JOHANNESBURG – The Czech Republic may not have fielded a soccer team for the 2010 FIFA Word Cup, but the country had a noticeable presence during the event's official "Kick Off Concert" staged at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg – Czech-made Robe fixtures were part of the rig. Shakira, The Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Vusi Mahlasela, Blk Jks, Juanez, Tinariwen, The Parlotones, Big Nuz & DJ Tira and other performers took the stage, and the event also featured speeches by Jacob Zuma, South Africa's president, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Gearhouse South Africa supplied all the lighting equipment. LD Patrick Woodroffe designed the show, with Tim Routledge serving as programmer.
The final three hours of the concert was broadcast live via the South African Broadcasting Company (SABC) and syndicated worldwide, reaching an estimated audience of up to a billion. Some 30,000 music and soccer fans also attended the event at Orlando Stadium.
The Robe fixtures included 36 REDWash 3â—Â192s, 28 ColorSpot 2500E ATs, 16 ColorWash 2500E ATs, 24 ROBIN 300 Washes and 6 ColorWash 700E ATs.
Woodroffe's design needed to capture the spectacle of the moment, be flexible enough for the wide range of performances and be pleasing to both the TV cameras and those watching from the stadium.
There were six 9-meter-high truss towers positioned near the front of the stage, and four of these were equipped with 24 of the REDWash fixtures, framing the side scrims and the left and right LED screens outside of these.
The fixtures were used for front lighting the audience, for adding a bit of sparkle to the wide shots and for backlighting the B Stage, which was built downstage left, in front of the scrim area. The other 12 fixtures were rigged on two side trusses over the stage and used for cross-stage blasts of color.
The ROBIN 300 Washes were placed around a mezzanine level walkway 2.5 meters up off the stage that ran around its three enclosed sides. This space was used for dancers and the Soweto Gospel Choir, who made several appearances throughout the show.
The ROBINs – newly purchased by Gearhouse South Africa – provided backlighting for performers on stage, and were a main feature in the back of the onstage cameras shots.
It was the first time that Woodroffe and Routledge had used either the REDWashes or the ROBIN 300 Washes. Routledge credited the REDWashes for brightness, color and visual interest with the rectangular beam shape, and complimented the ROBIN 300 washes for their compact size.
The ColorSpot 2500E ATs were used as part of the audience lighting package. They were rigged on the two FOH followspot towers and onto trussing installed into sections of the stadium roof at the end and along the sides of the arena.
The 16 ColorSpot 2500E ATs were also rigged on the stadium roof trussing, and provided high-level illumination and audience lighting, an important factor for any large televised event. The six Robe ColorWash 700E ATs were on the stage floor, used for backlighting and beam-work upstage of the main performance area.
Routledge controlled all the stage lighting – which also included other moving lights, strobes, LED fixtures and generics – from a grandMA full size console. Gearhouse's Hugh Turner ran the audience lighting with another grandMA full size console.
Woodroffe's associate LD was Adam Bassett. The event's production director was Jim Baggott, and the show was produced by Kevin Wall of Control Room. The set – featuring 154 shields on the inside of the stage – was designed by Ray Winkler of Stufish.
For more information, please visit www.robe.cz.
