Trampolining at a professional level is no easy feat. Trampolining whilst moving sounds challenging. Trampolining on a moving lorry with Queen Elizabeth II’s eyes on you is near impossible.
But Bristol-based Cirque Bijou did that and a whole lot more at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant yesterday (June 5). More than 10,000 people took part in the grand finale of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations on the Mall in London.
The event was split into four acts: For Queen and Country, The Time of Our Lives, Let’s Celebrate, and Happy and Glorious. For Queen and Country featured a military parade with 1,750 people and 200 horses – one of the largest military spectacles in modern history, according to organisers.
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The Time of Our Lives celebrated seven decades of culture, music and fashion. The third act, Let’s Celebrate, told the story of the Queen’s life in 12 chapters, with the nod to her corgis and her beloved horses.
Bristol-based Cirque Bijou staged the Unity chapter with disabled and abled performers as well as the Paralympic rugby and basketball teams. Elite BMX stunt cyclists jumped onto moving Land Rovers, while a helium balloon of the Queen with an aerial artist was the centrepiece. Six trampolinists and 90 hip hop dancers also were part of the cast.
And they didn’t even practice their finale moment in situ - the first time was during the Pageant, outside Buckingham Palace.
One of the performers, Geraldine Giddings, spoke to BBC Radio Bristol about the rather surreal experience of performing for the Queen. "We had never run our finale until we got there, so as we went around the Palace at our finale moment, going round a corner, that was for the first time on real tarmac.”
A rather complex affair, Geraldine shed some light on how they managed to pull off such a spectacle. “There were a lot of rehearsals. Certain parts of the route had archways and street furniture, so we spent a week on an airfield practicing,” she added.
When it came to the day itself, Bristol-based Cirque Bijou found themselves stationed on Embankment in London for an hour beforehand. Their stage, a big float on an articulated lorry flatbed, had to enter the city of London in parts.
“We had a masterpoint on Embankment for an hour beforehand. The float had been there for a day or so as we couldn’t drive it to London as it was. There were bits and pieces we had to take off and back on again on the day before the pageant.”
Asked whether she’s been able to process the once-in-a-lifetime experience, Geraldine said: “We’d been planning this for a year - to do it felt utterly unreal. It’s going to take a little while to process.”
Find out more about Bristol-based Cirque Bijou here.
