Jeddah World Fest

JEDDAH WORLD FEST

A GROUNDBREAKING PROJECT FOR SAUDI ARABIA’S LIVE EVENTS INDUSTRY, JEDDAH WORLD FEST SEES THE LIKES OF 50 CENT, JANET JACKSON AND STEVE AOKI WOW AN EXPECTANT 40,000 SELL-OUT CROWD AT KING ABDULLAH SPORTS CITY. TPMEA GETS THE LOWDOWN ON THE AMBITIOUS PRODUCTION.

Top left: President and CEO, ROQU Media International, Robert Quirke.

Global stars including 50 Cent, Janet Jackson and Steve Aoki performing on the largest festival stage ever built in the Middle East, cheered on by a raucous 40,000-capacity crowd… It was the kind of scene that’s commonplace at major festivals the world over, but what made 18 July 2019 special was that the concert wasn’t taking place in the US, UK or even the UAE. This was Jeddah World Fest – the largest music festival ever held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “I have never seen an audience so excited and responsive in all my life,” commented Robert Quirke, President and CEO of ROQU Media International, which produced the event and project in its entirety. “This project is something truly special. It absolutely represents a wave of positivity for the youth of Saudi Arabia and unites all

people together. Ultimately, this is about inspiring young people through live music experiences.” Taking place at King Abdullah Sports City, the star-studded concert was the culmination of a 41-day series of arts and culture events that tied in with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 – a progressive plan aimed at opening up the country as an entertainment destination. “The heart of this project is built on bringing positivity to the World,” Quirke continued. “It’s about the fans, the performers, the positive energy and shared experiences.” ROQU brought The Manual London into the project as lead production partners, and the company’s Co-Founder and Director, Richard King, was under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge. “There were strong perceptions of KSA from a global audience, which brought its own challenges across the project,” he began. “We had

to create a progressive story to reflect the values of the rising youth culture, positively promote the Kingdom and create a new era in entertainment history for Saudi Arabia.” The Manual London brought in Lighting Designer Mark Cunniffe who, in turn, called upon World Class Events to assist with the event’s technical production. “World Class Events is completely at home working on large events that push the boundaries in terms of production, scale and profile,” said Managing Director John Adkins. “I was delighted to get a call from Mark, asking World Class Events to work alongside The Manual team to deliver an event that will be remembered in the region for a very long time.” World Class Events appointed Jeddah World Fest’s suppliers, including Electra, Showforce Creative Technology (CT). Also brought into the supplier fold was Protec, which was tasked with

delivering an audio, lighting and rigging package for the event. “The show looked and sounded incredible,” said Protec’s Project Manager, Luke Doyle, reflecting on the historic event. “The stage structure was the largest ever seen in the Middle East. This type of event had never been done to this scale in KSA and it was great to be a part of – definitely one to remember! The crowd were absolutely fantastic; it was emotional to witness.”

CHALLENGES World Class Events’ Adkins served as Production Director for the project, assisted on site by Safety and Security Consultant Chris Woodford and supported by Showforce, which sent in two teams – site crew and production crew. The site crew arrived at King Abdullah Sports City before the rest of the crew, to unload trucks, prepare some of the extensive kit and secure the fencing for the entrance lanes and egress

system, ensuring the public could queue safely. Unsurprisingly for such a ground-breaking event, the ambitious production didn’t come without its challenges. Protec’s Doyle outlined them to TPMEA: “As the line-up wasn’t 100% confirmed until the last minute, we were under immense pressure to fulfil the technical rider for each artist,” he commented. “We had catered well technically for the event using stock from our Riyadh and Dubai warehouses. However we had to move quickly to discuss the requirements with the relevant teams and production and get the extra kit rushed into the country once the line-up was finalised. “The event was also a few days behind on build schedule, so we were pushed for time to deliver from our side with only two nights for build and rehearsals,” Doyle continued. Despite the time contraints, the 22 on-site crew members were able to set up in just two

