PAUL VAN DYK

THE GODFATHER OF TRANCE MUSIC TAKES HIS SHINE IBIZA RESIDENCY TO DUBAI’S COCA-COLA ARENA FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY.

Taking place as part of the annual Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) festival, German superstar DJ Paul Van Dyk brought his world-renowned SHINE Ibiza residency to Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena for one night only on 19 August. While several hybrid and small-scale shows have taken place in Dubai over the past 18 months, with strict social distancing measures and attendees having to remain seated throughout, significantly, this performance – which also featured support from fellow SHINE Ibiza residents, Egyptian trance duo, Aly & Fila – was the first show since the start of the pandemic where dancing was permitted. “To be the first show where people are able to really have a good time again, dance and really develop that sense of togetherness just makes me even more happy and grateful,” Van Dyk told The National. “It also provides a possible outlook for the future.”

Having delivered numerous concerts in Coca-Cola Arena since it opened in 2019, MediaPro International was once again charged with supplying much of the technical equipment for the show. “We were initially contacted by Malcolm [Giles, Director of Technical and Production, Coca-Cola Arena] and asked to go in for a meeting to discuss supplying equipment for the entire DSS project,” began MediaPro’s Shaam Pudaruth, explaining the company’s involvement.

A much larger undertaking than just the single-night Paul Van Dyk show, the DSS project included many productions – from Egyptian singer-songwriter, Hamza Namira, to comedian, Wayne Brady, and Russian indie rock outfit, Mumiy Troll – all taking place at the arena between 1 July and 4 September. “Once we had the brief and all the various artist riders, our team started to design the rig,” Pudaruth outlined, adding that the whole process took around two weeks from start to finish. “The Coca-Cola Arena team was very pleased with what we proposed.”

With such a wide variety of acts using the setup, the rig had to be versatile enough to cater to everything from rock ’n’ roll to Van Dyk’s electronic trance. Claypaky fixtures featured heavily in the lighting rig, with 29 Scenius Profile, 76 Sharpy Plus, 32 Mythos and 20 B-EYE K20 fixtures playing a starring role. The remainder of the rig comprised 42 Robe Spiiders, 30 SGM P10s and 24 Q-7s, as well as 18 CKC Y1640s, 24 EK R3s, and 24 Cyclops CPX 418s. Lighting control came from two MA Lighting grandMA2 full size consoles with MA NPUs.

“Claypaky and Robe have been our go-to products for festival rigs and have never let us down,” commented MediaPro HOD Lighting, Christopher Dawson, explaining the choice of fixtures. “With a very strong technical support and backend assistance, we were able to deliver from preproduction to execution – it’s more than we could ever ask for.”

While Dawson singled out MediaPro’s Harold Fernandes, who lit all the shows, he extended his praise to the entire team. “Congratulations to the operations team who wowed audiences

“Seeing these events coming back and knowing that there are many more to come is, without doubt, the most satisfying thing for us.”

Shaam Pudaruth, MediaPro International.

and created amazing visuals,” he said. “We were excited and thrilled to be a part of this show post the pandemic, and we look forward to many more challenging projects ahead of us.”

The video design incorporated the arena’s in-house LED, which was used as a backdrop to the stage as well as two IMAG screens flown right and left. In addition to this, MediaPro supplied a total of 288 panels of Gloshine AM4.81 LED, which were split between a central ground-stacked 16m by 1.5m strip, two ground-stacked 3m by 3.5m LED wings left and right, as well as two flown 3m by 4.5m LED wings.

A Barco E2 Event Master processor was used for control, with content run through a Dataton WATCHOUT system. Four Sony PMW350K cameras captured video content, which was mixed using a Blackmagic Vision Mixer HyperDeck Studio Pro.

‘A COLOSSAL SUCCESS’ While Coca-Cola Arena’s in-house PA system was used, MediaPro provided a wide range of stage and in-ear monitors, including eight L-Acoustics KARAs, five SB18s and 12 X15s. The KARAs and SB18s were used as side fill (two per side), with the remaining SB18 used as drum fill.

A full Shure PSM 1000 eight-in-one IEM kit was deployed. Yamaha CL5 consoles were used at both FOH and monitors, with a Clear-Com RS 701 six-in-one kit used for comms. Shure meanwhile was the microphone manufacturer of choice, with a ULXD4D eight-in-one rack as well as a 10-in-one drum mic kit deployed.

Two Pioneer CDJ-2000NXS2s and one CDJ200NXS handled the backline requirements for the festival, with an additional DJM-900NSX2 provided for Paul Van Dyk’s show.

Unsurprisingly, the German DJ’s team also requested lasers and SFX for the show, with MediaPro supplying RGB 30W and 20W lasers and a Pangolin laser controller, as well as a range of SFX, including four MagicFX CO2 Stadium Blasters, eight CO2 Jets, two Stadium Shots, and six Sparkulars. Atmospherics were provided by six Reel FX DF-50 haze machines, six DF-500 Digi

fans and two Smoke Factory fan foggers. The overall look and feel of the show was designed by MediaPro Senior Technical Director, Harold Fernandes, with Nitin Kurup handling audio, Atul Rajendran taking care of video and servers, and Johan Allers overseeing the rigging requirements.

“We had two days to load in, which gave us ample time for the setup,” Pudaruth shared. “We’re well accustomed to supplying at the Coca-Cola Arena, so once the various riders of each artist were locked in, our team switched into automatic mode and did what they do best.”

According to Pudaruth, correspondence with the various promoters involved was “smooth and easy”. He added: “The team at Coca-Cola Arena was incredibly helpful in co-ordinating all communications. They ensured that the whole process was clear and efficient.” A prerequisite nowadays, as well as the conditions of entry for punters, all crew working on the event were subject to rigorous COVID-19 policies.

“Everybody involved in the setup and show had to be vaccinated and also show a negative PCR test,” Pudaruth recalled. “This is the ‘new normal’ now and every venue has the same requirements. All our crew at MediaPro are fully vaccinated, so it’s no issue at all.”

Describing the project as “a colossal success”, Pudaruth reflected on the achievement of putting on one of the first major shows since the onset of the pandemic. “There’s no doubt that the entire DSS Festival was incredibly successful,” he said. “From the beginning, it was such a pleasure to sit around a table with Malcolm and Mark [Jan Kar, GM, Coca-Cola Arena] and discuss a festival. Seeing these events coming back and knowing that there are many more to come is, without doubt, the most satisfying thing for us.”

With Paul Van Dyke’s show being the first of its kind since the start of the pandemic to allow dancing, Pudaruth shared his hope that it will be a watershed moment for the city. “COVID-19 hit us all extremely hard, and this is the first major live event that has happened in Dubai for a long time,” he commented. “We are enormously proud to have been involved in what will hopefully be the start of events opening back up in Dubai. It’s a great feeling to see international and local artists live on stage, entertaining real, in-person crowds again. It’s been a long time coming, but well worth the wait.” Photos: MediaPro International www.mediproav.com www.coca-cola-arena.com