last year, we believe that there will be a place for professional, virtual content creation and production as we move towards the new era of events.

 The Government’s roadmap to recovery set out earlier this week is a real positive step forward and we can’t wait to be ‘back in the room’ again. We have an opportunity now to take what we’ve learned from the world of virtual communications over the past year and apply it to the live event format, as well as wider business engagement strategies.

 When done well, we’ve seen how technologies can grow reach and brand exposure exponentially and by integrating this component into event and engagement programmes, we can create immersive and curated content for audiences, wherever they are. Studio is the perfect platform from which to do that.”

Richard Bowden, Managing Director at Sterling Event Group adds: “We anticipate that virtual events will become a permanent feature in the calendars of many organisations, and we are delighted to be working with the team at Manchester Central to bring a high-specification facility to the heart of the city. Studio will be fully equipped to deliver live and pre-recorded virtual content as a standalone event, or to extend the reach and add a digital element to a live event when restrictions permit.”

For more information about Studio at Manchester Central and to pre-book, visit www.manchestercentral.co.uk/Studio or contact the team on Studio@manchestercentral.co.uk

Manchester Cathedral is teaming up with one of its long-standing event production partners, Sterling Event Group, to illuminate the façade of the magnificent building in a blue hue in a show of solidarity and support for NHS staff and Key Workers who are going above and beyond to support our communities at this difficult time.

Richard Bowden, Managing Director at Sterling said “We wanted to show our support as a company for the magnificent work our NHS and keyworkers are doing in the battle against Covid-19. We have a great partnership with Manchester Cathedral and its work in the community. As a stunning landmark in the heart of our city we are very privileged to be able to illuminate it.”

The Dean of Manchester, the Very Reverend Rogers Govender said “At this very difficult time for Greater Manchester, our nation and the world, we are pleased to show our support to our NHS our Emergency Services and all the key workers who are on the front line in this global emergency by illuminating the Cathedral in blue. This building has been at the heart of our city in good times and bad for hundreds of years in support of all in our communities. This place reminds us that God in Christ is present with us at all times and will not abandon humanity especially when there is so much pain and grief in our midst’

The switch-on will take place at 2000 (8pm) as we Clap for Our Carers on Thursday 16th April, 2020 at Manchester Cathedral, Victoria St, Manchester M3 1SX.

Sterling provided technical support once again to the amazing charity Forever Manchester. An amazing night was had by all at Forever Manchester’s 30th Birthday Party, with £78,689 being raised for Forever Manchester to fund and support community activity across Greater Manchester.

Over 400 delegates came together at the Principal Manchester to celebrate 30 years of Forever Manchester helping local people doing extraordinary things in their local communities.

Hosted by Tony Walsh and Captain Manchester, the Birthday Party, featured first class entertainment and Clint Boon finished the night with a DJ set which got everyone up and dancing until the early hours.

Check out the event highlights below!

Sterling Event Group have announced a new partnership agreement with one of Manchester’s leading event venues, Victoria Warehouse.

As part of the supplier agreement, which commenced on 31^st January 2020, Sterling Event Group will be the venue’s preferred technical production supplier and will provide exclusive in-house rigging services for corporate clients across the venue’s wide array of unique spaces.

The technical production company, who celebrated their 20-year anniversary last year, work in partnership with many event venues and clients across the North West & the UK and are thrilled to be supporting Victoria Warehouse and their clients. Victoria Warehouse has numerous event spaces catering for intimate gatherings to large scale conferences and exhibitions all with an authentic industrial vibe.

Richard Bowden, Managing Director of Sterling commented on the partnership “We are really excited to be back working with the team at Victoria Warehouse, a venue with their strap line ‘We are what you make us’, which for our projects team opens up a world of options for creativity.”

James Cohen, Managing Director of Victoria Warehouse commented; “We are thrilled to be partnering again with Sterling Event Group for production and rigging, their team have a genuine passion for exceeding client expectations. This combined with their array of in-house services means we can be sure our clients receive the very best experience.”

This partnership comes at an exciting time at Sterling, with a recent expansion adding a further two warehouses to their Manchester based headquarters creating 8 additional jobs. The company plans to continue this growth throughout 2020 with investment, innovation and development to further improve its offering.

Sterling Event Group will be exhibiting at the upcoming International Confex 2020 exhibition due to be held on the 25th & 26th February 2020 at ExCel London.

The event is set to be one of the largest gathering of event professionals, service providers, thought leaders and buyers in the UK, with the sole purpose of creating an environment of convenience to help support, inspire and drive the events industry forward.

