Land Securities and Wildstone to expand London's iconic Piccadilly Lights

Land Securities, owners of the iconic and globally recognised Piccadilly Lights at London’s Piccadilly Circus are working with Wildstone to oversee the first ever expansion of the site with the addition of a new LED screen space. With a coveted spot rarely available at one of the world’s most photographed locations, the addition of a new screen opens up an exciting opportunity for a landmark brand.

The screen is being constructed as part of redevelopment work to the site and will sit above the retail units occupied by Barclays and Boots. The 25m by 5m 10mm SMD LED screen brings unrivalled screen quality and resolution to deliver eye-grabbing imagery, contrast and colours to amplify a brand to new heights in the heart of London. The site will be available exclusively to a single advertiser and offers a prominent position that takes advantage of the recent transformation of the area around Glasshouse Street.

Piccadilly Lights is one of London and the world’s best known landmarks and has been a feature of the city for over 100 years. Recent research carried out by Land Securities estimates that over 2 million people pass through Piccadilly Circus every week with 70% of those visiting as pedestrians. The unmatched combination of high footfall and full motion screen capability makes the site a unique opportunity for brands looking to project a significant stature with a prominent global reach.

Rob Jewell, Asset Management Director, London West End at Land Securities said: “Land Securities is thrilled to be launching this new opportunity at one of the world’s most recognised locations. Piccadilly Lights is a coveted advertising location which rarely becomes available so we’re very excited to welcome a new brand to the site.”

Land Securities has appointed Wildstone to undertake planning, marketing and sales of the new screen. To deliver the new screen Wildstone amended an existing planning consent to secure a single screen measuring approximately 5m x 25m.

Damian Cox, Founding Partner and CEO, Wildstone added: “We’re extremely proud to have been appointed by Land Securities to work on this unique brief. This is a world famous location and will soon be home to a new global advertiser”

For more information please contact Cennydd Roberts at Wildstone on 020 7243 9826.

http://www.wildstone.co.uk/land-securities-and-wildstone-to-expand-piccadilly-lights/

Other cases of screens in squares

BBC Big Screen Plymouth showing live relay of Royal Opera House performance.

Thousands gather in Leeds to watch England play Algeria in 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Watching live coverage of the Royal Wedding on BBC Big Screen Manchester.

Southsea Life: Congratulations William and Kate! From Portsmouth's big screen

BT London Live Big Screen, Victoria Park

Pogalle, Paris - embracing the sleaze

Footage of Piccadilly

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01jzq75/London_on_Film_The_West_End/

London on Film - The West End

CLICK LINK FOR VIDEO

Using a mix of archive material, this film paints a colourful and surprising portrait of London's beating heart, the West End, from showbusiness and shops to riots and sleaze. (R)

BBC IPLAYER [may expire]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01jzq75/London_on_Film_The_West_End/

Piccadily Dimensions

http://www.piccadillylights.co.uk/about

Tourism in Piccadilly...

As a major intersection at the heart of London’s West End, connecting Regent’s Street, Piccadilly, Haymarket Coventry Street, Shaftesbury Avenue and Glasshouse Street, Piccadilly Circus is a popular meeting point for tourists who dwell for long periods in front of the screens.

The top five visiting countries to Piccadilly Circus are from the USA, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Regent street receives over 7.5 Million tourists a year.

The West End houses priceless treasures in 30 museums and galleries

The West End houses 40% of London’s hotels with over 65,000 beds

50% of visitors to Piccadilly Circus are from outside the UK.

http://www.piccadillylights.co.uk/advertising/tourism

Entertainment near Piccadilly...

When the shops close, London’s Piccadilly Circus becomes a hub of entertainment with thousands of surrounding bars and restaurants, attracting an evening and weekend audience. It’s also located at the heart of theatreland and at the centre of the European film industry.

Friday and Saturday afternoons / evenings are the busiest times.

200,000 people travel through Piccadilly Circus on Saturday evenings.

The West End district boasts 28 Michelin starred restaurants.

Over 40 internationally renowned theatres are situated in the West End and is the largest and oldest theatre district in the world.

Neighbouring Leicester Square hosts over 50 premieres every year.

55% of visitors to Piccadilly Circus are there for leisure and entertainment purposes.

http://www.piccadillylights.co.uk/advertising/entertainment

Retail near Piccadilly

London's West End houses over 2,000 stores - 217 of which are flagships, with more retail space than Rome or Paris.

Oxford Street is the longest shopping street in Europe at 1.5 miles.

Regent street was the first shopping street in the world and rivals the Champs-Elysees and Fifth Avenue as the world's leading retail destination.

With 2km of store frontage, Regent street is home to one of the finest collections of international brands in the world.