days and derig in a single shift. The Saudi Arabian climate is notoriously hot and humid during the summer months, however, thanks to the company’s more than 20 years of experience in the region, Protec was able to step up to the challenge. “Working long hours, it was imperative to keep the crew hydrated,” commented Doyle. “We worked throughout the night to avoid the intense heat and humidity during the day. Hydration salts in Camelbaks and frequent water breaks kept the crew well hydrated.” With temperatures topping 40°C, the extreme heat was a topic on everyone’s lips and, while he was delighted with how the event went overall, ROQU’s Quirke reflected that avoiding the height of summer would be a good idea moving forward. “We are definitely hoping to move it earlier in the year; we’re aiming to do it in May,” Quirke told TPMEA about next year’s event. “The heat was incredibly intense – I have

never felt anything like it. Crowd welfare is the upmost priority, so we are creating innovative and bespoke ways of cooling the audience.”

AUDIO Protec deployed an L-Acoustics K2 system as the primary PA for the event. “This was for a combination of factors, including rigging height and weight loading,” explained Technical Director, Ed Ross. The PA comprised a main left

and right hang of 23 K2s each and two large outer hangs of four K1-SBs, 13 K2s and six Karas per side, “as the venue was very wide,” he said. “Two small hangs of Kara were used behind the followspot towers to fill out the dead spots in that area,” Ross said. While 32 SB28 subs were used in a sub arc configuration, with Kara frontfills. “The power-to-weight and size ratio of the K2 made this perfect as we were able to hang very large hangs as the main left and right to get the

throw needed without main delay towers, which the client didn’t want,” Ross explained. Protec chose all DiGiCo consoles; SD7, SD10 and SD11 were used at FOH and an SD5 and SD10 at monitors. It also provided all the DJ equipment – primarily four CDJ 2000 Nexus and DJM 900 Nexus. “We had 20 channels of Sennheiser 2000 series IEMS and 16 L-Acoustics 115XT HiQ wedges for use by all the artists, as well as large sidefills of L-Acoustics ARCSII and SB28 onstage,” Ross

added. For the on-stage package, Protec used a mixture of Shure Axient Digital and Sennheiser wireless microphones along with a complete package of top-end wired microphones from Shure, Sennheiser, Neuman, DPA and AKG.

LIGHTING Production and Lighting Designer Mark Cunniffe conceived the set-up to complement Jeddah World Fest’s elaborate stage design. Protec provided the fixtures, which included 74 SGM Q7s on outer SL and SR towers, 80 SGM P5s on inner SL and SR towers, 66 Claypaky Scenius Unicos used on stage rear wall and stage sides, 20 Claypaky Scenius Profiles covered the stage rear wall and stage sides, 72 Claypaky K10 B-EYEs used on stage rear wall and stage sides, 25 Claypaky K20 B-EYEs used on stage rear wall, 40 Robe Pointes used to line the catwalk and the

aprons of the SL and SR towers. These fixtures were controlled by three MA Lighting grandMA2 full-size along with two NPUs and a complement of Luminex Gigaswitch. “We also supplied a WYSIWYG suite for this event,” Project Manager Luke Doyle explained to TPMEA. “Two BMFL Blades were used with two Robe RoboSpot followspot systems and four Gladiator followspots.” The creative lighting design looked impressive from all angles, and with the major challenge being time, the crew managed to dead hang an impressive 340 fixtures in just two nights. Despite this large quantity and the harsh weather conditions, not a single fixture failed. Clearly impressed with what he saw, Cunniffe expanded on his experience of working with Protec. “An ambitious show the scale of Jeddah World Fest requires an excellent team to pull off successfully,

so it was a pleasure to work with Protec through my client The Manual London,” he began. “Protec has years of experience in Saudi Arabia and the whole team came on site with a professional and confident attitude. They know the pitfalls and were prepared for any eventuality. The equipment was faultless and, despite the extreme weather conditions and short setup time, they managed to deliver a spectacular show. “It was a pleasure working with the entire team, but I’d like to especially thank Luke, Robert and Frank, who went above and beyond. I look forward to working with Protec again very soon and would recommend them for any future events as a technical supplier.” The Manual London’s King was understandably pleased with the collaboration. “When our client ROQU Media came to us with the brief for Jeddah World Fest, we knew it was going to be an important moment

