World-class music acts at the Principality Stadium

The Principality Stadium (originally the Millennium Stadium) is the national stadium of Wales. This huge venue seats 74,000 (or 1.3 million if you measure by the year). Among the acts we will be supporting this summer are:

• Beyoncé (17 May)
• Coldplay (6 & 7 June)
• Harry Styles (20 & 21 June)

Recently, we sat down with several members of the Principality Stadium Events Team to talk to them about their work. They ranged in background from students and others looking for some part-time work to those aiming to build a career in facilities management, but they all seemed equally enthusiastic about the work. Click here to meet the team.

A day at the races

If you’re in the mood for a flutter, you might see our team at Chepstow Racecourse. We will be there at various dates in June (2, 10, 16, 26 and 30 June) plus 1 July and 2 July. Wales doesn’t have an officially designated national racecourse, but if it did, Chepstow, just across the River Severn from Bristol and England, would be it. The racecourse is certainly the most well-known of Wales’s three courses, hosting the Welsh Grand National every Christmas, among many other meetings. 

First-class cricket

Glamorgan County Cricket Club is Wales’s only first-class club, and has won the ‘English’ County Championship three times, most recently in 1997. For a slightly more relaxed outing than thundering half-tonne horses or international rock stars, see us in Cardiff, June 2, 9, 18, 21, 23, and 25.

Fun fact: Glamorgan have defeated national sides from all test-playing nations – yes, even Australia.

What we do at events

Event cleaning is demanding work, with large crowds and no leeway in timing – each venue must be bright and clean for the next day’s activity. Our staff often work long hours. In fact, 10-hour shifts are usual rather than the exception, but it’s always a privilege to attend these famous venues, with fun mixed into the work.

Event cleaning is also specialist work. Our teams are trained to quickly and efficiently clean everything from seating, to walkways, stairs, external and car park areas to internal spaces. Specific techniques are applied to locations such as corporate boxes, food outlets, changing rooms and washrooms.

First in after the crowds leave is our sweeper team, using large brushes to clear up as much as possible. Secondary litter pickers will come in to clean whatever has been missed. Litter pickers are hard at work while the event continues, and the same is true of other specialist units, such as mops teams, kitchen porters and lift operators.

The work before the work

The most important activity for any event takes place before the day itself. AQS will spend a considerable time learning every new location, and then more planning for every event, so the teams will proceed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Many of our operatives choose to stay with us for years, and we invest heavily in training, upskilling staff continuously, and ensuring old skills are refreshed and retested periodically.

As we said, recently we chatted to some of the members of our specialist Events Team. Cleaning Supervisor Carl has been with us for six years, graduating up from cleaning operative to his current role – and in fact others at AQS have been with us for quite a bit longer than that. Throughout our company and the wider Tudor Group we’re a part of, you will find people in senior positions who started out “on the tools”, before moving up to other work.

What’s in a summer?

Over the course of a summer, our teams will intersect with hundreds of events and millions of spectators. The operatives are often barely noticed by those enjoying themselves, even when working during the event, but spare a thought for those who make your day out possible, and without whom, all fun would have to be cancelled.

To find out more about our specialist cleaning services, call us on 01443 217 000, email info@aqualityservice.co.uk or visit our contact page.

If you are thinking of joining the Tudor Group family, check out our list of vacancies here. AQS and the whole of the Tudor Group are proud to be Recognised Service Providers by the  Living Wage Foundation, meaning we pay all staff the Foundation’s recommended real Living Wage, not the lower legal minimum wage.



But, above all, have a great summer.