Fourth Plinth Commission Unveiling Event Production

The Culture Team at the Greater London Authority (GLA) are seeking a costed creative and production management response to stage the unveiling of a new artwork on the Fourth Plinth on Trafalgar Square.

The Fourth Plinth is in the northwest corner of Trafalgar Square and lay empty for many years. However, it is now used to display a series of temporary works of art commissioned from leading national and international artists.

The Mayor of London, who took on responsibility for Trafalgar Square in 2003, and the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group, a panel of specialist advisors, guide and monitor the programme of contemporary art commissions.

The Fourth Plinth is one of the most-high profile and successful public art commissioning programmes in the UK. Through the commissioning process two new works are chosen on a bi-annual basis. This tender relates to the 15th commission which is 'Improntas (Imprints)' by Teresa Margolles. The unveiling is the first time the press and public will be able to view the new work in its full-size form; hence a distinctive and creative approach is required.

Specialist art contractors have been contracted by the artist to fabricate and install the work on Trafalgar Square in late Summer 2024. It is anticipated that the appointed supplier will work in conjunction with the contractor to ensure the work is kept from view, and to ensure that infrastructure (and hence costs) is shared to deliver the unveiling.

Due to the profile of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Programme, and the popularity of the artist and subject matter, it is anticipated that the unveiling will attract a significant media interest as well as a smaller public presence. We are therefore, seeking a high quality, creative and professional production and crowd management / health and safety response to this event brief.

The procurement process is managed by Transport for London on behalf of the GLA.

If you wish to express an interest in being invited to tender for this opportunity please do so via email to [email protected]. The closing date for expressing an interest is Friday 24th May. We expect to then issue tender documents to all interested suppliers via our SAP Ariba tender portal in the week commencing 27th May (which will contain a more detailed specification of requirements), with three weeks then given to submit a response. In order to receive the tender documents you will need to register on the portal before the tender is issued. We will reply to your Expression of Interest with details of how to do so.

Please note that included within the tender will be a request for demonstration of previous relevant experience. Only suppliers able to demonstrate relevant experience will have their tender response considered.