UEFA Champions Pitch at Somerset House

The UEFA Champions Festival was a four-day event hosted at Somerset House alongside four other central London locations from 30 May to 2 June 2024. The festival was created to celebrate the UEFA Champions League Final coming to London, with various activities designed to engage football fans and the local community.

Key objectives of the activation included showcasing football excellence, engaging the community, supporting charities and promoting London as a premier event destination for large-scale events.

At the centre of the UEFA Champions Festival was the UEFA Champions Pitch – a custom-built football pitch within Somerset House’s iconic Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, which hosted a number of activities throughout the festival. 

Somerset House was hand-picked to host the Champions Pitch due to its:

• Iconic Grade I listed building, setting and backdrop in Central London which has a rich history \ and cultural significance
• Established and recognised venue for large-scale events that blend heritage with contemporary culture
• Dynamic cultural programmes demonstrate Somerset House’s capacity to host diverse events and attract a wide range of visitors.

The UEFA Champions Pitch delivered over 40 hours of activity with a range of content, including grassroots tournaments, free play, partner activations, and local charity initiatives.

What did we create?

This event was fresh off the back of Photo London, so we had to move fast. Our last truck rolled out at 3 am on the morning of Saturday, 25th May, and by midday, deliveries for UEFA were already arriving. 

An activation on The Strand over the weekend limited access times and made logistics even tighter, but in just 4 days, we built and handed over the football pitch and grandstand, working alongside the many other suppliers there to bring it all together in time.

Client Testimonial

Luci Sorrell, Head of Commercial Sales at Somerset House, left the following testimonial: “It was an incredible opportunity and achievement to host the UEFA Champions Tournament and play such a significant role in the festival as the home of the UEFA Champions Pitch."

"To host something of this scale and complexity was huge for us, and it’s testament to our expert team and supplier partners that we could seamlessly host and manage this large-scale activation.”

Rebecca Moore, Head of Operations at Somerset House also left the following testimonial: “Somerset House has worked with Losberger De Boer (LDB) for a number of years and it can definitely be challenging to work at a venue like ours. We’re a grade 1 listed building in central London we’ve got very narrow entrances and small places to work in, but LDB are really good at finding innovative new ways to build within our building to try and find a solution and make that happen.”

“A great example is the UEFA event; we needed to build a football pitch in our courtyard in a very small window of time; we also have several road closures taking place for other events across London, so even trying to get the structure here is challenging.” 

“LDB worked with Westminster Council to manage logistics, transport materials to the site and find ways to build structures without cranes or large equipment that couldn't access the site. This meant that the event ran smoothly and aligned with the client’s vision, with LDB handling the complexities so the client didn’t have to try and figure that out themselves.” 

“LDB is our trusted structure supplier; we work with them all the time, and they’re a pleasure to work with. We trust them inherently. They work safely and carefully with our site, and they understand and work with our clients, ensuring they have the best experience and the best event possible in the end.”

“And as a venue that makes life easy. It means we know that when we recommend LDB we don’t need to worry."