Register to attend by clicking here.

The team look forward to hosting you on our stand! Find us on stand F04C.

Sterling once again delivered the Boohoo Group plc annual Christmas Party. Held at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate Hotel in December, the event was styled around a New York theme with headline act Skepta providing the entertainment alongside a number of acts and DJ’s.

Check out the event highlights below!

Technical production supplier Sterling Event Group, has invested in six Allen & Heath SQ-5 Mixing Consoles. 

Sterling Event Group have purchased six Allen & Heath SQ-5 digital mixing consoles to add to our audio fleet. The console features 16 local XLR inputs and 12 XLR outputs. It is an extremely powerful and capable compact mixer. Other features include;

• 48 input channels – 17 faders on 6 Layers
• Automatic microphone mixer on all channels
• 12 Mixes – can be 12 mono / 12 stereo configured as groups or auxes
• 3 Matrix – can be 3 mono or 3 stereo
• 8 Stereo FX Engines
• Record / Playback to USB
• Flexible routing options

To accompany this investment, Sterling have also purchased four stage boxes – the AB1608.  The AB1608 feature 16 inputs and 8 outputs. These units simply connect to the SQ via 1 Cat5/6 cable and can easily be patched to any input or mix bus via the SQ5. Multiple stage boxes can then be daisy chained for higher channel counts up to 48 inputs making this a very efficient easily configurable stage box solution.

Please contact our hire team for competitive quotations and to discuss how this equipment could benefit your next event or production. Alternatively see more info on our equipment hire page.

Our MD Richard Bowden caught up with TPi magazine;

Could you explain what first sparked your interest in the events sector?

I grew up with events, from as young as I could remember I was roadie for my Dad’s mobile disco, on larger gigs there would be production companies involved which exposed me to the world of technical production and I knew that was what I wanted to do. I never really played with toys I was more interested in speakers and par cans.

Could you describe how Sterling Events first came into being? What were the original goals for the company?

In my last year at school I set up Sterling Sound, we had a small amount of kit that I had built so I sent out some hire price lists to contacts I’d met working with my dad. The original goal was to provide PA systems for corporate events. We very soon began supplying, lighting, vision and staging to all sorts of events, at this point the company name was holding us back so we rebranded to Sterling Event Group. I could never of imagined where we are now 20 years on.

What were some of your highlights from those early days of Sterling Event Group?

There has been so many highlights and milestones over the years, from successfully delivering our first international event for a major brand to providing production to pop stars. No two days are the same and that’s what keeps things exciting.

How has the company expanded over the years?

It doesn’t seem that long ago when we took on our first premises and the £100 a week rent was daunting. Fast forward to today we now occupy several units by Manchester Airport with facilities designed to accommodate our specialist audio, lighting, vision, rigging and custom build stage and set departments. The team has also grown somewhat, we now employ 50 fulltime staff and we’re looking to expand this further in the coming months.

What is next on Sterling events schedule as we move into 2020?

2020 kicks off with a bang, the busiest January to date which sets to feature a European roadshow for a beauty brand, a large scale corporate awards, conferences for the government and even a party for a Premier league footballer to mention just a few. Alongside delivering these productions there will be further investment in kit and also further development for our custom build staging and set department.

You supported Production Futures this year. What were you opinions on the event?

I wish it was around when it started out! It was a great event with some really bright young people in attendance, a lot of which were genuinely looking to start a career in our industry and keen to call upon the experience of others. I think it’s really important that we all make an effort to give opportunities to the next generation as the industry needs them.

Read the article in the December issue of TPi Magazine – https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpidec19_digitallr/98

 

 

We are pleased to be supporting Production Futures – This event gives young people, students and freelancers the opportunity to come face to face with some of the most well-known companies and individuals in the industry. The event also features the TPi Breakthrough Talent Awards, offering a chance to highlight the work of those still relatively new to the industry but who are making waves within the live events bracket.

The event will be hosted at Fly by Nite Studios in Redditch, a state-of-the-art, arena sized, purpose-built production rehearsal studio located just south of Birmingham, where some of the biggest artists on the planet make their final preparations before heading out on tour.

If your heading to this event we look forward to seeing you there!

Click here for further info on the event.

The whole Sterling team were invited to a Sterling Family BBQ at the end of August to celebrate 20 years of business, as a celebration and a thank you to the team for all the hard work they put in for Sterling’s fabulous clients and events.

Check out the highlights here!

Here’s to the next 20 years!