An Orkney renewable energy contractor took centre stage last week at the UK’s first major music event since the start of the pandemic.
Multi-award winners Coldplay performed and recorded their new single, Higher Power, on Leask Marine’s Numitor barge on the River Thames.
In order to accommodate the pop band, who have previously headlined Glastonbury and T in the Park, the vessel was kitted out with high-tech lighting systems, as well as playing and sound equipment.
The performance, which also involved the use of fireworks, will air during the opening of the Brit Awards 2021 on May 11.
Coldplay to open the BRIT Awards on May 11th after filming spectacular performance on the River Thames, @DailyMailUK reveals
👽 https://t.co/4jiXR0R9P3 pic.twitter.com/He7hkfj3AM
— ColdplayXtra (@coldplayxtra) April 30, 2021
The event will be attended by about 4,000 guests, more than half of whom will be key workers, as part of tests aimed at facilitating the return of indoor concerts.
Coldplay formed in 1996 when members Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion met at University College London.
Since then, the band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, scored two UK number one singles and bagged nine Brits, as well as holding the honour of being the award ceremony’s most nominated group. Their new single, Higher Power, will be released tomorrow.
It’s not the first time Leask Marine’s Kirkwall-registered Numitor pontoon barge, which has a capacity of 500 tonnes and is available for charter for renewables, marine construction, or harbour maintenance, has been called upon to host a special event.
In April 2019 it was visited by the Princess Royal as part of a naming ceremony for the launch of Britain’s newest distant waters fishing vessel, again on the Thames.
Established in 1985 to provide marine construction and diving services, Leask Marine, which is headquartered in Kirkwall, has increasingly branched out into renewables in recent years.
The supply chain company has worked on several major north-east offshore wind projects, including Equinor’s Hywind Scotland floating development, Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm and Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm.
Leask Marine recently completed a six-month campaign of works at the Moray East Offshore Wind Farm, which is currently under construction in the outer Moray Firth.
Douglas Leask, the firm’s managing director, said: “We were delighted to be part of this unique event supporting the BRIT Awards 2021, which will be shown live around the globe. It shows the diversity in providing high quality mobile marine platforms for any industry needs.
“Months of planning went into the performance with the event organisers ensuring bespoke changes to the vessels configuration and deck for the event.”
