Sydney Metro Crossover Cavern Dinners

This was a live, two night event inside Sydney Metro's newly built crossover cavern at Barangaroo for tunnel builders, John Holland CPB Ghella. The first night, a charity Gala Dinner for 450 people with Captains of Industry and Celebrities, raising $550,000 for Bear Cottage.

The second night, was a Staff Thank You dinner for everyone who worked on the tunneling project.

Each event had to be completely different in style and feel. Each audience had very different needs and as such the client expectations were very different for each night.

The first night was a three course sit down “Regeneration Gala dinner” with seated canapes, a 20 piece big band orchestra, James Morrison, a contemporary dance piece and hosted by Channel 7’s Natarsha Belling.

The second night was a seated STEAMPUNK CAVERN cocktail style event, with interactive roving entertainment, pool tables, photo booths, a DJ band combo, an incredible Steampunk show and an amazing live drumming finale.

Both nights had to encompass strict COVID-19 regulations and the whole event had to be best work practice in line with SafeWork NSW and to satisfy the cavern owners, Transport NSW

Both events took place 26m below ground level. Access was via a lift system and a 250 tonne crane. All logistics including a 10m square stage, two high end toilet blocks (each 8 tonne), all styling and furniture and a full kitchen set up, including three mobile cool rooms, were lowered into the space via a crane using a 20 foot container into the tunnel access hole and then moved around inside the cavern with frannas and fork lifts. Bump out was the same in reverse.

All the above done whilst negotiating with the client and their client around the limitations and daily updates with COVID, lockdowns and the ever-changing regulations and the regular tunnel crews who continued to work on the cavern.

SPECIAL TOUCHES

Activating a two night event, both seated and both with very different looks styling and feel and entertainment inside a train tunnel in the middle of COVID was to say the least; difficult.

As an event, this is a tough one, negotiating equipment 26m below ground level in a venue not designed for events.

Innovation was also used in the projection and its content for the curved ceiling of the tunnel. The first night, spec built animation depicted vines growing up the tunnel walls and then blooming over the course of dinner. The second night moving cogs and wheels were projected on the tunnel walls and ceiling

FOOD & BEVERAGE HIGHLIGHTS

For the gala dinner, the dessert was served in a chocolate dome guests had to crack open to eat

With a theme of STEAMPUNK for the staff dinner, an industrial dessert station was designed where guests got to hammer their own dessert from large chunks of nougat and honeycomb brittle and where calamansi & merengue popsicles were blow torched on site, all in keeping with the style of the tunnel.

CHALLENGES

Getting equipment and personnel safely into the space was the first challenge. The venue was 26m below ground and had a limited access point.

The other main issue was getting people inside in a timely manner with COVID restrictions in place.

The ability to manage all of this and still maintain work and COVID safety, necessitated constant innovative problem solving with the onsite client work crews. Communication and compliance were the key elements in the success of the whole process.

Adding the uncertainty and constant changing regulations of COVID, lockdowns and daily updates made this event even more difficult.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

Daily updates and COVID regulation checks became part of this system to ensure compliance.

Once registration opened, the team was split with assigned personnel specifically working on registration and COVID and others on the actual event.

All cast and crews were required to provide full risk assessment, all crew public liability and COVID Safe Plans was passed onto tunnel management.

Every part of the event had a detailed process that was signed off on by the client and respective suppliers prior to arrival at the venue.

Onsite daily safety & COVID briefings ensured all crew were always informed.

The local community were contacted and advised of the events, to ensure their positive engagement.

Everything had to be fluid at all times to ensure cohesion and success. It was a constant balancing act to keep everything moving whilst COVID regulations changed.

CLIENT’S COMMENT

Good morning Stu,

Thank you so very much for all of your/ and your incredible teams hard work, and contribution in making both the Bear Cottage Gala Event and our End of Project “thank you” Staff Event an incredible success. Everyone who attended the functions was completely blown away … and of course by the courteous nature of each of your staff members. It really just keeps on getting better with you … and so until the next time THANK YOU so very much for your incredible work.

Regards

Terry Sleiman

Project Director