Loerie venue latest: life's a beach...

Unplugged MD, Rick Melvill, said he was "relaxed" and that the tent was looking "stunning" on a grassy knoll opposite the St Michaels-on-Sea beach, which is still within the Greater Margate municipality, organisers are at pains to point out.

"We preferred to err on the side of safety," he said, adding that the Australian technical team, engineers and local Greater Margate municipality were happy now with the venue, which threatened to become unplugged this past week, as gale force winds and high seas threatened the planned site on Margate beach.

"The show goes on!" said an upbeat Melvill. "And it will be a very novel, sharp and provocative show. This is a spectacular location and is 100% safe and secure."

St-Michaels-on-Sea This is an artists impression of what the Loerie awards tent will look like on St-Michaels-on-Sea Margate Margate was the preferred beach for the Loerie Awards venue tent, but after storms last week, the tent has been moved 6km down to St-Michaels-on-Sea beach.

Melvill said Loeries would be special this year due to the fact that the awards "owns the space" in taking over the town; the awesome plans by some of the agencies which have laid on parties at interesting venues up and down the coast; and due to the informality and party atmosphere that was already beginning to build in the town.

"It's off the wall, and it will be spectacular."

Loeries almost Unplugged

Emergency meetings were held last week with the Loerie Committee and sponsors - all whom have risked an enormous amount to move away from the past and herald in a "new Loeries" by moving the venue from Sun City to Margate, focussing on a creative celebration of industry excellence.

CEO Andrew Human, who has just returned from London where he met with the alternative jury, Steve Henry, Executive Creative Director of HHCL/red cell to finalise the Loerie Award results (after another alternate pulled out of coming to South Africa at the last minute), assured the industry that Loeries goes ahead as planned, that the venue is still as planned, but now with additional elements to add to all the other surprises they have planned. "Basically we had to make a technical decision last week and move a few kilometres down the beach."

He added that the industry and the media must not lose sight of the fact that there was so much excitement and enthusiasm around the Loeries... "such that we haven't seen in years."

Additional buses have been laid on to transport everyone from the pre-awards and after party festivities planned around Margate, to the awards venue each night - a distance of about 6km.

Some of the sponsors are disappointed, as RCP Media, CEO, Sarel du Plessis, indicates. "The tent on the main beach would have been the feature of a brand exercise that is now lost. But we do understand that the safety of those attending is more important."

Margate: a 'tent'ative venue

Local South Coast media have been reporting that there must be "red faces" after a week was spent trying to flatten, raise up and keep back the sea on Margate beach during what they describe as 'normal, seasonal September and October weather'.

Margate beach was fenced off, sandbags laid out, and graders were working around the clock to get the beach level enough for the tent, when engineers decided that it would not be safe to begin construction on it - the circus tent used by the Moscow State Circus when it toured South Africa.

South Coast Herald Editor, Colleen Haggard, said locals were all very delighted to have Loeries in Margate, but there were those concerned from the start at putting up a tent during what is arguably the South Coast's worst weather season.

"The community have really got behind the awards and are really positive about it. We feel this makes us look silly though. With Margate beach fenced off, we sacrificed our brief holiday season for Loeries."

See Bizcommunity.com's Special Loerie Ezine tomorrow with all the essential info on surviving the Loerie Awards, the programme and some of the surprises in store!