Led by Pod Bluman, the PSL team had to triumph against the twin enemies of time and the elements. PSL's participation in the Liverpool show was confirmed only three weeks ahead of the event, just one week before the Christmas slow-down.
"The concept of the show was to tell the story of Liverpool's history and culture," explains Pod Bluman. "Its location was the open space between the city's great civic buildings, using St George's Hall as the backdrop to the stage, and in some respects, the stage itself." Amongst the turns were former Beatle Ringo Starr, and 149 other musicians performing on the roof of the Hall, with aerialists descending and ascending the building itself.
For the 40,000-strong crowd attending the event, PSL supplied two large projection screens, flown on either side of St George's Hall, with a third mounted on the nearby Holiday Inn Hotel, all fed by new Christie 20K projectors, which were also generating architectural projections onto the columns of St George's Hall. One of PSL's Barco LED B10 trucks was positioned at the top of Lime Street, and another in the Williamson Square overspill area, enabling even more people to watch the ceremony on-screen.
Production manager Simon Barrington, working on behalf of the Liverpool Culture Company, invited PSL to take on additional responsibility, handling all broadcast and camera facilities for the ceremony. "PSL was a massive help, taking a huge load off my shoulders especially with regard to the broadcast issues, and they did so unflappably, patiently and with lots of enthusiasm for the project. Nothing seemed to be a problem."
According to Bluman, it was the weather that could have been the big problem. Poor conditions led to the cancellation of two rehearsal nights. "Because the lighting couldn't be rehearsed, our cameramen had to rehearse in the dark; they didn't really know what the show would be like. But, although everyone was afraid of the winds getting up over 20mph, in which case the cranes couldn't operate, we were incredibly lucky to get a clear day for the gig and a fantastic show night."
(Jim Evans)
