Key information
Publication type: General
Publication date:
Contents
Introduction
The London St Patrick's Day Festival in Trafalgar Square - now in its 19th year - attracts more than 125,000 people to events across London and to the parade and festival in central London. The festival is a destination event showcasing the best of Irish food, music, song, dance, culture and arts, and celebrating the tremendous diversity, creativity, talent and breadth of the Irish community and culture in London.
Trafalgar Square features Irish community stakeholder stalls, sponsor stalls, and family activities. The parade attracts over 50,000 people along the 1.5mile route from Piccadilly to Trafalgar Square. Combining community and professional entries, the parade is full of flamboyant pageantry, elaborate floats, marching bands from across the UK, Ireland and the USA, sports clubs and Irish dancing schools.
To deliver this event the GLA has engaged the services of a production company, responsible for infrastructure, production, security, stewarding and site management on the day.
Event overview
- Sunday 13 March 2022
- venue: Trafalgar Square
- event times: 12pm to 6pm
- stage-based live music programme shared between London and Irish resident artists
- community and trade stalls
- bars and catering
- family zone
- roaming entertainment
- sponsor marquees
1. Programme partners
1.1 Requirements
The GLA would like to engage an experienced and enthusiastic programme partner to help create the best possible programme within the available resources. We are looking for an organisation or group of organisations with experience of working with Irish community events with a deep understanding of Irish Arts and Culture.
The Programme Partner will identify programme content for the stage programme and will manage the process of curating, contracting and confirming content. All content is subject to approval by the GLA and will be processed in liaison with the production company.
We will accept and encourage applications from a group of organisations, where two or more organisations have decided to collaborate on delivering the programming for St Patrick’s Day 2022.
1.2 Responsibilities
- to support the GLA in programming and booking the main stage
- to work with the Community Advisory Board in ensuring the programme is fully representative
- to work with the production company and stage manager in planning and delivery
- to meet agreed deadlines to allow for enough marketing and promotion of programme
- to present programme at launch event
- to manage any external grant/ funding applications for programming.
1.3 Timelines
The GLA will require the programme partner to work to the following deadlines:
- close of tender: 7 November 2021, 11:59pm
- award of tender: week commencing 8 November 2021
- kick off: 12 November 2021
- programme check in: 10 December 2021
- programme check in/draft: 20 January 2022
- final programme: 28 January 2022
2. Themes
2.1 London St. Patrick’s Day Trafalgar Square Returns
This year’s festival theme will center around celebration and coming together again after two year apart; with a focus on Irish arts and culture from London and beyond. The Parade will highlight and pay thanks to the Irish Londoners who have supported the City in its response to the pandemic. We will look to have a number of key workers as Grand Marshalls this year.
As always, London St Patrick’s Day captures the spirit of the London Irish, celebrating the strength of relationship, diversity and inclusivity between all.
2.2 #LetsDoLondon
‘Let’s Do London’ is a new campaign to bring Londoners and visitors from across the UK safely back to central London to enjoy our world-class culture, nightlife, retail, and hospitality.
Led by the Mayor of London, the aim is to kick-start our economy and support jobs. As well as a major nationwide advertising push to promote the capital, the campaign will include a programme of one-off special events. It's been created with some of London's best-known attractions to lure visitors back to the greatest city on earth.
2.3 Diversity and inclusion
At London St. Patrick’s Day Festival, we celebrate Irish Londoners and the strength of our relationship between Britain and Ireland. In 2022 the festival will shine a green light on this city’s diverse communities. Our ambition is for 2022 to be the most diverse and inclusive St Patrick’s Day in London.
3. Funding position
The GLA will maintain a budget for event delivery, and through this will provide event infrastructure (including staging, fencing, electricity supply, toilets, and stalls/marquees), staffing (including event management, security and stewarding, first aid, health & safety management) and marketing and promotion of the event alongside the CAB owned social channels.
The budget available for the programming of the festival is £15,000. The program partner will be responsible for securing any additional funding required and may apply or request the GLA to apply for external grants and funding to assist with programming.
This budget must cover the costs for:
- artist fees, administrative overheads, travel and accommodation costs for main stage programme
- programme partner fee
- any other fees incurred by the partner in relation to this agreement.
The programming partner will be responsible for all administration and evaluation required for grant funding that supports programming, such as the Culture Ireland Grant.
4. Marketing
The programme partner must use GLA St. Patrick’s Day assets and branding unless otherwise agreed with the GLA and partner.
The programme partner must reference the Mayor of London in all promotion and marketing and must use GLA logos in-line with GLA brand guidelines.
The programme partner must highlight the contribution of the Community Advisory Board throughout marketing, including a formal thank you on stage during the event.
5. Evaluation
The programming partner will be required to provide an evaluation of their work within the 30 days post-event.
6. COVID-19
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we expect the programming partner to work with us to adapt plans should any public event celebration become untenable.
The programme partner should where feasibly possibly, build into their programming contracting the ability for artists to perform at a digital event should this be deemed achievable by the GLA and partners.
The programme partner should also look to build in suitable break clauses with suppliers/ artists to ensure costs can be recuperated where possible should cancellation take place.
The programming partner should take into consideration all known and current restrictions to travel and COVID-19 government guidance when booking acts for the programme. The programming partner will be expected to work closely with the GLA and production company to ensure all programming elements meet and abide by all COVID-19 mitigation measures at the event.
7. Responses
7.1 Submit a response
If you wish to be considered for this opportunity, please provide the following information:
- Details of your organisation(s) and the work you do (max. 500 words).
- If two or more organisations propose to work together, please detail roles and responsibilities (max. 500 words).
- Details of events you have organised or programmed, including venues and content. Please provide examples of publicity material, your website and similar (max. 500 words).
- Your interests and specialisms, such as live music promotion, family festivals, arts and culture (max. 300 words).
- Details of how you work with others, including management of artists, community organisations and funding administration to deliver cost effective successful events (max. 500 words).
- An outline of your proposed approach to programming diverse, contemporary and multidisciplinary content for St. Patrick’s Day 2022, incorporating the themes as set out above (max. 1000 words).
- Outline your planning should the public event be cancelled or altered due to COVID-19 (500 words).
- An outline budget for this project, including artists fees, travel and accommodation and your fee. Please indicate if you believe a larger budget could be generated and provide an outline of how you would go about increasing income to support this.
- Your approach to sustainability, including working with artists, in accordance with the principles set out in the GLA Event Management Sustainability Policy (supplied, max. 500 words).
7.2 Evaluation
Submissions will be judged on the following:
- creative response including a variety of art forms and contemporary artists
- community focus
- approach and plan for diversity and inclusion
- previous experience
- financial management including ability to raise additional funds
- approach to sustainability.
7.3 Payment schedule
Please submit your response to [email protected] no later than 11:59pm on Sunday 7 November 2021.
The GLA will consider all responses received and will advise applicants of the outcome in week commencing 8 November.
Mark your response: St. Patrick’s Day Programme Partner.