A 20 year, 1 billion pound investment programme has transformed Regent street into an award-winning international destination.

http://www.piccadillylights.co.uk/advertising/retail

Piccadilly Circus timeline

1896

Piccadilly Circus before the turn of the 20th Century.

1931

In 1783 a young Swiss watchmaker, Jean Jacob Schweppe, patented his special process for making carbonated water, effectively making himself the father of the modern soft drinks industry. Schweppes' tonic water is still recognised by mixologists as key to making the best gin and tonic. 

1939-49

The lights were switched off for 10 years during World War Two.

1956

William Wrigley Junior was one of the pioneers in the use of advertising to sell branded merchandise, using the principle "Even in a little thing like a stick of gum, quality is important." Wrigley brands can now be found in more than 180 countries worldwide.

1965

Diana Vreeland, Editor of Vogue Magazine, declares that "London is the most swinging city in the world".

1966

Even in 1931 it was 'Guiness Time', and that was still the case in 1966, hence the enduring clock. By 1966 it was 'Guiness Time' for over six million glasses a day. The profusion of Irish pubs around the globe today is unlikely to have taken place without this deep black liquid and its now famous white head. 

1972

The VW Beetle becomes the biggest selling car in history, overtaking the T model Ford.

1988

Kodak, founded in 1880, has done more than make the camera 'as convenient as the pencil'. Their transparent roll film allowed the invention of the first motion picture camera in 1891 (and Kodak film is still used on most movie sets worldwide). Kodak's pivotal role in medical imaging began a little later, a year after the discovery of x-rays in 1895. 

2000

The UK seemingly strolls through the Millennium Bug disaster.

2003

Another famous black liquid, whose company sells over a billion drinks a day, scarcley needs introduction. Coca-Cola has had a presence at Piccadilly Lights for over fifty years. Their new, enormous billboard, installed in 2003, allows for cinema-quality moving images that react to colour and movement in the crowd below, and even adapt their images to the weather. (2005 campaign shown) 

2005

Samsung's recent global successes have been built on a string of world firsts in next-generation technologies...as a source of impossible and wonderful things we will soon come to take for granted, they are the market leaders. Along with Coca-Cola and McDonald's, Samsung's sign has also been updated to LED, tilting the balance of the site firmly towards the future. 

2007

For over 100 years Piccadilly Lights has been imbedded in London's history, a beacon of success...

2008

A bigger, brighter McDonalds screen is installed

2011

Hyundai Motors signed launched with new LED screen, replacing Sanyo’s sign, the last to be run by traditional neon lights.  The Samsung screen is upgraded and improved in autumn 2011.

2013

The Piccadilly Light Screen is removed to make way for the new ‘One Piccadilly’ screen.

http://www.piccadillylights.co.uk/about/history

size stats

The Piccadilly Lights are one of London's and the world's best known landmarks and have been a feature of the city for over 100 years.

Dominating Piccadilly Circus, at the heart of London's West End, Piccadilly Lights reach an audience of over 2 million people each week, making it the world's most sought after advertising site.

Today, five leading global brands are present on Piccadilly Lights. With the launch of 'One Piccadilly' at the end of 2013, the new screen opens up and exciting opportunity for a sixth advertiser to secure space on this iconic advertising location.

Name:	Sign size:	Total area:
SAMSUNG	12.23 m x 12.44 m	152.14 sq m
MCDONALD'S	12.44 m x 5.49 m	68.30 sq m
TDK	21.16 m x 4.8 m	101.57 sq m
COCA - COLA	32.32 m x 6.34 m	204.91 sq m
HYUNDAI	21.16 m x 5.76 m	121.88 sq m
ONE PICCADILLY	24.6 m x 4.8 m	118.08 sq m

http://www.piccadillylights.co.uk/about

Piccadilly Facts

• Coca-Cola have been present on the site since 1955. They have the longest continuous presence at Piccadilly Circus.
• The statue which stands in front of the lights and is commonly referred to as ‘Eros’ is, in fact, a representation is the angel of Christian Charity.
• Over 50 brands have appeared on the signs over the last 100 years
• The lights were turned off to mourn the deaths of Churchill and Lady Diana and more recently to mark Earth Hour for the WWF.
• The lights have been visible since Edwardian times. The Perrier sign, for instance, was first illuminated in 1908.
• 71,760,000Pedestrians walk past the lights every year
  3,560,544People in taxis pass the site each year
  23,218,936People see the lights from coaches or buses per year
  3,130,608People drive past the lights in cars per year
  767Square meters of advertising space
  774,144Number of pixels in the new Coca-Cola sign
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http://www.piccadillylights.co.uk/did-you-know

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Advertising in Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Lights sit in the epicentre of London at Piccadilly Circus. Occupying a unique place in London’s history, culture and heritage, they are considered one of the most iconic landmarks in the World.

