Martin Professional Lighting and Visuals at London's Southbank Centre Martin Professional has enjoyed a successful relationship with London's Southbank Centre over the years, a relationship that has included Southbank Centre investing in Martin theatrical lighting gear and more recently in Martin architectural lighting luminaires. Most recently, however, is the installation of a new Martin Professional EC-20 LED display, a new-generation LED panel that is being used as part of the Festival of Britain 60th anniversary series of events which take place throughout the summer, celebrating British culture and creativity. "As part of our continued support for this hugely important London arts venue we have installed a 50-sq.-m. EC-20 LED video screen on the outside wall of the Hayward Gallery opposite the Royal Festival Hall," comments Mike Walker, sales director at Martin Professional UK. "The screen is designed to the highest standards and we are proud that it is being used as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations." The renowned arts centre in the heart of London is hosting the four-month-long celebration through September 4. Inspired by the landmark 1951 Festival, the 2011 Festival of Britain features an outdoor environment, themed weekends, performances, and a host of other events. One of the festival's initial highlights was a celebration of the royal wedding weekend (April 29 - May 2) and included the opportunity for Festival attendees to watch the wedding live on the new large format screen. "Martin has enjoyed a long relationship with Southbank Centre, providing dynamic theatrical lighting to the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room, and more recently over 200 Tripix exterior LED fixtures around the roof perimeter of the Queen Elizabeth Hall that give a vibrant new look to the night time skyline on the South Bank;" said Walker. "Martin is delighted to be able to play a part in the organization's celebrations and looks forward to an exciting and successful festival and to a continued successful relationship." Jude Kelly, artistic director of Southbank Centre, said: "We are thrilled to have the big screen as a feature of the pop up installations across the site for our Festival of Britain 60th anniversary celebrations. It gives us great opportunities to show jewels of archive film as well as footage from the summer festivities including the Tracey Emin exhibition, Ray Davies's Meltdown, and the differently themed weekends." Eddy Smith, the technical director of Southbank Centre, said: "Both Martin Professional and Southbank Centre thought that a natural complement to the Tripix LED lighting install on the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Hayward Gallery would be the EC-20 LED screen. The screen is showing a combination of archive footage and live presentations, including the recent live relay from Westminster Abbey of the Royal Wedding, which was enjoyed by many visitors to the site." The Festival of Britain, which officially opened on May 3, 1951, was created to give Britons a feeling of recovery and progress following WWII, as well as celebrating the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition. At the heart of the nationwide Festival was the South Bank Exhibition, situated on what is now Southbank Centre. The first exhibition was attended by more than eight million visitors and laid the foundations for the arts centre as it is today. Southbank Centre is the UK's largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London's most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is home to the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery as well as The Saison Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. 
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