Adele in the round with VerTech Ultra
- Details
Initial audio planning required eight hangs of V-Dosc K1 and K2, some 10m high, arranged facing outwards around the stage and a substantial sub-bass hang dead centre of the stage. However, for optimum results, the speakers had to be suspended 25m up.
With Adele wanting to be closely surrounded by audience in a genuine 3600 lay-out, there was no available real estate for all the usual control equipment. Tour production manager Richard Young conceived the idea of building the racks into two shipping containers that form the heart of a production area suspended high above the stage.
Required to suspend over 40 tons at 25m before starting on the rest of the extensive production install, Young approached Star Events for a solution from the planned upgrade to its VerTech system.
Star had four months to develop and ship the stages to Australia. Badged VerTech Ultra, the new components are dimensionally compatible with existing VerTech parts, but the configuration for Adele is unique.
An eight-spoked grid, with PA cantilevers on each, is free-standing on just four 100 ton capacity Ultra towers with no ties between them at ground level and no storm bracing anywhere within audience sight lines. Every conceivable element of the stage build and production rigging is monitored by systems supplied by Load Cell Rental.
Below the roof mounted production area, a suspended 14m octagonal ‘witches hat’ roof protects the main performance area from rain and sun and provides additional rigging points. As the roof has to move during the show, tracking the 20m diameter screen ‘drum’, all water from the gutters is pumped away via the work area above.
Richard Young comments: “Star Events rose to the challenge with enthusiasm and some great solutions. The fact that this is on just four legs, that are not tied together, has enabled us to get people as close to Adele as possible, maxing out the capacity on the floor and creating and breaking attendance records all over Australia. The ultimate ground support!”
Star Events’ special projects director, Roger Barrett, said: “It has been a huge privilege to be trusted with enabling this record breaking tour to happen. We looked hard at the few previous in-the-round stadium shows and tried to learn from them, we are delighted with the end result. Once this tour is over we will be using the new Ultra components to upgrade our existing VerTech festival stages so that we can always say yes to whatever weights our clients want to fly.”
(Jim Evans)
