Star Events, supplier of staging, support structures, rigging and design services to the events industry, is celebrating 40 years in business today (26 August).

Founded by Roger Barrett and Maddy Sheals as touring sound specialist Star Hire, the company’s first contract, in 1976, was with singer songwriter Carol Grimes. Star went on to provide for the likes of Split Enz, the Rock Against Racism tour of 1979 and Miles Davis in a similar capacity.

Star Hire stages made its debut at Notting Hill Carnival 1983, and later the same decade formalised its interest in improving standards, writing a technical safety guide for the National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA).

Star Mobile platforms were patented in 1989 and the VerTech stage system was introduced in 1990. Star went on to design and supply the biggest ever touring ground support for Italian artist Eros Ramazzotti in 1993, taking it across North & South America and Europe by the end of 1994.

Star Events provided more than 1,000 tons of hardware to Pope Benedict’s Birmingham visit in 2010 and in 2012 it supplied both the Torch Relay equipment and designed and built the second most visited London Olympics venue, Park Live.

In June 2014, the Altrad Group acquired a majority shareholding in Star Events, ensuring the investment required to maintain the company’s industry leading status.

Since then, alongside a wealth of activity in live events of all sizes, nationally and internationally, Star has made a significant mark in brand activation world. Airbnb’s House on the River Thames (pictured) one telling example, the Samsung Hypercube currently touring UK festivals, another.

Roger Barrett, special projects director at Star Events, commented: “It feels brilliant to still be as motivated and up-for-it as I was 40 years ago, while our ever growing team continues to make us the first choice for so many small, medium and large festivals and other events. A huge thank you to everyone who has played a part. Here’s to the next 40.”