The show was produced by Emirates with support from The Event Production Company and staged at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban. It was project managed for GHSA by Durban branch operations manager, Stuart Andrews, who comments, "Emirates is a six star client and extremely precise in their requirements. Our local knowledge of the venue coupled with the fact that we could draw on expertise from other areas in the company to supply elements like the bespoke staging, enabled us to deliver these exacting standards."
The event was divided into three distinct areas, all requiring individual treatments. The 1300 invited guests were first welcomed into a cocktail reception - which saw the venue's foyer transformed into an environment of Emirates First Class hospitality. Where music was provided by jazz combo Beat Route.
Gearhouse supplied a 6 x 4.8m stage, with a custom backdrop and fascia created by Sets, Drapes and Screens (SDS) which is also part of the Gearhouse SA Group. An L-Acoustics 115 PA system was installed for the band, and the stage was lit with ETC Source Four PARs and i-Pix BB4 LED wash lights. Two plasma screen walls were utilised for moving wallpaper and showing Emirates video clips.
Next, they passed through to an auditorium environment where the main presentation took place. This was a large area with tiered seating, featuring a flown lighting rig over the stage and a 15m wide by 4m high projection screen at the back of this.
The show was a fast-track introduction to Dubai and the products and services offered by Emirates. It was presented by local TV celebrity Jailoshini Naidoo. Marcel Wijnberger from Gearhouse Media, Johannesburg, co-ordinated the video, working with Emirates' Manager of Video Communications Mike Siddaway, who had produced all the show content in Dubai.
(Jim Evans)
