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Published: March 7th 2007
Confab
A security huddle. These four are standing at the bottom of Bow Street, right where the cars would deposit the stars onto the carpet four and a half hours later. This was also the start of the huge queue to get into the pens down the sides of the Carpet, which I followed right around and joined on the other side of the Opera House opposite the Apple Market on the Covent Garden Piazza.The British Academy of Film and Television Arts holds its Film Awards annually. Known as the BAFTAs, they are the British version of the Oscars, and the nominees and winners often foreshadow the winners of the larger American event. I decided 2007 was the year to mark my first attendance, albeit from the sidelines instead of the middle of the carpet.
I had been warned by some veterans that if I didn't turn up at seven in the morning, I would miss out on the wristband which would guarantee me entry into the public stands to watch the red carpet event. I decided that there was no way I would be dragged from bed that early in the morning on a Sunday with the prospect of standing in a queue until mid afternoon, so I blithely ignored the advice and breezed along to Covent Garden at 1pm, where I duly collected my wristband and joined the line, no problem!
Three hours of waiting followed, mainly spent chatting to the people in the line around me. At four o'clock they finished the rigging, and we were allowed into the pens along each side of the carpet - it became a
Rolling out the carpet
The whole walkway was carpeted, with rolls and rolls of the stuff. So it wasn't the dramatic rolling out that one might expect. In fact, they even *shock horror* CUT bits of carpet, to fit around barriers and lighting rigs etc. scrum in the blink of an eye, as the previously orderly queue ran like mad for the gap in the fence and tried to jam through en masse. More waiting and jostling for position followed, and there was no shortage of entertainment, with assistants and crew and PR reps dashing back and forth, the carpet being laid out, and a commentary starting up on the radio, which we could listen to through the earpieces handed out to the crowd by the sponsors, Orange.
The first star to arrive was Richard Griffiths, while it was still sunny afternoon. He was quickly follwed by car after car of gleamingly made up women and well tailored men. Gaggles of guests started streaming up the carpet, some announced and much touted, and others unknown, heading straight up the middle. The unknowns were obviously enjoying the occasion, watching the crowds as they advanced, and sometimes even stopping to take pictures of the spectacle or the celebrities they encountered.
Eventually the last star had passed us, the cameras were being put away, and I realised that my left little toe had gone completely numb. As I left the area I made friends with a
New friends
Next to me in the queue for three hours were the lovely Beth from Alabama and Ally, a Londoner. We (surprise!) talked about movies for most of the afternoon. The blue cords around our necks are attached to earpieces, through which we could hear the announcements of stars names as they arrived. (They were handed out free, courtesy sponsors Orange.) security guard, who allowed me to take a sneaky step to the foot of the Carpet. Far up at the other end, the glow of lights and the flashing of bulbs surrounded the last VIPs as they prepared to enter the Opera House.
I headed home on a bus, nice and warm, if not so such a glamorous conveyance as the individuals I had been watching all evening. I watched the awards show on TV that night, in company of friends - those people I had seen earlier in the flesh now removed to fantasy figures on the screen, posing, laughing, and accepting their awards.
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sarahisinoz
non-member comment
yay!
ooh you did like you promised and put something on the blog. Great photo's, you're a regular paparazzi (without the scary stalking people side) much love S