20 Great Things in 20 years of Continental Drifts
Continental Drifts turns 20 this year!
We’ve been involved in so many great projects that we are super proud of! Check out 20 of our favourites below.
1. Best Event Production Team at the Event Production Awards
In 2015 Continental Drifts won Best Production Team at the Event Production Awards!
2. Chris Tofu the UNsung Hero!
Our Music Director DJ Chris Tofu was awarded the prestigious UNsung Hero Award at the Association of Independent Festival Awards 2015
3. All Aboard Judith!
In 2011 we packed up and moved our office to the River Lea, where we now operate on ‘Judith’ our beautiful blue canal boat.
4. Southwark Partnership
Since 2001 we have worked directly with Southwark Council to produce their vibrant community events. Bringing culture, music and great food to a variety of parks in the Southwark area. Bermondsey Carnival, Southwark Fireworks, Elephant and the Nun are a few of the great events we have produced over the years.
5. Lewisham People’s Day
Lewisham Peoples Day has got to be one of our favourite annual events. With over 25,000 visitors, hundreds of community stalls and organisations, craft stalls from around the globe, performances from outstanding local talent and great entertainment throughout the day.
6. The Great British Carnival
Continental Drifts were the production team for the Great British Carnival in 2014. Working with our client Artaha and the LLDC. Marking the midway point between the London and Rio Olympics, the Great British Carnival was a fantastic event of dance, infectious music, performance and costume for the whole family to enjoy.
7. Africa Day and Diwali Festival
A cultural explosion in London’s Iconic Trafalgar Square in 2014 with back to back events celebrating Africa and Diwali. The weekend culminated with a spectacular light show on Nelsons column and the fountains.
8. Lollibop
Continental Drifts are the founders of Lollibop! The UK’s largest children’s festival – a magical land of endless fun for the under 10s.
9. We Are Fstvl
We were hired to undertake initial feasibility studies for the inaugural festival in 2013 and went on to produce this 2-day London dance music extravaganza for 2 years. The event was a huge success, winning Best New Festival 2013 and Best Medium-Sized Festival 2014 at the UK Festival Awards.
10. Shangri La
Journey deep into the heart of The Naughty Corner and find yourself transported into the fantastical world of 23 hour hedonism that is Shangri-la. Glastonbury’s definitive night time area.
Born from what used to be Lost Vagueness, Shangri-la is a key night-area within Glastonbury Festival. With incredibly high production values and immersive experiences, where the weird and wonderful meet and mingle, and of which Chris Tofu has been the music director and main programmer since day 1.
11. Club DaDa Bestival
Club Dada is our legendary Spiegeltent venue at Bestival. Welcome to a surreal world where the absurd is common place and where eccentricity isn’t just celebrated but elevated to performance art.
12. Electro Swing Club
Our beloved music director Chris Tofu, in association with Nick Hollywood from White Mink, started the first Electro-Swing Club in the world in 2009. Since then we have literally had every new electro-swing act grace our stage and expanded that club to over 13 other countries from Holland to Hollywood. Chris is the resident DJ and has had some of the greatest moments in the genres short history. The night still runs every 3rd Saturday of the month at the Bedroom Bar. Come and say hello!
13. London New Year’s Day Parade
Continental Drifts have produced Lewisham Council’s entry in the London New Year’s Day Parade 2015 and 2016. This year’s theme was 30 Magical Years of the parade. We designed Lewisham’s Animal Magic themed float based on the Natural History Exhibition at the Horniman Museum. Our production won Lewisham second place in the London Borough Competition, winning £7000 for Charity. Next year we’re going for first!
14. David Blaine Above The Below
Working with BskyB to produce the opening and closing of this televised stunt shown across the world. David’s 44 days suspended in a glass box without food was a cult phenomena with thousands of people visiting and even camping on London’s South bank.
15. JCPR/CAPCO Covent Garden
Property developers Capco purchased Covent Garden in 2007. We worked with their PR agency, JCPR to produce a series of newsworthy events that were designed to give Londoners a reason to re-visit.
Continental Drifts produced three world-class events for JCPR/Covent Garden. They included six weeks of Christmas performance programming, an August foodie night market and an autumn pumpkin celebration.
16. Sochi 2014 Olympic Bid
Drifts were employed by Weber Shandwick to produce the Sochi 20014 Winter Olympic bid in London. We organised and managed a photo-shoot event where Maria Sharipova played tennis with a group of school children on a grass pitch surrounded by snow covered trees (in the middle of summer!).
17. Channel Four Big Brother 2005 Launch
A demanding stunt for the launch of Big Brother 2005. Taking place at a secret location in central London, one thousand boxes containing TV and DVD player prizes were arranged into the shape of the Big Brother logo. Surrounding the boxes and behind barriers two thousand competition winners were held. A signal from the event compere gave them the opportunity to dash into the compound and grab a prize whilst Channel Four filmed aerial views from a specially installed cherry picker above.
18. Global Local
10 years and counting, Global Local is our ground breaking, Arts Council funded project for which we have been granted NPO status. It allows us to consistently bring some of the best, most ethnically diverse music around to festival stages throughout London and beyond.
From Roma to rumba, Latin beats to Afro funk, new folk to no folk, Global Local brings you the best emerging musical remix talent the UK has to offer!
19. London Remixed Festival
It’s Global Local’s annual showcase which brings performances from over 25 cutting edge bands and DJs across 4 stages over 2 days, all in one vibrant venue nested in the heart of Shoreditch.
Showcasing the best in Latin Grooves, Afrobeats, Tropical Bass, Vintage-Remix, Desert Remix, Balkan Beats, Urban Roots, Acoustic Soundclash and Brass Band Remix, The London Remix Festival is kicking global London into the future! Make sure to check out the 2017 edition on 3rd and 4th of February next year!
20. The Remix Space
The Remix Space is a digital platform hosted on the Global Local website. Producers from all over the world and Global Local artists work together to produce unique new mash up’s of cultures, sounds and beats.
4 tracks are available to remix at any one time, with stems ready to download and remix competitions running with the chance to win a digital release + a cash prize!
Go and remix the world now on www.globallocal.co.uk/remixspace
