Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100

GLOBAL CITIZEN FESTIVAL: MANDELA 100

BILLED AS THE LARGEST MULTI-ARTIST PRODUCTION EVER TO BE ATTEMPTED ON THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA, TPMEA GLADLY ACCEPTED THE INVITE FROM GEARHOUSE SOUTH AFRICA TO WITNESS THE GLOBAL CITIZEN FESTIVITIES FIRST HAND. TPMEA’S STEW HUME REPORTS…

In the last few weeks of 2018, South Africa’s live events industry was abuzz. From religious productions to appearances by classic rock stars, the region hosted live entertainment in abundance, yet it was one-day festival, Global Citizen, which really put SA on the technical production map in 2018. Quite literally a global affair - with 2018 seeing London, New York and Vancouver host the brand before it landed in Johannesburg on 2 December - Africa’s biggest ever multi-artist event, orchestrated by the international charity organisation, was the gig everyone was anticipating. With the biggest names in pop music on the bill, it’s not hard to see why.

The festival rolled into town with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder, Pharrell Williams, Usher and [Coldplay’s] Chris Martin taking the stage. As the sun set on the festivities, world-dominating musical power couple, Beyoncé and JAY-Z, closed the epic day to rapture. During the day, some of Africa’s biggest artists also trod the boards including Cassper Nyovest, D’banj and Sho Madjozi, to name but a few.

What, you may ask, could bring such an ensemble cast together? The answer; a collective mission to call on world leaders to defeat extreme poverty and to stand in solidarity with those still living in unimaginable conditions.

The event also paid homage to the late Nelson Mandela, celebrating his centenary year.

Throughout the day, in between musical acts, world leaders spoke to the crowds and educated both the live audience and the millions watching the live stream broadcast about charity incentives designed to tackle poverty. With the support of various organisations, governments, activists, and artists, by the end of the night, Global Citizen had achieved 57 commitments - worth a total of $7.1 billion/R100 billion - to change the lives of 137,368, 628 people for the better.

Hosted at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, Global Citizen: Mandela 100, opened its doors to more than 60,000 attendees completely free of charge. “You can’t buy your way into a Global Citizen show,” stated David Beame, Global Citizen’s Vice President of Events and Experiences, as he spoke to TPMEA prior to the event. “Taking action is our only currency.” The ‘action’ Beame refer to take the form of sending out digital messages to highlight issues faced by those living on less than USD $1.90 a day. From tweets to signing petitions, the hope was – and still is – to further raise awareness regarding the plight of different people around the globe and drive action to end extreme poverty by 2030. After taking millions of ‘actions’, hopeful ‘citizens’

were able to enter into a draw to be one of the lucky 60,000.

“The first festival we held was back in 2012 on the Great Lawn in New York’s Central Park,” said Beame. “That event had an amazing line up with Neil Young, Crazy Horse, Foo Fighters, The Black Keys, Band of Horses and K’Naan. It was actually Dave Grohl who pushed us to host the venue on the Great Lawn. Naively, we agreed, thinking, ‘how hard could it be?’” Although he is now able to look back fondly on that first event, Beame admitted it was a challenge which really set a precedent for future Global Citizen events. “We had this South African event on our minds for some time,” explained Beame. “Over the years we have worked closely with the House of Mandela, specifically Kweku Mandela Amuah, Nelson Mandela’s grandson, who is a big supporter of Global Citizen. We knew the 100th anniversary of Mandela’s birth was coming up in 2018 and we wanted to do something special for the region.”

PUTTING THE PIECES IN PLACE Before getting anything off the ground, Global Citizen contacted Big Concerts. “In short, Global Citizen has a year round partnership with Live Nation. In fact, Michael Rapino, Live Nation’s Chief Executive Officer and President, is on our

Gearhouse’s Branch Operations Manager, Stuart Andrews; Showcom’s Managing Director, Nickolas Chapman; Peter Abrahamse, Lighting Crew Chief; System Technican Jonathan Green; Graeme Baker from LEDVision; Pieter Joubert, Managing Director of SDS.

board,” explained Beame, outlining the origins of the event. “South Africa is a new region for Live Nation so we spoke very early on to get an idea of who and what resources were already here in the region.”

Big Concerts’ Justin Van Wyk, Chief Executive Officer for the company, joined the conversation: “Admittedly, I hadn’t heard of Global Citizen before they got in touch,” began Van Wyk. “We get approached all the time – and I mean all the time – about doing benefit concerts, so we weren’t immediately convinced it would even happen. Fast-forward 12 months later, and we were helping them organise the largest multiartist event ever seen on the continent.”

