Hosted by Cuba Gooding Jr, the global sporting star studded event was held at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. In creating a fun and exciting atmosphere, Blackout worked with line producer, Amandine Reynolds and Pierre-Marie Quere at Monte-Carlo based production company CATS.
"We had to create a fabulous International event for 650 high-profile guests. Working with many suppliers from different countries, we were very impressed that the Blackout staff were multi-lingual. This helped us a great deal in co-ordinating the show and ensured that we could work to tight deadlines. I couldn't dream of working with a better team than Steve Tuck and Dominic Peisse," comments Amandine Reynolds.
Wool-serge draping was provided along the red carpet entrance area that greeted guests arriving at the ceremony. Being a high-profile media event, a dedicated media centre was also constructed using wool-serge drape. Inside the Palau Sant Jordi the main presentation and guest area was enclosed by an 80 by 80m black box.
During the awards ceremony, a temporary wall of black wood serge drape measuring 54m wide x 18m high was installed and flown in and out using fast motors. This revealed the seating areas that sparkled with thousands of small candles.
"Blackout were extremely good at creating a smooth transition of the venue from the various stages of the awards ceremony to the after-show party," adds Reynolds. Blackout also created a separate area to hold the after-show party. This was in the form of another black box measuring 30m x 20m for which Blackout supplied all of the truss motors and draping at 12m high. On one side, a 24m long motorised tab track opened to reveal the after-party discothèque within. Blackout also installed a presentation screen on a tab track.
(Jim Evans)
