GALWAD: A Live Broadcast First for Wales
GALWAD, a ground breaking, week long transmedia event blending theatre, TV and live broadcast from across Wales. We delivered the technical backbone that brought it to screens worldwide on Sky Arts and social platforms, while helping the production hit ambitious environmental goals.
The Challenge
Delivering a multi location live story across Wales
GALWAD was no ordinary production. It unfolded in real time over seven days with daily live scenes from Swansea, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Ffestiniog, plus a 90 minute live finale broadcast on Sky Arts. The creative ambition was huge, the geography was unforgiving and the schedule was relentless. Every location demanded broadcast quality connectivity, audio description, BSL, closed captions and seamless editorial continuity. All of this needed to align with the project’s commitment to radical inclusion, tri lingual content and a robust sustainability strategy inspired by the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.
The Solution
Remote production, resilient connectivity and sustainable workflows
To keep the production agile across Wales, we deployed a fully remote Master Control Room built on IP bonded workflows using LiveU, AviWest and Haivision SRT solutions. This allowed us to move fast between locations, maintain full creative oversight and deliver live outputs simultaneously to YouTube, Facebook and Sky Arts.
Our Create, Capture, Transmit and Distribute workflow ensured:
• Multi camera coverage across beaches, quarries and town centres.
• Redundant playout using CasperCG and hardware failover.
• Real time BSL, bilingual audio description and captions for all live streams.
• Seamless integration with Sky’s MCR through secure audio codecs and encrypted SRT feeds.
• Technical support for choreographed single shot cinematography and large scale live audience movement.
Just as importantly, we adapted our entire workflow to help GALWAD achieve ALBERT accreditation and a carbon neutral approach, working remotely whenever possible and minimising travel without compromising quality.
The Solution in Numbers
A production delivered at scale
Awards, Recognition and Impact
GALWAD pushed the boundaries of what live, multi platform storytelling can be. Told in real time over seven days across social channels, live performance, pre recorded drama and a full Sky Arts broadcast on 2 October 2022, it invited audiences to imagine a future Wales shaped by climate change and community action.
Rooted deeply in the people and places of contemporary Wales, the story world of 2052 was co created by hundreds of contributors. The production wove Welsh, English and BSL through every layer, delivered single shot live cinematography from locations across the country and scattered over a hundred pieces of narrative content across digital platforms. It set a new benchmark for hybrid theatre, film and TV production, with audiences able to move fluidly between social media, on demand content and a live national broadcast.
GALWAD’s ambition and execution earned significant national attention and sector wide praise for its scale, inclusivity and technical innovation. Engagement levels exceeded expectations, with millions reached across 149 countries and high audience retention throughout the live week.
The project is now widely referenced as an exemplar of sustainable production practice. Its integrated carbon reduction strategy, use of HVO fuel and long term insetting initiatives represent a real shift in how large scale broadcast events can reduce their environmental impact and support local communities. GALWAD’s model has continued to inform discussions across the creative sector, including proposals for a long term Welsh Sustainable Arts Network.
The international recognition speaks for itself. GALWAD is a 2023 Rose d’Or nominee in Multi Platform Storytelling and a 2023 SXSW Innovation Awards nominee for Immersive Storytelling. A first for Wales, and a genuine milestone for collaborative, tri lingual and sustainable live broadcast production.
