Beating the Retreat

The ever popular ‘Beating the Retreat’ event in June again attracted a large audience to Horse Guards Parade. It was the first time for many years it was staged as an evening “Son et Lumiere” event, and B+H were on hand to provide full sound and light.

The historic event is based on the musical signal calling the men back to the safety of camp at the end of a day’s fighting.

To overcome the distances involved, B+H used a digital PA system with distributed speakers to give even coverage over the vast tiered seating spanning some 400 metres.

Director of Music Lt Colonet Graham Jones MBE said, ‘We were delighted with all the technical facilities which B+H provided. The parade ground is 215,000 sq ft (the size of five football pitches) and over 500 musicians, mounted guards and marching personnel had to be seen and heard by the audience of thousands

‘It was quite a task, and made even more important because of the royal representatives who were guests of honour, but everybody could see and hear and the event went off smoothly.’