Since its formation in 1996, Gallowglass has led the UK’s event crewing sector, offering event crew jobs in Birmingham, London and other thriving locations across the country. But we’re not limited to the UK: Gallowglass crews are deployed throughout Europe, often operating from our Barcelona office, which is ideally-placed to service one of the world’s most important hubs for cultural and business events.
The Barcelona Team
Having opened our Spanish office in 2007, the Gallowglass Barcelona team has continued to expand, headed by Regional Manager, Mauricio Lopez. During their time in Barcelona, our crewmen have worked for a number of prestigious clients on some truly fantastic projects. Such opportunities have only been available to them as members of the Gallowglass team. These include:
• F1 Grand Prix
• Sonar Festival
• MIRA Festival
• Tomorrowland
• Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
• European Poker Tour
• Barcelona Open
• Gamescom
• Mobile World Congress
While the Barcelona team has played an integral role in bringing each of these spectacular events to life, the Mobile World Congress is by far the most challenging project. It calls for the greatest commitment from our crewmen, who, over the years, have consistently demonstrated the difference that top quality service can make.
Gallowglass at the Mobile World Congress
Every February, the Mobile World Congress (MWC), welcomes around 107,000 visitors from across the globe to sample the latest innovations in mobile technology at two of Barcelona’s landmark venues: the Fira Gran Via and Fira Montjuïc. The mobile industry’s most prominent global showcase, this event requires a vast amount of preparation to ensure the creation of attractive, enticing and functional spaces that will enable the world’s biggest mobile brands to compete successfully. Cue the Gallowglass team.
Since 2010, Gallowglass has provided a team of multi-skilled crewmen to carry out a number of critical tasks essential to the build of this high-profile event. From mounting giant screens, constructing staging to building the infrastructure for a whole host of immersive environments, our crewmen have totalled over 8,000 man-days at MWC.
This year, while the MWC official show dates ran from 26th February to 1st March, the Barcelona team first set foot on the site on 28th January and resumed their work immediately after the event had ended to work on the gargantuan de-rig for the following five days. During this time, there were several stand-out projects for the Gallowglass team, the first of which involved converting the outdoor area between Halls 2 and 3 into a visitors’ ‘playground’. Having just 48 hours to erect an extensive variety of self-standing features, our crewmen helped provide a 24-hr non-stop build. Time was of the essence here, as the space was also being used as a loading area for the halls, meaning a 36-strong crew was split into day and night teams to ensure the work was completed to meet this tight deadline.
Another highlight, and the largest job for the Gallowglass team at MWC 2018, took place at the Fira Montjuïc, where our crew supported the construction of a 30 m x 30 m stage with four accompanying 30 x 10 m LED screens. This collaborative workforce also built one of the event’s biggest product experience areas. Together with the vast stage, this formed the environment for a globally-significant product launch. All in all, this project alone required a total of 721 man-days. In spite of the gargantuan effort involved, the Gallowglass Barcelona team hailed this as one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences of the year.
As the Mobile World Congress continues to expand year-on-year, this innovative event inevitably throws-up new challenges - not only for the organisers and exhibitors, but for Gallowglass too. Our crewmen welcome each new opportunity to test their skills and teamwork, considering it a privilege to be part of this spectacular event.
If you’d like to know more about our work at MWC or joining the Gallowglass Barcelona team, get in touch today to discover what opportunities we could offer you!
