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London’s Chinese New Year celebration is the largest outside of Asia. Working with the London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA), Westminster City Council and Greater London Authority (GLA), EnTEEtainment was contracted to deliver site and operational management for the event.
Attracting huge crowds, the general public experiences dragon and lion dances, a grand parade and cultural performances in Trafalgar Square which this year included the Beijing Festival of Spring Toupe, martial arts, acrobatics and more.
Chinese New Year 2024 celebrated the Year of the Dragon and was held in central London on 11th February. We talked to EnTEEtainment’s founder and managing director Dick Tee about the huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make the event both safe and enjoyable for everyone involved.
“Our team includes myself, Frankie Tee and Mick Heath. We all have an excellent relationship with the event’s organisers who are a great bunch of people. We originally worked on the event from 2010 -2015 before being invited back in 2021. Given where we were with the pandemic at that point, it was massively scaled back and more of a media moment. 2022 and 2023’s events were back with a vengeance and this year they really went for it given the significance of the Year of the Dragon in Chinese culture. As the only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is associated with prosperity and imperial power as it combines all the powers of the other nine animals.
Ceremonial elements are incredible and feature Chinese Lions dancing on poles and the traditional eye-dotting ceremony, it’s a spectacular show and a real crowd pleaser. We also welcomed back some Chinese performance troupes now that travel restrictions are completely lifted which really enhanced the quality of the acts on the main stage. The 15 minute finale with pyrotechnics and flame effects is also really special.
We design the event’s layout and the overall site itself is huge, the footprint encompasses a significant part of central London; beginning in Shaftesbury Avenue, it takes in Chinatown, Leicester Square, Pall Mall East, Charing Cross Road and then the main stage in Trafalgar Square. On a normal Sunday you would expect there to be maybe a couple of hundred thousand people at any one time in the area, and whilst there aren’t exact figures for the event as it is free to attend, they’re estimated to be up to half a million in attendance for the Sunday Festivities.
Operationally, the biggest challenge is the number of road closures required to allow the event to happen. These begin at 5am on the day of the event and are staggered throughout the morning to minimise disruption and ensure that safety measures are in place. There’s a four/five-hour window to build everything and it’s also an unfenced site which adds to challenge. Trafalgar Square is different as we have a couple of days to build there with the stage etc.
The parade begins at the bottom of Charing Cross Road, this element has really grown over the years and is quite a spectacle, there are some incredible floats. Chinatown is always rammed, as you know it’s busy at the best of times, and the crowds that come in to watch the lions go round the businesses are phenomenal, at one point this year we had to implement a one-way system.
Once the event comes to a close at 6pm we have a two hour window to re-open all the roads by 8pm which is no mean feat. For Trafalgar Square we are clear by 12pm on Monday which is still logistically challenging.
Sustainability is obviously a clear consideration and we look to work with London-based suppliers and staff wherever possible. We also utilise the mains power in Trafalgar Square to minimise the use of generators, and if we do need them then we opt for Stage V sets if we can. The Westminster City Council works with Veolia on waste collection and they were across the event supporting with minimising food waste etc.
From a supplier perspective we try to use companies who know the area and that the council are comfortable with. This year the list included IPS for the main stage; Ethix who delivered technical production including sound, lighting, video and power; adi provided the screens; QED carried out the projection on Nelson’s Column; BPM SFX was in charge of special effects; Just Loos supplied backstage toilets; TES and RTS provide security staff, stewards and support with road traffic management; The Renegade Group supported us with site infrastructure including fencing, crowd barrier and supplied crew; Entertee helped with the road closure barriers. Key Structures and Casablanca provided marquees.
Looking ahead to 2025 we would like to build on what we’ve achieved so far. We believe we’ve got the balance right between the traditional Chinese ceremonial elements and creating a great day out.