Venue:
Event type: Celebration, Trade Show
About the event:
RuPaul’s DragCon UK is a fan convention and expo of drag culture held in London, UK.
Described as a cornucopia of drag excitement, there are gag-worthy appearances, fierce main stage performances and programming, wig-snatching merch available to purchase and so much more.
Brief:
Showcase has been delivering DragCon since 2020 and based on the success was commissioned for the 2024 & 2025 events. For this year’s event, Showcase was tasked with designing and building the following seven event areas: The Merch Booth, The Main Stage, VIP & AVP platforms, The Bring Back My Girls Stage, the WOW Booth and the Pink Carpet.
This year Showcase was also commissioned by ‘World of Wonder Television’ to event broadcast and live stream certain elements of DragCon, this included the Pink Carpet session for WOWTV’s channel. They were briefed to film the Q&A session with the Queens, which took place on the BBMG (Bring Back My Girls) Stage in front of a 200-seater live audience. The content was flown back to Los Angeles after the event, to be edited and played out on various video and TV channels.
Solution:
Event Main Stage
Showcase created the 12m x 10m main stage with rear access to enable artists and performers to enter via a draped-off backstage area. The stage had a Pitch LED screen on which playback video and infomercial content was played, the backdrop to the stage was a red velvet drape to create dramatic entrance and exit points.
Showcase was in charge of the lighting for the two-day event and the after-parties. The lighting design needed to provide maximum impact and so involved using haze machines to give the ‘wow’ effect and build anticipation and energy before and during the performances. They used a line array sound system controlled by digital consoles.
VIP Platform & Accessible Viewing Platforms
Showcase redesigned the two 120sqm event viewing platforms to enable better views of the stage as well as being able to accommodate larger audience numbers. These platforms took on an ‘L’ shape which gave an increased surface area for viewing. These platforms were fitted with safety handrails and accessibility ramps.
Merch Booth
Showcase repurposed the merchandise stand design they created for the 2023 event, which included a storage area for further stock.
Pink Carpet Live Broadcast
To enable a high-quality broadcast, Showcase used a collection of the latest AV equipment, including cameras, multi-view feeds, mixers, feeds and digital audio consoles. On the Main Stage, the audio was linked to the broadcast, so allowing content from the Main Stage to be fed to the streaming and hosts.
World of Wonder Booth – Studio 1
Showcase created this dramatic 13m x 6m set for host Michelle Visage, which was part of the pink carpet live streaming where Michelle would interview Drag Queens live as they had finished their walk, down the 200m pink carpet, by employing external print walling, decorative draping and CNC cut lettering.
Bring Back My Girls Stage – Studio 2
Basically, Showcase created a TV studio for the event. They fitted the stage with all the necessary technical equipment to ensure that all content was produced in the most professional manner possible, technically and creatively.
To dress this stage they created a 12m x 10m stage with solid front printed fascia, a large 12m x 10m printed 3mm vinyl top, mounted on top of a stage subfloor.
They also provided a large 5m high printed elements with a CNC cut heart with BBMG entrance.
Showcase also provided the furniture for this stage both on stage and backstage, including the 200-seater audience. Furniture provided included stage risers and poser tables for the Queens and all the seating for the audience.
Delivery:
For this two-day event, Showcase provided almost 100 staff, these included seven project managers, Media Engineers, Riggers, Lighting Engineers, Jib Operators, LED Engineers Camera Operators, Head of Video, Jib Operators, Sounds Engineers, Stage Managers, Production Managers, Streaming Engineers, Vision Directors and Mixers, along with set builders, stage builders, local crew.
Showcase provided seven artic lorries (running on palm-free HVO fuel) and one 18t lorry.
Project Service Summary:
- Main stage with LED screen
- Velvet curtains for backdrops
- Lighting and special effects
- Video equipment
- Sound equipment
- Line array sound system
- Truss, rigging and draping
- Large-scale print for stage branding
- Technical production
- Project management
- Event furniture for BBMG Stage
- Technical drawings, calculations
- 3D Renders
- Live streaming
- Live studios
- Multitrack audio recording
- Multi-track video recording
- Videography
- Camera jibs
- Stage platforms