The final countdown

When it was decided to produce a highly visible landmark sign to promote the countdown to London 2012, there was only one place to erect it - the BT Tower! Val Hirst reports.

It might seem a long time coming, but in case anyone is in any doubt, there are now less than 1000 days to the start of the Olympic Games, which are returning to London in 2012. In order to advertise the final countdown and to fully promote the true potential of the event in terms of it being both a spectacular sporting occasion in its own right, as well as one that will have a highly beneficial effect on the UK economy, The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) decided, in association with its communications services partner, BT, to provide a highly visible reminder.

Accordingly, the BT Tower now sports a new 360-degree LED information band, which snakes around the 36th and 37th floors of this iconic London landmark and is so luminous that apparently, it can even be seen from space!

Designed by the London-based creative agency Imagination and built and installed by Setech UK of Scarborough, the sign comprises a specially devised lightweight structure, which accommodates 177 panels illuminated by a total of 500,000 red, blue and green LED rods, spaced l0cm apart, all of which were supplied by the Danish company, Martin Professional. Due to the building’s great height, the use of a more traditional solid screen would have adversely threatened its stability, as well as providing an even more complex installation problem.

As it was, the sign took six weeks to design, three weeks to build and a further, nail-biting three weeks to install and, as Peter White, Managing Director of Setech UK, confirms, the project wasn’t without its challenges, especially as it had to be completed in time to meet a tight deadline. He explains: “It was crucial that everything was in place and fully operational in time for the official launch by Dame Kelly Holmes, especially as this was accompanied by a stunning firework display and televised as part of the National Lottery TV show.”

Working very closely with Imagination, who was responsible for sourcing and co-ordinating the delivery of all the various component parts, Setech UK worked hard to ensure that the final sign was a faithful representation of the original, drawing board concept. Peter White says: “Fortunately, we came to the project with some experience of the potential pitfalls, as we had provided the Tower’s previous sign and had also been responsible for its ongoing maintenance. In the event, we used the basic structure of the old sign as the foundation for the new installation. One of the main issues we faced was ensuring that the sign was totally safe. Because it is installed at height, it has to weather some pretty severe climatic conditions, including hurricane force winds, which necessitated some vigorous testing procedures in the Jules Verne Wind Tunnels in France. Since each of the 177 screen panels

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