By George Palmer-Soady
Notts County’s Meadow Lane ground is among the backdrops which will transform some Nottinghamshire funerals through the power of new technology.
Gedling Crematorium has been running ‘digital funerals’ since September, using technology to turn its chapel into a range of different surroundings.
Premade videos are being shown on 4K screens at the front of the venue, with sound effects played across speakers in the room, to emulate the feeling of being in a different setting.
Photos and footage submitted by families of the individual can also be shown on the screens to accompany the videos.
Among the backdrops due to be offered in the next few months are recreations of Notts County FC’s Meadow Lane and Forest’s famous City Ground.
Staff hope the new style of funeral will make the services more personalised for families and better celebrate people’s lives, rather than a more traditional experience.
Waterfalls, country hills and lavender fields are among the ten current backdrops that can be shown during the services.
However Westerleigh, which runs the private crematorium, says it hopes it will soon be able to offer far more choices to families in the near future – including real footage of Meadow Lane.
Premade templates showing Nottingham Forest, alongside a range of other teams, will also soon be made available for families to use at the funerals.
Debbie Smith, chief executive of Westerleigh, said the existing backdrops have been well-received by families during services.
“The football theme gets the most exciting responses, especially when we put up the Nottingham Forest one,” she said.
“We want to convert that wall to whatever football team they want it to be. We want to give people choice.
“If you want to bring to life that individual in a way that’s uniquely personal for them, then families have that choice.”
The technology is currently included as part of the crematorium’s standard service, which staff say will be reviewed in March before different prices are set.
James Crossland is the chief executive of Obitus, the company which created the technology for the new project.
He believes the experience will make funeral services more special and personalised for families.
“It’s truly fantastic and even now I’ve got hairs standing on end thinking about,” he said.
“It’s quite special to be sat in front of it looking it and you can see that reaction families have as well.
“Each life lived is unique and the question is how can we make that final send-off – which is very emotional and can be depressing – something a little bit more special that remembers the individual in a positive way.
“That is ultimately what this allows them to do. For families, music and visuals isn’t often their top priority when organising a funeral, so with this we’re trying to help them from the sidelines.”
He added that the ‘digital funeral services’ at Gedling Crematorium are the first of its kind in the UK.
Giulia McDonough, the crematorium’s manager, said: “We’ve spoken to lots of families and it’s all about trying to capture what they really want on a personal level.
“No two services should be the same and we want families to be able to celebrate their loved ones in a way that is personal to them.
She says that since the crematorium started offering the service, 98 per cent of families have utilised elements of the ‘digital’ funeral – including the wall.
