Nottinghamshire crematorium becomes world's first to offer cinema-style immersive experience

I'm sat in a comfy seat in the chapel at Gedling Crematorium as the blinds on the windows start to come down and the curtains at the front draw open. It's all automatic, as if by magic.

As the room darkens, a stirring noise gradually rises in volume and the room is splashed in a red light. Then an image appears on the front wall.

It's the grounds of a football stadium, painted in the colours of Nottingham Forest. On the advertising hoardings and between the stands reads the words: "David 'Dave' Thompson - 1943-2024" - a name used just for our visit.

The stunning scene is part of Gedling Crematorium's new immersive "funeral of the future" offering. Not only is it exclusive to this area of the country, it's the first of its kind - in the entire world.

"It became an idea as we started looking around the world at the best audio-visual experiences on the market, such as the Sphere in Las Vegas or Abba Voyage in London," says James Crossland, founder of Obitus, the company behind the technology which worked with crematorium owners Westerleigh on the implementation of the project.

"We thought about how we could put that in a funeral. They're the perfect place for it and there's no reason not to use technology like that here. A funeral is one of the most important moments in a life. It looks fantastic and I'm really excited. My hairs stood on end when I saw this for the first time. It has a really powerful impact."

As part of any cremation package, mourners can now customise their funeral service entirely, choosing from a range of room lighting options, soundscapes and visual elements. Currently, there is no extra cost to the payee.

As well as the football stadium design, there's also a variety of pre-set scenes, such as a snowy forest, a woodland in autumn and a summer scene with an animated waterfall. There's also others that are non-seasonal, such as a pastel watercolour background or a starry sky.

The technology is not just limited to the chapel, either. In a small room at the entrance to the crematorium, a digital photo gallery can be customised with pictures of loved ones at the click of a button.

The whole experience is quite stunning. It's emotional just cycling through the front wall options with soft music playing and the serene sounds of birds chirping in the background.

There's no doubt everyone in the room will be envisioning what they'd choose themselves. And in the future, the decision will be even more in their own hands.

Plans for the next phase of the project include licensing TV and film footage, and filming purpose-shot video on location at a family's request. Eventually, the crematorium hopes to offer completely bespoke services designed from scratch, with green screens, animators and film teams .

"We're working very hard with Obitus," said Westerleigh Group CEO Debbie Smith. "Our core values are all about giving people the service they want, in a really personal way to them. This enables families to create something that can be a really proud memory for them."

Launched on September 23, the immersive new additions are currently free to add to any funeral service. The reception has been brilliant, explains site manager Giulia McDonough, with 98% of families choosing the optional extras since they became available.

"I am immensely proud and so humbled," she said. "The experience from start to finish to having it launch here has been absolutely amazing. But more importantly, the feedback from families has been completely overwhelming.

"I've had families so emotional in a positive way because it's allowed them to really, really reflect their loved one's identity through the service. It's been an honour and a privilege."