“The event was a huge success from beginning to end. Everyone came together to work as a team and our client, The Manual London, did a fantastic job of bringing the production to life.” Creative Technology Project Manager, Giorgio Devecchi

in history, throwing Jeddah into the international media spotlight,” he commented. “We created a historical moment where the audience came together to produce an experience never before seen in the market. “When creating the show, it was essential we used excellent suppliers like Protec, which is known for its reliability and huge inventory available locally,” he continued. “It’s not suppliers that you need when producing shows like this; it’s ‘partners’ – and that is exactly what Protec became. The Manual London looks forward to working with Protec again on next year’s production, which will be even bigger and better!”

LIVE VIDEO Creative Technology (CT) worked alongside Production Designer Mark Cunniffe to deliver all live video aspects of the event. CT supplied 15 custom-mounted 4.8mm outdoor LED screens in the shape of diamonds at 4m by 4m each, two 4.8mm rolling DJ risers and 150 running metres of ROE LED strip, outlining the stage and catwalk. The unique design was achieved through rotating the screens 45° across the 90m structure. CT’s Project Manager, Giorgio Devecchi, explained: “Mark Cunniffe’s creative design was so unique that it required an engineering safety approval before we could hang the LED panels 45° along the scaffolding structure,” he said.

“Prior to delivering the project, we carried out pre-production testing of the large diamonds at Creative Technology headquarters in Dubai. During this pre-production phase, we compiled a full pixel study to ensure the content and live feed was displayed at the correct angle. “Once on-site, the install went together seamlessly thanks to the dedication of the CT team of 12 professionals, who worked together to achieve our client’s creative brief.” CT provided a full video control package, driven by disguise gx 2 servers incorporating Notch for live camera processing and visual effects. CT’s Senior Video Engineer, Tom Stocks, stated: “The screen control and switching were

managed from a linked Barco E2 and S3 system with an additional two Image Pro 4Ks at FOH for VJs and touring media servers. We also supplied our PPU for a sub mix of the broadcast cameras for IMAG to correspond to the diamond pixel area of the LED screens.” A full 4,000 at 50, pixel for pixel workflow was maintained with CT’s Gen2 Barco system, Lightware 2.0 Matrix and Novastar 4K processors as well as 4K fibre distribution. Devecchi continued: “The event was a huge success from start to end. Everyone came together to work as a team and our client, The Manual London, did an absolutely fantastic job of bringing the production to life. This is a new chapter for the local entertainment scene in Saudi Arabia, and it was a pleasure to be part of it. Thank you to our client for trusting in our ability to deliver world-class video solutions.” Looking back on the event, ROQU’s Quirke had nothing but good memories. “The artists were absolutely overwhelmed by the crowd reaction. It was a seven-hour show and the

crowd were roaring out every word throughout. Some 40,000 young men and women enjoyed the live show together, many saying it was the greatest night of their life,” he said. “At the show, our event teams were flooded with thanks from the crowd, who genuinely see this as a new beginning – we even had long queues of fans waiting to give our support staff a hug to thank them for their work on the show. It is testament to the hunger and desire of the young people here to connect and enjoy these moments as one, regardless of your background.” This sentiment was echoed by The Manual London’s Richard King, who commented that the attendees were “finally able to express themselves in an environment like never before”. He said of the event: “It has set the scene for the future of live events in the Kingdom, opened the doors to mass engagement shared experiences and shown that there is definite demand for such events.” And King is not wrong. Jeddah World Fest, it seems, is only the start for

what many expect to be a transformative period of heavy investment for Saudi Arabia. With next year’s Jeddah World Fest already pencilled in the calendar, the high-profile boxing rematch between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr confirmed to be taking place in Riyadh on 6 December, and the country’s General Entertainment Authority set to inject upwards of $60 billion into the project over the next decade, it is safe to say that the Kingdom is going to be a prominent fixture on the region’s live events calendar for years to come – and that can only be good news for the Middle East’s events industry. Photos: ROQU Media International www.jeddahworldfest.com www.roqumedia.com www.themanuallondon.com www.worldclassevents.global www.productiontec.com www.ct-group.com www.showforce.com