The Importance of Rigging Safety with Video Walls

Video walls have become the visual heartbeat of modern theatre, festivals, and corporate shows. But the bigger and brighter the screen, the bigger the responsibility behind it. Safe rigging is not “nice to have”—it’s the difference between a flawless production and an avoidable incident.

Why rigging a video wall is different

LED panels are dense, modular, and often flown as a single assembly. That introduces specific risks:

• High mass and concentrated point loads on truss or venue steel.

• Dynamic effects (movement during load-in, winching, or scenic automation).

• Wind loading for outdoor walls—LED screens behave like sails; wind can create forces far exceeding the wall’s static weight. Industry guidance for temporary outdoor event structures requires wind effects to be included for all effective surfaces, including LED walls and attached equipment.

Because of these hazards, the industry has codified what “good” looks like—and it goes beyond common sense.

What good looks like (in the UK)

• LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) requires every lifting operation to be planned by a competent person, properly supervised, and carried out safely. Lifting equipment must be of adequate strength and stability, positioned to reduce the risk of striking people, and subject to statutory examinations.

• PUWER (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) places duties on those who own, operate, or control work equipment (from chain hoists to control gear) to ensure it is suitable, maintained, and inspected at suitable intervals by competent people.

• BS EN 17206 (Entertainment technology—Machinery for stages and other production areas) is the current European/UK benchmark for stage machinery safety, replacing BS 7905 and BS 7906. It addresses safety requirements and inspections for machinery used in theatres and other production spaces, including control systems and hoists that often interact with video wall suspensions.

• ABTT & PLASA guidance provides practical, theatre-specific and live-events-specific best practice for rigging and engineering—useful when turning standards into safe methods on site.

For outdoor shows there’s also international guidance focused on temporary structures and displays. New ESTA standards include ANSI E1.50-1:2025, covering temporary display structures (e.g., large modular LED systems) not captured elsewhere—reinforcing the need for engineered support solutions for LED walls.

What a competent rigging plan includes

Whether the wall is ground-supported or flown, a robust plan should cover:

1. Engineering checks

   • Verification of venue or temporary structure capacity (girders, truss, towers).

   • Point-load and line-load calculations including trim heights, pick spacing, and headroom.

   • Factors of safety and deflection criteria suitable for LED systems and frames.

   • Wind actions (outdoors), including maximum safe operating wind speeds and derig/ tilt-down thresholds.

2. LOLER compliance

   • Current thorough examinations for lifting accessories (e.g., steels, bow shackles, roundslings) and lifting machines (chain hoists), plus inspection records and markings.

   • A competent person planning and sign-ing off the lifting operation, with supervision in place during the lift.

3. PUWER compliance

   • Ensuring all control gear, hoists, and mechanical equipment are suitable, maintained, and inspected with records kept.

4. Controls & monitoring

   • Appropriate control systems and interlocks as referenced in EN 17206 for machinery groups.

   • Load monitoring (e.g., load cells) on critical picks to confirm real-world loads match the calcs—widely recognised as improving rigging safety culture under the LOLER framework.

5. RAMS & communication

   • Clear risk assessments and method statements, exclusion zones during lifting, and a briefed chain of command for the crew. (This aligns with HSE expectations for planned lifting operations.)

   
   

Why some providers get it wrong

We’re seeing more suppliers offer video walls without a grasp of rigging fundamentals—particularly around load paths, redundancy, and outdoor wind strategy. The risk isn’t theoretical: temporary structures and attached loads (like LED) must be engineered for combined effects, not just static weight, and decisions should be made by competent specialists following the recognised framework above.

A recent example: 5m × 3m wall at Frome Memorial Theatre

For Frome Musical Theatre Company’s production of We Will Rock You, we installed a 5m × 3m LED video wall at Frome Memorial Theatre. The wall was hung from the upstage roof girders on a safe, calculated rigging design that considered point loads, geometry, and venue capacity. The result? A vivid, rock-solid backdrop that looked spectacular—and met the exacting standards expected in a theatre environment.

This is typical of how we work: calculations first, documentation in place, equipment with current inspections, competent supervision during lifts, and verification at height before show call—so creative teams can focus on storytelling, not structure.

What you should ask any provider before you fly an LED wall

• Who is the competent person planning and supervising the lift (LOLER)? Can I see the RAMS?

• What standard are you working to? (Look for EN 17206 for stage machinery; for outdoor temporary display structures, ask how wind actions will be addressed per recognised guidance.)

• Where are the calcs? Request line and point-load calculations, truss utilisation, and venue sign-off.

• How are you verifying loads on the day? (Load cells / monitoring)

• What’s your wind plan (outdoors)? Ask for maximum operating and “strike” wind speeds and the procedure for securing or lowering the wall.

• Are your lifting accessories in date for thorough examination? (Certificates for hoists, steels, shackles, slings.)

How GSL Events keeps your audience, cast, and crew safe

• Competence baked in: Our rigging designs and lifting operations are planned and supervised by competent personnel in line with LOLER and PUWER.

• Standards-led approach: We align with BS EN 17206 for stage machinery and follow sector guidance from ABTT and PLASA.

• Outdoor ready: Where required, we incorporate wind engineering principles from established event structure guidance—critical for LED walls.

• Measured, not guessed: We deploy load monitoring where appropriate to verify loads against calculations.

If you’re planning a theatre production, festival stage, or corporate event that features a video wall, talk to a team that treats safety as a creative enabler—not a constraint.