About the East Bank Academy
East Bank is continuing its work with A New Direction, operators of the Good Growth Hub - an award-winning charity generating opportunities for children and young people to develop their creativity through the East Bank Academy.
For the Festival, the East Bank Academy will create 16 commissioned roles, 11 of which are live now and a further 5 to be announced across the summer commissioned roles connecting local young people to paid opportunities and employment within the cultural sector and creative industries. These roles will feature Social Media and Marketing, Photography, Content Creation, Event Production and Sound & Lighting related roles.
The festival is supported by the Mayor of London and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The Festival from East Bank is an annual cultural programme hosted at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, bringing together East Bank's founding partners - BBC, Sadler's Wells East, UAL: London College of Fashion, UCL, and V&A East - around a shared headline theme.
In 2026, the headline theme is The Music is Black, anchored by V&A's landmark exhibition 'The Music is Black: A British Story'. The festival extends this theme across live music, dance, talks, workshops and community events programmed by East Bank partners and associated collaborators throughout the Park.
About Continental Drifts
Continental Drifts is an award-winning London-based event production company who are producing this year’s Music is Black festival for East Bank. They were established in 1996, specializing in comprehensive event production, artist management, and site production. They produce major national events including producing stages at Glastonbury, Camp Bestival & Wilderness.
They also produce many London-based festivals such as the Commonwealth Games Live site in the Olympic Park, various GLA events (Diwali/Vaisakhi/St George's Day), Great Exhibition Road Festival, hackney Carnival as well as community festivals like Lewisham Peoples Day, Green Together Festival and Royal Docks Summer Splash.
What You’ll Be Doing
As a Junior Freelance Production Assistant (Events), you’ll support the delivery and smooth running of live cultural events across East Bank venues, including the Good Growth Hub and V&A East. This is a hands‑on learning role designed to build real‑world experience in event production, artist liaison, front‑of‑house delivery, and events administration.
Your tasks will include:
- Supporting the on‑site delivery of festivals, talks, workshops, performances, and career events
- Assisting producers and event leads with event set‑up, pack‑down, and general logistics
- Acting as a Junior Artist Liaison, helping to welcome artists, performers, speakers, and facilitators on event days
- artists liaison including meeting and greet acts and Assistant Stage Management on the main stage.
- Making sure stages and areas are operateing as needed and assisting with anything on site as required.
- Supporting artists with schedules, access, rehearsals, and general event logistics, under the guidance of senior staff
- Serving as a friendly, professional point of contact for artists during live events and rehearsals
- Supporting Front of House, including welcoming audiences, checking tickets, managing queues, and signposting across venues
- Helping set up and manage events on Eventbrite, including event listings, attendee lists, and basic ticketing support
- Working closely with the Good Growth Hub team to support data capture, audience check‑ins, and attendee information in line with GDPR guidance
- Assisting with event evaluation, including feedback collection, headcounts, and post‑event reporting
- Supporting audience experience and accessibility across different East Bank spaces
- Attending paid training, orientation, and site inductions across East Bank venues
- Taking part in reflection and feedback sessions to support your professional development
- Providing production and operational support for Good Growth Hub career events and selected partner events
This role offers paid training, mentoring, and hands‑on experience working across public‑facing events within a major cultural quarter.