As one of the busiest attractions in London, the Piccadilly Lights attract a 24/7 audience of over 2 million visitors each week.

At the heart of London's West End, Piccadilly Circus receives over 100 million visitors a year.

1 Million weekly visitors to Piccadilly Circus are from the UK.

Piccadilly Circus receives 2 million weekly visitors by foot or by vehicle

The West End receives over 2 Million shoppers and tourists every year, spending £7.6BN.

Half of the adults visiting Piccadilly Circus are under 35, three quarters are under the age of 45.

http://www.piccadillylights.co.uk/advertising

Introducing 'One Piccadilly'

"Launching Winter 2013, the ‘One Piccadilly’ Screen marks the first ever expansion of the iconic Piccadilly Lights. The new 24.6m by 4.8m SMD LED screen will bring unrivalled screen quality and resolution and is the first screen to offer full motion capability.  With a coveted spot rarely available on this world leading advertising site, the addition of a new screen opens up an exciting opportunity for a landmark brand."

http://www.piccadillylights.co.uk/one-piccadilly#

The Perception of LIGHT AND COLOUR C.A.Padgham and J.E.Saunders

"It is interesting to digress just for a moment to consider other senses, for example hearing, in which the sensation of loudness is similarly coded and sent to the brain as action potentials in no way different from those of the eye" Pg 48

"A red filter absorbs all the colours of the spectrum except red, which it strongly transmits. This is called selective absorption.We can now see the whole chain of events in the perception of colour (Fig. 4.6). The emission of light and its selective reflection and its progress to the eye are purely physical phenomena, and up to this point there is no colour. As Newton said 'the Rays are not coloured'. But when this modified light enters the ye it is received by the retinal cones which absorb some and in doing so give rise to nerve signals which are interpreted by the brain as a colour perception." Pg 65

"When we come to the higher primate and man, it is of course their possession of larger and more complex brains which enable them to take advantage of the increased information available from their colour-conscious eyes. The fact that in the human colour assumes a great aesthetic importance is of course a bonus, but probably purely an accidental one. Colour to most people plays a very essential and often pleasurable part in their lives." Pg 67

New Media Shines A Bright Light As Times Square Gets Revamp

December 04, 2000|By San Jose Mercury News.

NEW YORK — Once seedy Times Square has cleaned up its act with the help of Disney, which renovated historical Broadway theaters here and launched shows such as "The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aida."

Now there's a new mouse in town, and this one clicks.

Last week, a 760-seat Internet cafetouted to be the world's largest--joined scores of technology companies and new media businesses contributing to the revitalization of a neighborhood that boasts 1.5 million visitors a day.

The easyEverything Internet cafe on 42nd Street, next door to the new Madame Tussaud's wax museum, is the first U.S. venture of London-based easyGroup, which owns 15 similar cafes in major European cities. Times Square companies such as Conde Nast, Firecom, Disney, Viacom, Reuters and others make up a dense concentration of communications and broadcasting might, industries whose definitions are evolving as they increasingly embrace technology.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-12-04/business/0012040005_1_times-square-conde-nast-internet

Regenerating or destroying times square?

November 16, 1986|By Philip Lentz, Chicago Tribune

Every few years, politicians take another stab at rooting out the pimps, the peep shows, the hustlers and the drug dealers from what New Yorkers immodestly call ``the crossroads of the world.``

But this time there is a new twist: Community activists are trying to block the latest plan.

It`s not so much that they want to preserve the seedy character of what is perhaps the most recognizable, if downtrodden, landmark in New York City. It`s that they are concerned that the alternative would be much worse.

They contend the latest plan, a $2 billion retail-hotel-office project that would revamp the most blighted and dangerous strip of 42d Street, would turn Times Square into a sterile canyon of high-rise office buildings, devoid of the pizazz and excitement that has made it a draw for tourists.

``Times Square has always been glitz, lights and a little bit of sleaze, a place to walk and see the sights,`` said Joyce Matz, a community activist.

``If you allow this development to continue, you will kill that spirit.``

Like Piccadilly Circus in London, the Left Bank in Paris or the Spanish Steps in Rome, Times Square is in many ways the heart of New York City. It traditionally is where people gather to celebrate big events: New Year`s, the end of a war or a World Series victory.

Perhaps that is because for many, Times Square symbolizes New York

--aggressive and vibrant--with its garish neon signs, huge theater marquees, electronic news bulletins, panhandlers, three-card monte con artists, sex shops, sidewalk preachers and pinball arcades.

``It`s one of the great squares of the world,`` said Kent Barwick, president of the Municipal Art Society, a leading defender of Times Square.

