Gearhouse South Africa supplied full technical production for the FIFA World Cup™ Kick-Off Celebration Concert, staged at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg.

The show was broadcast to tens of millions of music and football fans worldwide on June 10th, the night before the first match. The exciting and eclectic mix of African and international artists was executive-produced by Los Angeles-based, Control Room, the leader in producing massive global music events. Control Room’s technical director, Jim Baggott, and Gearhouse's project manager Bill Lawford oversaw all technical disciplines offered by the Gearhouse Group, including rigging, lighting, sound, LED screens, power, stage and set to ensure the highest standards of production for this once-in-a-lifetime music event.

For the audio equipment, Gearhouse Audio supplied all of it along with Britannia Row, a U.K.-based company with whom Gearhouse has a long-standing relationship.  These elements included  racks-and-stacks for the Main stage and B stage, with Britannia Row supplying  front-of-house and monitor consoles, all the RF equipment - mics and IEMs - plus a crew of six led by Derrick Zieba who worked with Gearhouse Audio's team led by Dave Tudor.

The L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC/KUDO sound system was designed by Gearhouse's Dave Tudor and system tech'd by Jako de Wit. Tudor and Britro crew chief Derrick Zieba started work on the show several months previously, renewing an already strong working relationship between the two companies.  Side fills were 4 L-ACOUSTICS KUDOs per side offering an over abundance of sub bass courtesy of 6 SB118s per side as requested by the Black Eyed Peas.

Jim Baggott comments, "It was a special, high tech show and a great celebration for the World Cup being in South Africa. Dealing with Gearhouse for the complete technical production package made things very easy - they are all very experienced and excellent people, and we speak the same language."

More information on : www.gearhouse.co.za
Excerpt courtesy of GEARHOUSE SOUTH AFRICA
 
Story and pics by Louise Stickland