50 artists. 6 boats. 1 party.

Red Bull partnered with us to bring to life their very own floatila. A breakthrough and bold concept, we created Red Bull Odyssey – an epic, wandering river adventure, hit the heart of London culture in a completely unique, never-before-seen way. More than 50 artsits, performed to an in-person audience of over 1,500, across 6 individual vessels, each repping a different UK music scene.

This sell-out event was broadcast live to over 60,000 listeners with an huge social reach of over 35,000,000!

The Challaenge

Build the fanbase of Red Bull Radio to reinforce Red Bull’s reputation as cultural influencers.

The Approach

Red Bull approached us with a bold idea to create a live music experience on the Thames. Working together we created Red Bull Odyssey – an epic, wandering river adventure for six vessels – with 50 MCs, DJs and artists, plus a 1,300 strong audience all stowed onboard.

To launch in style, Smyle managed all elements of pre-production design and the live outputs. With six boats representing six music scenes we developed different creative identities for each genre. Our distinct staging set the scene for acts including gospel disco-queen Jocelyn Brown, UK drill hero Loski and MC Ms Banks.

On the day, we stacked the boats high with epic sound systems and set sail. As our buoyant rave cruised past iconic London cityscapes, Smyle launched a giant ‘On Air’ floating LED screen. Using this screen, we beamed live party footage to fans watching from the river bank, whilst Red Bull Radio listeners gained exclusive onboard access from the comfort of their own homes.

The Result

Smyle and Red Bull hit the right notes delivering an unforgettable sell-out night of live musical innovation. With +60,000 Red Bull Radio listeners tuning in live, plus an impressive social reach of +35 million, the Odyssey impact was pretty epic too.