There were two major challenges facing Global Citizen: Mandela 100. The first was scale. This was a far greater undertaking than the standard one-day festival, with Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s crew bringing in the infrastructure for the OTR II tour with them. The second was schedule. Other events preceding Global Citizen: Mandela 100 during the week before included the Motsepe Foundation National Day of Prayer which saw over 100,000 attendees descend on

the stadium and Guns N’ Roses who were in town for a show just four days prior to the festival.

This packed diary required an incredibly detailed plan so that all three productions (four, if you include the addition of the OTR II tour) could work around each other. The dedicated work from technical provider Gearhouse Group, crewing company Mushroom Productions and staging giant Stageco - along with the international suppliers including Stufish Entertainment Architects and PRG - also played a huge part in pulling off this ground-breaking production.

“It couldn’t have been a more complex event,” stated Beame. “We were attempting to put on the largest production the local market has ever seen which required a great deal of set up and rehearsal time, all while working around two other large events in the same venue. Credit really has to go to both Gearhouse and Mushroom; both teams were up for the challenge and embraced it. I believe this show will really put the country on the map for being able to handle this level of event.”

Van Wyk echoed this statement. “At the end

of the day, South Africa is a long haul destination and it’s a challenge for acts to come over here with their full touring rig. Over the years, our local industry has had to step up and invest in equipment to attract these big name tours.”

SET THE STAGE The line-up kicking off the advocacy campaigning was announced in the summer and the Beyoncé and JAY-Z performance caused quite a stir. “Obviously both of them are incredibly popular across the globe, but here in South Africa, they are massive,” stated Van Wyk, trying to put into context quite how big a deal it was to see the duo perform together for the first time on a South African stage.

Early on in the discussions, Stufish Entertainment Architects were brought in to help design the staging for the event. Speaking on behalf of Stufish on site at the FNB Stadium was Ric Lipson. “We were first brought into the picture partly because of our experience with the OTR II World tour which we designed,” began Lipson. “With this being the headline act of the show, Global Citizen thought it made sense to

bring us in to design the rest of the look of the festival to avoid any conflicting interest.”

This effectively meant Stufish had to find a way of combining the best bits of OTR II and replicating them in the region as well as it being able to be built during festival. This involved some innovative switching of video screens. “The main element of the OTR II tour is the massive video screen which opens and closes to reveal a giant gridded performer wall.” Not wanting to spoil the surprise and give away the look of the headline performance, Lipson and the rest of the Stufish team opted to have the large automated wall open up to effectively become large left and right festival screens, flanking the main performance area with an additional screen being flown throughout the day down stage, obscuring the performer wall from view.

“This meant we had to re-engineer the Stageco roof system so as to hang two LED screens,” explained Lipson. Then, during Cassper Nyovest’s set, which preceded the Beyoncé and Jay-Z set, along with several special guest speakers - including Oprah Winfrey and President Cyril Ramaphosa - the large LED screens moved to meet each other in the centre while, behind the scenes, the downstage screen was removed. “It was quite the feat of engineering,” said

Lipson, concluding his explanation of the various movements of the stage.

“We were also keen to ensure the set design of the main festival was unique,” said Lipson. “If we just had a massive video screen, this show could have been anywhere in the world. We wanted to build a set with its own identity which reflected the host country.” The Stufish team drew on a lot of the iconography associated with the Global Citizen brand, specifically the red circle of the organisation’s logo. “Also, across the bottom of the rear video screen, we had a mesh set piece that replicated the skyline of Johannesburg, paying tribute to our host city.”

THE TEAM ON THE GROUND During pre-production, TPMEA caught up with Gearhouse’s Branch Operations Manager, Stuart Andrews just a day before the event. Walking from the production compound to the stadium while the final prep was taking place, Andrews talked through the extent of the Gearhouse Group’s work with the event which saw the collaboration of several of its subsidiary companies - LEDVision, Sets Drapes Screens, Gearhouse South Africa, In2structures, Showcom and Gearhouse Kentse Mpahlwa Academy -providing everything from audio and lighting to

video and rigging infrastructure.

“The planning went into high gear for us once we found out how much equipment the Beyoncé and JAY-Z production was bringing in and worked out what we would be able to provide.” Andrews went on to describe the trying week in the build up to the show. “Before the day of prayer, we had two days of technical rehearsals for OTR II, then took it all out for the Motsepe event - save the stage, sound system and screens which were used for the performance. Then on the Sunday, we had to turn around the venue again for more Global Citizen rehearsals on Monday morning. Then, over the Tuesday night, we loaded out again to prep for Guns N’ Roses on Thursday evening.” During this potentially stressful situation, it should be noted that Andrews was incredibly complimentary of his extended Gearhouse family who made it all possible.

