Central Hall Westminster played a key role in an
inquiry of national importance after being selected as the host venue for the
publication day of the Report for the Infected Blood Inquiry.
The event on 20 May 2024, marked the finale of the process,
which began in 2018 and was designed to examine the circumstances in which an
estimated 30,000 NHS patients in the UK had been given infected blood or blood
products contaminated with Hepatitis C or HIV since 1970.
Over 3,000 people have died as a result, while thousands
live with ongoing health conditions.
Photo Credit: Big T Images / Infected Blood InquiryObjective
The role of Central Hall Westminster and its team was to provide a supportive platform for the long-awaited report to be
delivered, which has subsequently called for a range of measures, including
immediate compensation, public memorials and lessons to be learned in medicine,
government and the civil service.
A host venue would need to have the capacity to house all
1,300 participants (families, friends and those who wished to attend in person)
and provide full AV and technical support so that inquiry chair Sir Brian
Langstaff could be heard clearly when reading the report and so that
accompanying visuals would be presented effectively. As the inquiry had been on
the news agenda for media outlets, provisions for 200 members of the UK’s media
who would broadcast updates from the centre pre- and post-publishing would also
need to be made.
With the likelihood that many attendees and members of the
press covering the event would want access to the report as soon as it was
available online, Central Hall Westminster would need to ensure bandwidth and
server access were sufficient to support multiple downloads.
A live stream would be broadcast to YouTube and press would
be broadcasting from the site too so additional AV support would be required.
With the event taking place over several hours, there was also a requirement
for refreshments and a light lunch for all participants.
As one of central London’s largest conferences and events
centres, with a capacity of 2,000 in the Great Hall and a recently upgraded
state-of-the-art PA system and audio solution, Central Hall Westminster was an
ideal venue for an event of this magnitude.
Great Hall was set out to seat 1,300 attendees who were
welcomed in from 8am on 20 May. The stage area within the space provided a
platform from which Sir Brian Langstaff would deliver his remarks where he
highlighted how lives, dreams, friendships, families and finances had been
destroyed as a result of the "life-shattering" scandal.
The organisers could feel confident that these remarks,
followed by the airing of a audio/visual memorial and a live
performance by a string quartet, titled Reflections to honour the victims,
would be clearly heard thanks to the recent upgrade of the audio system in the
Great Hall.
The first two volumes of the inquiry report were made
available under embargo for those at the venue at 8am, before it was published
on the Inquiry website at 12.30pm. Knowing that the majority of attendees would
be eager to download and read the report immediately, Central Hall Westminster
ensured they would be able to access easily by installing an additional 80
servers for the day of the inquiry.
This additional bandwidth
allowed swift and immediate access. It could also support the live streaming of
the event on a dedicated YouTube channel.
Mindful that there would be a long period of time for
reading of the reports, Central Hall Westminster provided tea, coffee and biscuits
in the Lecture Hall, Library and Aldersgate rooms throughout the day to all
participants. The venue’s F&B partner Green & Fortune used the same
space to serve a light salad lunch to all 1,300 participants and 200 members of
the media before the report reading. Tea, coffee and sandwiches were also
provided to members of the crew working on the event.
Photo Credit: © Big T Images / Infected Blood InquiryResults
Following the
publication of the report Art Lewry, founder and CEO of Hunter Gatherer and
creative director for the event, wrote how history had been made and that he
was ‘proud’ of the achievement, which he described as ‘easily the most
important and emotional event’ he had ever been involved in.
He included a
special mention of Central Hall Westminster’s head of events Yasmin Barnett and
event manager Jacob Thorpe as well as White Light for their roles in staging,
cameras, lighting, sound, video and IT. He said: “Every member of the creative,
production, venue and staging team was absolutely engaged and totally committed
to creating something truly special. So much was riding on this day, it was
vital to gather a team that understood this was so much more than just an
event.”
