Neptunus provide unique experience for visitors to Royal Ascot 2024

The Assignment

Royal Ascot is the world’s most prestigious horse racing festival. Regarded as the jewel in the crown of the UK’s summer season, over 250,000 visitors attend over five days to watch the equine superstars and to view the traditional daily procession of UK Royalty and their VIP guests.

For decades Royal Ascot was the horseracing highlight of the year for the late Queen Elizabeth II. Now the mantle has been taken on by His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla who is herself an ardent race fan. An international line-up for the 2024 edition saw leading horses from the USA, Australia, Japan and France take on the might of the UK and Ireland, competing for record prize money but also the honour of being a Royal Ascot winner.

Neptunus was appointed by Ascot’s Business and Events team to transform the centre of the historic racecourse, situated on land owned by the Crown Estate, into a festival style experience fit for a King. They needed to provide racegoers with facilities of exceptional quality in an eye-catching temporary village that needed to double up as an after-race party venue for Ascot’s hospitality partner, Smart Group.

The Solution

Technicians from Neptunus took just two weeks to erect 4,600 square metres of temporary structures and then managed the turnkey fit out of services including carpets, linings, lighting, power distribution, heating and air conditioning, toilets and external decked viewing areas to accommodate thousands of racegoers.

Alure Globe temporary structures formed a private fine dining restaurant for 2000 guests each day to create Restaurant in the Village and a separate less formal ‘Villiers Club’ hospitality area.

Neptunus also erected multiple smaller Pluto and Apollonia structures for a further 2000 guests in the Village Enclosure which embraces the feeling of British Summertime and Royal Ascot’s unique use of The Heath in the centre of the racecourse. The Apollonia is a structure, specially designed by Neptunus for food and beverage sales, appeared in the UK for the first time at Royal Ascot 2024. The structures formed eclectic street food stalls and cocktail bars. The Apollonia was originally created for major festivals across Europe. As a special feature for Royal Ascot, in-house designers introduced a stylish cantilevered canopy into the design.

For the final three days of the Royal meeting racegoers were able to stay on after racing for entertainment in the Village Enclosure from ‘Masters of the Scene’ with their high octane tribute to music legends Abba.

The Challenge

Ascot are a long-term client for Neptunus and, though renowned for the quality and innovation of their temporary structures, it is essential to review and enhance the facilities provided each year to ensure the best possible experience for racegoers. It is why in 2024 Neptunus introduced the Apollonia range to add to the festival feel within the village area.

Structures were built on undulating ground with scaffolding used to elevate the Alure Globe dining areas with an additional elevated viewing area for wheelchair users. The external and internal finish was of the highest quality to reflect the village’s focal position and to ensure it met the exemplary standards expected at Royal Ascot

The project required 20 articulated lorry loads of equipment to be delivered to site with technicians required to carry out the complex build process without damaging the landscape. The build and dismantling needed to be carried out swiftly and efficiently as the location is used for numerous other events throughout the year.

The Verdict

Sam Thompson, Head of Estate Operations, Ascot Racecourse, added: “Royal Ascot is our showpiece event of the year and with a 2.8% increase in attendance for 2024, it’s important we have the best infrastructure in place to provide our guests with a world-class experience. Through our continued work with Neptunus in delivering the Village Enclosure we have given thousands of racegoers an experience to remember.”