Grass Mats Used At Illuminate The Garden As Event Matting

Located just off Ecclesall Road, the Sheffield Botanical Gardens is one of Sheffield’s most beautiful green spaces, featuring landscaped gardens, exotic plants and a stunning pavilion.

When the gardens hosted a large Bonfire Night event by Events Collective, protecting the grounds from heavy foot traffic was a priority. Our rubber grass mats were installed across key walkways and busy areas to provide reliable ground protection and safe pedestrian access.

The use of event matting helped minimise damage to the grass and surrounding planted areas, while more delicate sections of the gardens were temporarily closed off to preserve the site throughout the event.

| Illuminate The Garden | Grass Mats | The Event | Conclusion |

Illuminate The Garden

Illuminate The Garden was a Bonfire Night event organised by Events Collective across Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th November 2017. With more than 10,000 tickets sold, the event transformed the Sheffield Botanical Gardens into one of the city’s biggest seasonal attractions.

To help protect the gardens during the busy weekend, our rubber event mats were installed throughout key pedestrian areas, helping to reduce ground damage caused by heavy footfall. The use of the event matting provided safe and stable access for visitors while preserving the condition of the lawns and planted areas across the site.

Alongside the fireworks and entertainment, a range of local food and drink vendors contributed to the success of the event, creating a lively atmosphere enjoyed by thousands throughout the weekend.

Grass Mats

Our mats are made from fully recycled rubber and come in two thicknesses: 23mm and 16mm, providing versatile ground protection for events and outdoor spaces. As one of the UK’s largest importers and distributors of event matting, we supply durable and easy to use solutions for both domestic and commercial use.

The 23mm mats are tested to BS EN 1177:1998 with a critical fall height of 3.3m, while the 16mm mats offer a tested fall height of 1m. Both options deliver reliable protection in high-footfall areas.

Installed using plastic fixing pegs and cable ties (sold separately), the rubber grass mats remain secure, stable and low maintenance once in place. During a site visit on 3rd November, we met with Bob and the team from Events Collective as they prepared the Sheffield Botanical Gardens, who noted how quick and simple they were to install across the site.

The Event

Illuminate The Garden was scheduled to run on Saturday 5 pm–10 pm and Sunday 4 pm–9 pm at the Sheffield Botanical Gardens. To protect the grass and planting areas from thousands of visitors, Bob at Events Collective began researching rubber mats as a temporary paving solution. After discovering the benefits of our event matting on our website, he placed an order the same day, ensuring the mats were delivered to the site on Friday for installation ahead of the weekend.

The rubber grass mats were then installed across key areas of the gardens to help protect the lawns and support safe visitor movement throughout the event space. During our visit on Friday afternoon, we also observed the setup work being carried out by the fireworks, food and drink teams as they prepared for the weekend event.

The event was a great success, with an impressive display delivered by Optimum Fireworks bringing the night to a fantastic close.

Conclusion

The event was a major success, with over 10,000 visitors attending the Sheffield Botanical Gardens over the weekend to enjoy the fireworks and entertainment. Bob and his team at Events Collective did an excellent job managing both evenings, responding quickly to guest feedback and ensuring everything ran smoothly throughout the event.

Our rubber grass mats performed exceptionally well under heavy footfall, helping to protect the lawns and planted areas while maintaining safe access across the site. After the event, the rubber mats were quickly and efficiently removed on Monday and transported away with minimal disruption.

A big thank you to Events Collective for choosing our event matting and for sharing details of the installation, helping us create this case study.

If you’d like more information about the businesses involved, links can be found above. For any enquiries about our event matting solutions, please get in touch.