Staging on a Slope: A Level Festival Stage on a Seven-Foot Hill
Roundhay Park hosted one of Leeds’ biggest music events of the summer — a crowd of around 70,000 gathered across the parkland to see Lewis Capaldi headline. The production team needed a level stage at the heart of the site for a brand activation.
We were commissioned to deliver a single, level platform strong enough to carry multiple pergolas, bars, and a DJ booth, set on a slope that dropped roughly seven feet across the footprint.
A Seven-Foot Fall Across the Site
Roundhay Park is beautiful, undulating parkland — which sometimes presents a challenge for staging. To hold a true level across the whole platform, we started the deck as low as we could at the top of the hill and let the structure step up as the ground fell. By the front edge, at the bottom of the slope, the platform stood around seven feet tall. The result the audience saw was a flat, stable stage, made possible by a supporting structure that grew steadily taller from back to front.
From Ground Anchors to 13 Tonnes of Ballast
Our original plan was to hold the structure in place with ground anchors — though underground services running directly through the build area made this impossible. Live cables and pipes ruled out driving anything into the ground.
Rather than compromise the build, we switched strategy and ballasted the structure instead, using 13 tonnes of weight beneath the deck to lock it in position. It is a good example of why ballasted staging is so flexible — it delivers stability without a single fixing into the earth.
Reinforcing the Deck for Bars, a DJ and the Ballast
The ballasted platform had to hold and keep steady a serious load: multiple pergolas, the bars, DJ equipment and people. To take that weight safely, we reinforced the Steeldeck platform with multiple scaffold underprops, adding support where the structure needed it most. The build and de-rig together took twelve hours.
At a glance:
- Level Steeldeck platform built across a slope with a fall of roughly seven feet
- Front edge standing around 7ft tall at the bottom of the hill
- Reinforced with multiple scaffold underprops to carry pergolas, bars and a DJ
- Ballasted with 13 tonnes of weight — no fixings into the ground
- Engineered around live underground services (cables and pipes)
Why Ballasted, Modular Staging Suits Uneven Ground
A festival stage built on a slope only works if the structure can adapt to the ground rather than fight it. Because Steeldeck is a modular system, we could vary the supporting height across the footprint to hold a level top surface, then ballast the whole thing for stability instead of relying on fixings. That flexibility is what lets the same kit deliver a flat, safe platform whether the ground is level tarmac or a seven-foot parkland slope. This is the thinking behind our Steeldeck and wider event structure solutions — build to the site, not the other way round.
Festival-Ready, Fully Level
On the day, the platform did exactly what the organisers needed: a level, rock-solid stage holding steady on a steep slope in front of a crowd of around 70,000. The engineering — the stepped support, the underprops and the 13 tonnes of ballast — stayed completely out of sight.
The end result: Our client seamlessly incorporated their cladding to create a sleek brand activation for Lidl!
Planning a festival or outdoor event on tricky ground? Get in touch to talk through your project.