``It might be tacky, there might be areas adjacent to it that aren`t safe, but it`s a place that has some meaning to people. How many songs are there about 6th Avenue?``

But Times Square also includes some of the more dangerous blocks in the city. More than one-fifth of all arrests in Manhattan occur in the police precinct that covers it.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-11-16/news/8603260122_1_times-square-electronic-news-bulletins-pinball-arcades

Committee to Reclaim Times Square

August 20, 1989|By Russell W. Baker, The Christian Science Monitor.

NEW YORK — Ah, Times Square. Now that was a place-for great theater, cabaret, hotels or just a stroll with a sweetheart below the neon lights. It was also the site of some the nation`s largest and most emotional gatherings, from ringing in the New Year to proclaiming victory over the Nazis.

Those were the memories of what is known as the crossroads of the world, and the reason Times Square has been at the top of most tourist itineraries for 80 years, the undisputed pulsating heart of New York.

...But Times Square has become an urban wasteland, a dangerous place with open drug dealing, drinking and crime. The elegant restaurants have been replaced by fast-food outlets and the grand theaters shuttered or showing kung-fu or X-rated movies. Most New Yorkers stay away.

...Brendan Gill, an architectural critic and preservationist who heads the Committee to Reclaim Times Square, said the plan is ``a farce.``

``The war to save the theater district has been lost,`` he said, noting that 42d Street once housed more than 35 theaters. Fewer than 10 remain, most of them cinemas, some pornographic. Gill charges that the corporations that own many of today`s Broadway theaters, most scattered north of 42d Street, are not concerned with preserving an art form.

``The idea you can solve profound sociological problems by building skyscrapers is transparently false,`` Gill said. ``You don`t wrestle with them by putting up buildings for hot-shot corporate law firms to move into. . . . It (the plan) is a conspiracy to take away the one sort of village green-open place-we have.``

Gill charges that a subtext of the plan is that the area will be flooded with white and white-collar workers who will go home at 5 p.m.

Although sponsors plan to put neon signs on the buildings to re-create something of the old Times Square feel, Gill said it just won`t be the same. There was daylight and skylight coming through the original signs, he said.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-08-20/business/8901060102_1_times-square-subway-station-renovation

Times Square`s Seedy Side To Be Cleaned Up

December 31, 1989|By George E. Curry, Chicago Tribune.

Less than a half-block from the annual New Year`s Eve festivities, along West 42d Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, lies perhaps the most dangerous block in New York City.

Pornography shops, con artists, seedy theaters and ladies of the evening have combined to transform this area adjacent to the Broadway theater district into a crime den. Last year 2,246 crimes were committed in that one block alone; 20 percent were murders, rapes, robberies or other assaults.

But the new year is supposed to bring about the beginning of a new Times Square. After fighting more than 40 lawsuits over the last five years, developers won yet another major legal victory this month.

That cleared the way for the $2.5 billion redevelopment of the square. When completed in 1995, West 42d Street might become as beautiful as the ceremonies that usher in each new year.

``By restoration of the theaters, the development of office space, of hotel space and retail space and the merchandise mart, we`ll bring different kinds of people there,`` said Brian Kell, a spokesman for the 42d Street Development Project.

...These days, tourists visiting Times Square might find it difficult to imagine what the area looked like when Fred and Adele Astaire, Noel Coward, John Barrymore, the Marx Brothers and George and Ira Gershwin all ``played Broadway.``

Now, visitors are treated to establishments advertising ``girls in private fantasy booths.`` In between the clothing stores and electronic outlets along the strip are promotions for X-X-X rated movies, peep shows and ``live nude reviews.``

Almost any drug can be purchased on the street. Addicts and homeless people often stand on the pavement and stare into space.

...``Times Square is a jumble of everything you`d imagine in a big city: a lot of lights, a lot of advertisements, public places, different kinds of characters and the warning to hold on to your wallet,`` said Judy Simmons, feature editor of Ms. magazine, which has its office on Times Square.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-12-31/news/8903220241_1_times-square-four-new-office-buildings-broadway-theater-district

Terrorist fears in Times Square

December 28, 1999|By From news reports

When the clock strikes midnight Friday in Times Square, more than a million people plan to be there partying. But one guy said he's staying far, far away.

Former New York FBI boss Jim Kallstrom fears a terrorist strike. "I personally wouldn't go to any event in Times Square," he said last week. "If there is a strike, it will be in a large gathering."

But staying away will be his loss, event organizers said. They said they've spent the past three years working with police, fire and security officials to make sure Times Square is safe. Police Commissioner Hoard Safir even said: "I will be in Times Square at 12 midnight on New Year's Eve, and my family will be with me standing right under the ball."

The Times Square party is expected to be one of the world's biggest. Besides the 1.5 million people expected to show up, 1 billion will watch on TV. And more than 1,000 performers - including musicians, puppeteers, dancers and actors - will pop up throughout the daylong celebration.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-12-28/features/9912280058_1_times-square-strike-partying