Overseeing the staging elements for the festival was Sets Drapes Screens (SDS). Talking TPMEA through the company’s role within the project was Pieter Joubert, Managing Director of SDS. “Our involvement with Global Citizen really began 16 days prior to the show,” he began. “As we were also overseeing Motsepe Foundation National Day of Prayer and Guns N’ Roses, it was an active time for the SDS workshop.” At

its busiest, Joubert explained that the SDS HQ was open 24 hours a day, with the staff working rotational 12 hour shifts. “The only reason we were able to achieve what we did came down to the dedication of our team!” enthused the MD.

For their performance, the OTR production brought the entire infrastructure for their set elements with SDS providing the Global Citizen stage along with the skins for the Beyoncé and JAY-Z runway. “The OTR thrusts have various automated lifts which they brought into South Africa. We then provided over 700 pieces of plywood to skin the stage which we treated with a non-slip paint.” Working alongside Joubert for the project were six permanent carpenters alongside an army of 40 stagehands.

AUDIO System Technician Jonathan Green guided TPMEA through the finer points of the event’s audio set up. Standing at FOH, Green started by addressing the abundance of DiGiCo consoles which gave the backdrop to our conversation. “Well, there are certainly a lot of them!” joked Green. “A total of 10, by my last count.”

Gearhouse provided three desks: an SD7 at

FOH, an SD5 at the monitor position and an SD10 for running formalities including the speeches which took place between each act, and for host, Trevor Noah’s, microphone mix. “Yet we had both Ed Sheeran and the OTR II productions bringing in their own control package,” stated Green. “Sheeran’s team brought their own monitor and FOH consoles whereas Beyoncé’s team have brought five – yes five! - SD7s!” In total the headline act deployed an SD7 at FOH with the remaining four being split up into two pairings – one set for the musicians and singers and the others for the dancers.

L-Acoustics was the system of choice with an excess of 300 boxes being used across the stadium. “The main hang consisted of 48 x K1 and 20 x K2 with a three-hang delay of 12 x V-DOSC and 15 Karas,” said Green. “The rig as a whole was designed for Global Citizen, festival but with the understanding it would also also be used for the Motsepe Foundation National Day of Prayer and Guns N’ Roses. Once it was in, I just needed to reconfigure the boxes for each event.”

Gearhouse provided a 15-strong audio team to operate the show. “A lot of the performers are bringing their own audio engineers,” stated

Green, who was also stepping in as FOH Engineer for two of the African acts performing that day.

VISUALS As with the set design, the lighting rig for the show grew from the demands of the OTR II tour. Peter Abrahamse, Lighting Crew Chief, said the development of the rig was a “tricky project”, reminiscing on the past few months. “Gearhouse’s Robert Grobler dealt with this contract before handing it over to me. My first port of call was cabling and designing an infrastructure which would work for the week’s events. We had very little time to change between the National Day of Prayer, Guns N’ Roses and Global Citizen, not to mention all the rehearsals in the interim.” The solution was to have a very modular lighting rig which would allow the Global Citizen set to be taken down as a whole and stored in the tunnel entrance while loading in the Guns N’ Rose rig. Then, once the American rock band’s performance was over, the Global Citizen lighting set up could be rolled out and re-rigged. “The load-ins and outs have been tough but, that said, this setup was much easier then stripping down a whole rig and starting

from scratch,” stated Abrahamse.

The LCC recalled what it had been like working with such high calibre acts. “It can be quite intimidating when you receive these international riders as they send over fixtures or brands that you, as a rental house, simply don’t stock. However, all the touring teams have been really receptive to our alternatives. We did a lot of research when the original rider list came through, looking through endless tech specs to find the best alternatives.”

The rig consisted of a whole host of Robe fixtures including 48 x Robin BMFL Blades, 24 x Robin BMFL Spots, 20 x ColorWash 2500, 64 x Robin MegaPointes, 100 x Robin Pointes and 40 x Robin LEDBeam 150s. Also on the rig was 48 x Martin by Harman MAC Vipers, 30 x MAC Quantum Washes, 36 x MAC 2000 Washes, 60 x GLP impression X4 Bar 20 and 16 Ayrton Ghiblis.

“We provided the majority of the rig, with the main exception being the 124 Elation Professional Proteus Hybrids,” commented Abrahamse. These weather-proof fixtures were used downstage of the video wall, as well as the delay towers.

“It was also exciting to have the PRG GroundControl Followspot Systems in use for the event,” continued Abrahamse, describing the spotlight system used to manoeuvre the 8 x PRG

Ground Control Long Throw Spots and 11 x Robe Robin BMFL FollowSpots. “A couple of our local guys got to work closely with the OTR II team who gave them a crash course in how to use the system.”

Finally, under the lighting tent at FOH, Gearhouse provided a selection of MA Lighting systems for the international and local crews consisting of 5 x MA Lighting grandMA2s Full Size and 6 x grandMA2 Lights.

