Stageco applied its broadcast awards experience to provide the decking substructure for the MTV EMA curved stages, presenter platforms and camera platforms. Project manager Martin Beckers, along with a team of three Stageco supervisors, were based in Northern Ireland for 10 days to ensure the tight load-in and load-out schedules for the three trucks of equipment were adhered to.
This meant scheduling split 24 hour shifts at the outset, whilst also accommodating the ever-changing requirements of the show's producers throughout the event and in line with artist requests.
International project director Dirk De Decker worked closely with 2011 MTV EMA production manager Maggie Mouzakitis and designer Es Devlin in advance to plan the performance structures in line with the curved theme of the set, which hosted stars such as Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars and Katy Perry, who all walked away with awards on the night.
De Decker commented, "The 2011 MTV EMA is broadcast to over 600m people worldwide so the placement of the stages and the media and presenter platforms is of the highest importance to the show's producers to create the best possible look on television. The event requires extensive planning beforehand with Maggie's team and the other suppliers in order to ensure an efficient build that allows the broadcasters and each of the bands production teams maximum time to get set up with the required rehearsal times.
"Having worked on the MTV EMA for many years at locations including Rome, Madrid and Berlin among many others we are delighted to have been part of the team in Belfast that produced such a high quality live show and TV production."
(Jim Evans)
