Brighton i360 with Nothing on events

When I saw this event on the Nothing on events website, I eagerly bought my ticket in July as I had never been on the i360, and the idea of being nude was great. I had looked at all the options available and booked just for the flight as the meal was not something I eat, so it would be pointless. I had checked about photography and the possibility of me vlogging the event, and Adam had confirmed it was ok and I would be an official photographer.

I was getting excited at the thought of going, and it got to a month before, and then I received the following email.

Hi Nick,

It is with great sadness that we have had to cancel the Night Out in Brighton 8th October.

Unfortunately there just was not the ticket uptake necessary to make this event viable and whilst we held out hope as long as possible, it did not improve.

Full refunds have already been processed so you do not need to do anything further.

The i360 has been rearranged for the end of March 2023 so look out for details of that if you'd still be interested. Thanks for reading. See you soon!

Adam

Nothing On Events

I was gutted as I had been looking forward to this, but I understood the issues and watched for the new event. December the 1st came, and there it was, a new event for the i360. Without hesitation, I paid the money and grabbed my ticket.

I sent a message to Adam, who was happy to allow me to be an official photographer for the event. I booked the day off at work and was all set.

Skip forward three months, and it was the day of the event. I drove the trusty campervan to Brighton and arrived at Maderia drive just before 4 pm, knowing the event was at 5.30; this would give me time to get photos and some video outside. I got out, and the wind was strong, and I then realised there was no chance of filming outside as it would be just wind noise. Alas, I set off on my twenty-minute walk along the seafront wearing my Flying Natursit hoodie into the headwind.

I looked towards the tower, watching how fast it went up and down, and was pleased it had not been stopped due to the strong wind. The sky had a little alto cirrus cloud, but further to the west was some sea mist; hopefully, the sunset would still be visible when we went up.

When I got nearer, I realised just how tall it was. Even though I had worked in Brighton and passed it a lot, I had never seen it from standing on the ground. I had no issues with the height, as when you have been at five thousand feet dangling from a paraglider, anything lower is not an issue.

I stood and looked up at it and grabbed this photo to show how tall it is

I walked around it and decided to sit on the beach and take a timelapse of it going up. It was so cold and windy that I crouched down and tried to steady the tripod, but it still moved a little. I walked up the stairs next to it, sheltered on the north side from the wind, and then spotted Adam crossing the road before me. I chatted with him while we stood there freezing before deciding to head down and wait in the shop. This was a much better idea, and as time got nearer to our flight, we began to fill the shop with more people, and it was not long until it was full of naturists and we had to pass through to the waiting area.

Adam and his friend were checking us in and had the bands for people who did not want to be in photos or film, as the email stated. We all went through what was like passport control having our bags checked, and we walked through the metal detector. I think this is just a gimmick, as the one I walked through went off, and the chap just said it always does that as they don't know how to switch it off.

In the waiting area was a bar, and you could get a drink to take on the pod even though there was a bar on it. Adam and I went through beforehand and chatted with the staff, and I went on first to get the tripod set up where I wanted it. I wanted to be on the side opposite the sunset as, by this time, the sea mist was now nearly upon us, and the sun was sinking behind it. Also, I knew it would be busier on that side, so I was on the quiet side, where the sun would not affect the video.

I set up, and we slowly began to rise. There were supposed to be sixty-two of us, and it did seem that there might have been. We had to stay clothed, so I took this time to set the timelapse on from inside the pod as we slowly made our way up and then, as we were a fair way up, the announcement was given that we could get undressed. I quickly began taking off my clothes and did not realise that I was visible in the reflection on the timelapse, so that couldn't go on Youtube.

As we approached full height and it stopped, I began filming and blogging about it and made my way around it. I took a few photos of myself and others.

We stopped at the top and were there for around 20-30 mins giving us all plenty of time to get our selfies done and take in the fantastic views of the area. Even though the wind was blowing strong, it was impossible to feel any movement. We did a group photo.

Around 34 participated in this, meaning half the attendees wanted to be photoed, and half did not, but I did not think anything of this. Still, as I made my last video walk around the pod and clicked the stop filming button, I was approached by a slightly annoyed woman. She asked if I was filming and made it very clear she did not want to be in it, and I explained to her that I would make sure she was not. I asked her why she had not got a wristband when checking in as per the email, but she told me she was unaware and was not given one. I suddenly realised why only half were in the group photo, some people had asked for a wristband, and others did not and were not checked by Adam and his helper if they were ok with being in photos or video.

Note for Adam on the next event - when people arrive, ask them if they are ok with being in photos or videos as they enter.

This has left me with a big issue; my video has many people in, so I have two options. I either bin the whole lot and don't make a video, or I painstakingly blur out all the faces of people not in the group photo. I will keep the video, but it will take me a few days to sort out the blurring etc., so I will post it once I have it done. The only other option is I make the video. Adam then sends a link to everyone who attended to get them to check if they are visible in the video and at what point and which one is them. I blur the individual out, but that is probably the most hassle for Adam. I won't do that option.

Other than that issue, the event went without a hitch, and everyone enjoyed it. The sunset was visible, but instead of going down behind the horizon, it went down behind the clouds and mist. The service by the staff at the i360 was perfect, and the whole event was great. I did forget to get my drinks as I was busy.

The next event with Nothing on events is the board game museum at Hastings, and I am vlogging that as well, so long as the participants are asked about photos this time.

The video will follow ..... in time!