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WITH just under 100 days to go until we open, the countdown is well and truly on. I'm now marking off the days and hours rather than weeks, and it's both exciting and terrifying! The building is nearing completion and will be handed over to us by the contractors in early October so that we and the resident companies can move in, test the systems and all the technical aspects of the performance venues etc before we finally open the doors and let the world in. I'm really looking forward to seeing people's reactions to the building - it's going to knock people's socks off, and that opening weekend is undoubtedly going to be one of the most memorable events ever to have happened in Wales. Of course, the whole of the opening weekend is still in the process of being organised, with phone calls to agents and directors, contracts being issued to lighting designers and choreographers, organising transport and accommodation for visiting performers and so on. On top of that there's the whole aspect of security, the transport infrastructure, health and safety issues to sort out and clarify. But we're really lucky to have the experience and support of Cardiff County Council's events team with all that. The team here is increasingly inundated with requests for information about the centre from press, performers and public alike. Now that the word is out that this place is opening soon, the level of awareness and interest across the globe has increased dramatically. We're finding that people are contacting us seeking some kind of connection with the centre. That's really exciting and very reassuring - we can talk all we want about WMC being 'internationally significant', but it's not until you receive inquiries from journalists, businesses and performing companies from as far afield as Brazil, Russia, North America and Japan that you actually know that the world is sitting up and getting very, very interested in this new cultural beacon on Cardiff Bay waterfront. The marketing activity is now being stepped up too, with posters, brochures, adverts and so on all to be approved and checked. Over the next few weeks lots more information about how to get hold of tickets for both the opening year and opening weekend will be issued and we'll be making more announcements about the full programme of shows for the opening year. That reminds me, there are a few contracts yet to be signed that I need to chase up! Rather than being a building that houses seven diverse resident companies, the aim has always been to create a 'cultural village' - a community of artistic companies that together enliven the centre and who welcome visiting companies from each corner of the globe and offer that sense of Welsh hospitality and welcome. That now feels more tangible as we're developing strategic partnership agreements with our resident organisations, and the reality of moving into this magnificent building is becoming ever more apparent - and ever more incredibly exciting. Each one of us as organisations will be faced with huge change: change in our work environment, change in the systems we use and to a certain degree change in our working culture. This is both an opportunity for positive change, for embracing new ways of doing things and meeting new challenges as well as being a rather daunting prospect. I think moving your workplace to a brand new building, getting into a close relationship with a number of other organisations and putting on a high-profile opening weekend where the eyes of the world will be trained on us, seems parallel the experience of moving house. It is like gaining a family and getting married all in one swoop. It's just on a much larger scale but the cocktail of adrenalin, stress and excitement will be just as potent! The process for the residents moving in is staggered between October and December - the last in being Welsh National Opera who will complete their autumn season before starting to shift the filing cabinets, wigs, costumes and sets over to their new home. We will then begin 2005 as a family of some 600 people working, performing and creating there. In addition to this cultural community, WMC will also offer our visitors a range of retail and dining facilities from Brazz - which is a 'jazz brasserie' - and cafés, to hospitality and conference facilities as well as a selection of shops selling show merchandise and gifts. We are continuing to work with the providers of these services to set up their units, sign contracts, and assimilate them into the culture of the centre. One of the greatest issues that we face is that of transporting people two and from WMC, and it is one that we have little control over. We have been discussing these matters with the responsible agencies all the way along, and I'm delighted to say that we're beginning to see real progress in our discussions with the National Assembly While there is still some way to go to implement long-term change, I'm now feeling confident that solutions will be found. With fewer than 100 days to go now, I feel sure that all will be ready in time - building, weekend shows, staff teams, retailers, restaurateurs, tickets, performers, technical systems, computer systems, light bulbs. But I think we'll be vacuuming the carpets and adding the final touches right up to the last seconds before opening the doors! That's why these next 98 days will be a roller-coaster ride of emotions, planning and implementation - highs and lows that will pass us by all too quickly. But it's a time that not one of us involved in this project will ever forget as we prepare to open this world-class centre for the performing arts, an opening that people will still be talking about 100 years from now. |
| Western Mail web site: icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0900entertainment/0050artsnews/tm_objectid=14553446%26method=full%26siteid=50082%26headline=inside%2dthe%2dwales%2dmillennium% |
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Friday, August 20, 2004 |
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