The announcement was beamed live from the IOC meeting in Singapore to Trafalgar Square, where the event was hosted by Margherita Taylor and Katy Hill. The event's format was 'open ended', reports Stage Electrics' project manager John Radford, with a number of scenarios possible depending on the result. The excitement was electric as the moment approached for the IOC to pronounce . . . with the momentous result followed by worldwide images on screen and jubilation on stage and the thousands who packed the square. Stage Electrics was asked to work on the event by GDF Diversivents which was the 2012 announcement event producers for London 2012.
The crew arrived on site on the Monday lunchtime, 48 hours ahead of the announcement. The uncovered 165sqm stage was constructed from Maltbury Metrodeck, above which Stage Electrics designed and built a customized trussing ground support structure. "GDF Diversivents came to us with an aesthetic they wanted to achieve" explains Radford, "And then left it to us to deliver the solution. It was a case of getting the right pieces of metalwork in the right places at the right time!". The Six mast system was built from Slick MaxiBeam and GS Truss structure.
Stage Electric supplied an EAW KF730 line array system, with a Midas Heritage 3000 console for monitors and a Soundcraft Series 5 at FOH. The event was mixed by Chris Vass at FOH and Paul Turner on monitors. "We needed a system that sounded equally good for spoken word, TV feeds and singing" says Radford "with this in mind we decided that EAW was our best option."
There were live satellite feeds from Singapore and from the G8 summit at Gleneagles, where Tony Blair congratulated London 2012 and all those who'd worked tirelessly to turn London's bid around in the face of stiff competition. Stage Electrics also supplied L-Acoustics wedges for monitors a selection of microphones including Neumanns, Shure and Sennheiser radio mics and a Shure IEM system.
Lighting was designed by Stage Electrics' Simon Baker, who also operated the show, and consisted of Martin MAC600s and MAC300 moving lights, James Thomas 'Birdie' battens, floor mounted PAR 64s, and Gem ZR22 smoke machines with DMX fans. All lighting and DMX fixtures were controlled via a Martin Maxxys console.
Stage Electrics co-ordinated the supply of all live video elements including two 36-panel Barco S-Lite LED screens each measuring 5.4 by 4m, flown either side of the structure. It also supplied a three-camera live PPU and OB truck, and cameras included a Jimmy Jib, a roving hand-held camera onstage, plus a fixed unit in front of the stage.
A 320 KVA twin Pack was supplied to site to deal with the temporary power requirements and to run all the technical departments. The whole site was designed to be specifically expedient on power and energy efficient says Radford. Stage Electrics also installed a series of media platforms for the press to see the stage, etc., plus wheelchair viewing platforms.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
