Brighton company rolls out the red carpet for Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Brighton-based company Blades Artificial Grass Ltd has been selected to provide a stunning backdrop of royal red artificial grass for the magnificent river cruiser that will carry the Queen during the Thames Diamond Jubilee River Pageant.

The pageant, taking place on June 3rd, is the centre piece of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and will include a one thousand-strong flotilla, the largest of its kind in modern times.

The first sight of the Royal Barge on the Thames will be the most highly anticipated moment of the pageant. Accommodating The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family, Blades could not have been more thrilled to have played a major part in the cruiser’s remarkable transformation.

Blades was tasked with sourcing the perfect royal red to bring the design to life. The entire top deck area of the Barge will be adorned in a red wine artificial grass, providing a sumptuous backdrop for the opulent design. Blades’ specialist team began the 300 sqm installation in April.

Ben Monk, director of Blades, said “We were delighted when we were selected to work on this prestigious project, and the opportunity to work for such an inspirational design team has been a real privilege.

“There have been challenges along the way, as you would expect on a project of this scale, but as a company we believe in attention to detail, and anything less than perfect was simply not an option. I am incredibly proud of my team, who persevered through the wettest April on record to get the job done. We are really happy with the end result and I know we will all feel a sense of overwhelming pride when we see the Barge in its full splendour on June 3rd – it sounds like it is going to be an amazing day”.

Throughout the project Blades worked closely with the designer of The Royal Barge, Joseph Bennett.  Bennett, a multi-award-winning production designer has a diverse and distinguished career including designing for films, Charlotte Gray, and HBO television series Rome, for which he won two Emmy awards.  The design will echo the richly-decorated royal barges of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, reflecting the great historical nature of this event.

Bennett said: "Blades have laid some beautiful red grass which has helped transform the Spirit of Chartwell into the Royal Barge for the Thames Diamond Jubilee River Pageant. Their care and professionalism has been very impressive, and we are delighted to have worked with them on this very special project."

Photo: Ben Monk on Royal Barge

Further Information about Blades Artificial Grass:
Contact: Jo Bradbury / t. 07958 393917 / e. jo@bladesgrass.co.uk / @Jo_BladesGrass

Press information about the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant:

riverpageant@pagefield.co.uk
www.thamesdiamondjubileepageant.org

Main Photo: Artist’s impression of completed Royal Barge, Joseph Bennett

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