Irish comedian Tony Hawks compered both evenings and every detail pervaded the patriotic Irish craic. A stunning performance by the acclaimed dance troupe 'Lord of the Dance’, followed by a live set from Ronan Keating, combined to offer true Irish musical entertainment. The set, designed by Glynn Larcombe of Splash Studios, further augmented the Irish theme. It centred around a giant 200m x 8m gauze cyclorama, digitally printed with ‘beauty spots’ of the Irish countryside. Weighing over one tonne, it was suspended into position by NEC's rigging division, headed by Derek Wilson, onto a giant hexagonal truss structure using 150 electric chain hoists to form the perimeter of the 360-degree set.
Blackout's project manager Chris Brain collaborated with Larcombe to design and supply a starcloth which, suspended by Blackout's team onto another huge truss structure, lay behind the magnificent cyclorama. It played a vital role in the creative treatment of his set design. As guests arrived, Larcombe presented a dramatic opening sequence - lasting 16 minutes - which recreated dawn breaking on an Irish Hillside. Lighting designer Peter Barnes and on-site lighting director, Graham Feast, used the Starcloth to augment their lighting design, sequenced using six cues and combined with deep colour washes from Studio Due City Colors, supplied by lighting contractor LSD. The lighting amalgamated with the starcloth to move from a dark twilight scene to bright daylight, revealing a typically undulating Irish countryside vista.
For the dramatic finale reveal sequence, Blackout designed and supplied a Kabuki effect, which they rigged on the main stage built by NEC, where it blended unobtrusively into the cyclorama. The sensational moment came as the Kabuki tumbled down to reveal the Lord of the Dance troupe at the conclusion of Sam Torrance's welcome speech.
(Lee Baldock)
