Flashmob Tour Celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities

The brief

Network Rail invited Blackjack to assist in the celebrations and promotion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on December 3rd. As an equal opportunities employer and partner of #PurpleLightUp this is a cause that is close to our heart. We were asked to design an activation that could tour across multiple stations, celebrating the day, and engaging passengers about the message and Network Rail’s support of the day.

The Blackjack response

We recruited a dance troupe and created a flashmob that toured 4 stations on the day itself. The flashmob consisted of 8 dancers, who at pre-planned times in the day broke out of the usual crowds of passengers and with audio support delivered a unique 3 minute dance routine for the surprised onlookers. We also sourced, produced and distributed packs of branded sunflower seeds which station staff handed to their customers. Sunflowers are the globally recognised symbol for non-visible disabilities, also known as hidden disabilities. Our team managed all Risk Assessments, Method Statements and logistics on the day.

Our favourite moment

Seeing the reaction of passengers at Waterloo when the first flashmob kicked off, under the iconic Waterloo clock that the station bathed purple LEDs (purple being the colour showing support for people with disabilities).

The outcome

We executed 12 separate flashmobs across 4 London stations alongside the distribution of 3,000 packs of sunflowers. We estimate that over 10,000 people saw the events live, with thousands more seeing photos and videos captured online from the resulting social content passengers captured on the day.