The Star Vertech stage set up for the Beautiful Night.
UK - The BBC brought live music to Northern Ireland this spring with their BBC Music Live week, which kicked off with 'One Big Weekend' and closed with the 'Beautiful Night' concert. Star Events Group was bought in to provide the staging and rigging services for both events. 'One Big Weekend' took place on 24-25 April, incorporating both a dance day and a band day. Faithless took to the stage on Saturday whilst Sunday's headliners Ash got the crowds bouncing, and were warmed up by performances from Avril Lavigne, Kelis and Franz Ferdinand.

The event took place in a huge Kayam tent, in which Star Events Group created the show's focal point. A 20m x 15m Vertech stage was erected inside the structure with an impressive video and lighting set-up. The stage was branded with BBC Radio 1 and Music Live logos. A crew of 10 built the impressive structure over three days with Pete English acting as crew chief and doubling up as production rigger over the show weekend. Pete Holdich, project manager for Star Vertech, managed the logistics involved with the transportation of the staging equipment.

Dave McCalmont, BBC Radio 1 live events manager, commented: "After the success of last year's 'One Big Weekend' events, it seemed like a natural progression to use Star Events Group again. Pete Holdich worked closely with Neil (McDonald) and myself to deliver a staging and rigging combination that fitted perfectly with how we wanted the event to look and we were pleased with the result."

While the audience enjoyed the entertainment in Derry, the Star Events Group team were preparing the stage for the following weekends entertainment, building one of their largest festival stages - a 25m vertech system in the centre of Belfast. The Beautiful Night concert marked the finale of the BBC Radio 1 Music Live week in Ireland, with performances from Ronan Keating, Alanis Morissette and Bob Geldof.

The stage build presented both time and logistical restrictions to Pete Holdich, who oversaw a team of 26 trained stage-crew, the two teams headed by Bob Fennell and Andrew Philips. The stage stood at over 20m high, erected over the main entrance gates to the City Hall, with specially adapted angled video wings for improved audience sightlines and against the backdrop of the impressive civic building.

Holdich commented: "It is great to start the season with BBC Radio 1. The atmosphere throughout the projects has been incredible and we're pleased to have been a part of it all again."

(Lee Baldock)


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