Abrahamse concluded by giving his thoughts on the collaboration. “To have been able to witness the international touring standard has been fantastic,” he enthused. “I was able to bring a lot of youngsters who have not been able to tour up until this point to come and work on the show. All four of the trainees I invited are part of the Kentse Mpahlwa Academy in Gearhouse. It’s been such a great experience for them. All the OTR II crew have been fantastic and took the time to answer our questions.” Abrahamse asserted that educating the next generation of engineers and techs will ensure the live events industry in South Africa continues to thrive.

VIDEO Graeme Baker from LEDVision walked TPMEA through the contribution of the video faction of

the Gearhouse Group. “In short, the main thing LEDVision has done is integrate all the OV as well as the OTR II screens which, during the festival, are the main left and right side screens.”

It had certainly been an interesting week for the crew at LEDVision who were handling the Global Citizen project, while simultaneously working on a gig in Durban for Cassper Nyovest titled, #FillUpMosesMabhida. “We stock around 2,700sqm of LED screen in total at LEDVision and, at the moment, there isn’t a single panel left in the warehouse,” laughed Baker.

The main left and right screens, which became the OTR II large video surface, consisted of a 9mm screen moving on a Kinesys automation system. For the festival stage the screen comprised ROE Visuals Carbon CB8, the MC7 and the Black Pearl 3mm tiles, as well as ROE Visuals RS1200 LED strips. “The whole video set up is controlled via our Brompton Processor,” explained Baker. “It’s a fantastic system as you don’t have to manually program what output surface you are sending content to because the system works out the pixel pitch of the surface.”

For media servers, disguise was utilised across the festival site for content streamed throughout the day, with several of the touring acts - including Ed Sheeran, Pharrell Williams,

Kacey Musgraves and, Beyoncé and Jay-Z - bringing their own disguise touring set ups. Barco E2 media servers were also used for screen projection.

With yet another sound check in progress, Baker and TPMEA walked from the stage to observe some of the final prep. “It’s a great time in the South African events scene but, practically, Global Citizen is a fantastic opportunity for us,” stated Baker. “From the Gearhouse and LEDVision side, the compliments we have received from the international crews have been fantastic. I think many of them didn’t really know what they were coming into and have been pleasantly surprised. But this level of service is what we have really been striving for over the years. Yes, we have the kit but, more importantly, we have the dedicated and hard-working crew. We all talk the same language in this family! Even if we work in different fields, we all have the same goal - to provide the best service possible.”

COMMUNICATION As with all festival sites, communication is always of the utmost importance. Leading the RF management team was Showcom’s Managing Director, Nickolas Chapman. “It’s been challenging,” opened Chapman, while recounting the last few days of preparation. “There are around 300 channels of UHF used across the site

and another 500 outside the stadium so keeping things clean has been interesting. We have a base on site where we are monitoring all wireless frequencies and ensuring everyone using them is approved.”

Chapman outlined the procedure they had put in place for visiting artists. “Essentially, we have been speaking to all the crew directly and requesting a list of what they are using and coordinating that on our end to ensure there is no crossover. That’s standard practice, but this event has had a few challenges. First of all is the abundance of broadcasters who are using a large amount of RF. Then there is the stadium itself. It’s not the most RF-friendly environment and has some peculiar reflections.”

Finally, the number of heads of state and their security, who also needed clean channels, proved a more unusual consideration for the Global Citizen team.

In total Showcom provided a team of seven crew with three managing comms and the remaining four monitoring the RF. In the final days, the ICASA (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa) were on site aiding Showcom in its efforts.

With the stage set and the 60,000 fans quickly filling up the arena, Global Citizen: Mandela 100 was officially underway with some of music’s biggest acts, worlds leaders and artists

all standing up in the name of ending extreme poverty.

Throughout TPMEA’s time with the technical crew, everyone had been making comments about the joy of watching a show in South Africa, and as soon as the first act hit the stage, we understood why. The infectious energy of the crowd remained high and peaked with incredible crescendo when Mr and Mrs Carter hit the stage. It was truly a showcase in the level of commitment from the local crew who proved ready and willing to cater for more events of this nature. With Ed Sheeran planning a stadium run of South Africa in 2019, it seems the local live events industry will have plenty more opportunity to show what they are made of. Photos: Stufish Entertainment Architects; Global Citizen, TPMEA www.globalcitizen.org www.bigconcerts.co.za www.stufish.com www.gearhouse.co.za www.prg.com www.showcom.co.za www. ledvision.co.za www.fulwell73.com www.mushroom.co.za www.setsds.com www.in2structures.co.za www.gearhouse-academy.co.za