News Blog

In order to meet the growing market in digital and virtual production, and to offer our clients even better services, we have strengthened our digital studios and are pleased to welcome Timo Hille as Head of Virtual Production and Steven Meyer as Virtual Production Specialist on board with us. Timo and Steven join the existing team with Christian Jungen (also Virtual Production Specialist), Felix Falk (Media Server Operator) and Moses Bartosch (Project Manager).

From left to right: Christian Jungen, Steven Meyer, Timo Hille

Timo Hille is responsible for the entire Virtual Production unit from sales to production. He will also drive the latest developments and innovations:

"The whole area of virtual productions is relatively uncharted territory and still offers a lot of room for creative solutions. What appeals to me is that we at PRG not only want to consolidate the market we have already established ourselves in, but also to use our studios to develop new technologies for the live entertainment sector and to work out production-ready solutions from them. This will allow us to offer our clients not just simple equipment in the future, but unique technology solutions that don't even exist yet."

Steven Meyer as Virtual Production Specialist is responsible for the integration of content into the multi-layered digital studio environment:

"I create new interfaces and ensure that content supplied by the customer is optimally integrated into the various virtual production systems (tracking, real-time engines, media servers). For me, it's always about seamlessly linking these systems to create a perfect virtual experience."

Christian Jungen, who is also a Virtual Production Specialist, adds:

"In addition to working on interface integration, I create and optimise virtual content so that the real and virtual worlds merge exactly. So, with this additional component of creative content creation, we can offer our clients another service that enables efficient digital productions with us."

Johannes Wahl, PRG Sales Director Virtual Production Germany, summarises:

"We can clearly see that the demand for Virtual Production is growing strongly, especially in the area of scripted content. Virtual production gives creative people and filmmakers endless possibilities to redefine spaces and move in real and fictional worlds without restrictions. In addition to artistic aspects, calculative security and the ability to plan the virtual environment are crucial for production. These technologies will certainly have a lasting influence on filming and post-production in the future and will become permanently established as an innovative form of production. That is why we are happy to welcome Timo and Steven, two creative thinkers, to strengthen our team. This means we are ideally equipped for future challenges and innovations in the field of digital and virtual production."

Shooting of the feature film "The Social Experiment" in the
PRG Cinegate Virtual Production Studio-xR in Hamburg

More information about our global digital studio network: www.studios.prg.com

Expo 2020 Dubai, the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East region, officially opened its doors to visitors on October 1st showcasing architectural wonders and technology innovations from more than 192 countries.
UK’s contribution to Expo 2020 Dubai is the mesmerizing cone-shaped UK Pavilion with a circular façade which was created by world-renowned designer Es Devlin. The 25-meter-high LED façade which is integrated into the wooden sculpture is designed to celebrate global cultural diversity and collaboration. The UK Pavilion uses an advanced AI learning algorithm developed in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture which allows visitors to add their word to a continuously changing Collective Message from humanity to the universe displayed on the LED modules.

PRG was appointed by Pico to deliver the engineering of the 2,000 customized LED tiles through our PRG Projects team, sourcing the bespoke LED technology via PRG China as well as the custom designed immersive audio system, designed by Polyphonia. The technology package was then installed by PRG in Dubai.

“This is one of the most remarkable projects that I have been involved with in my whole career,” says Frederic Opsomer, General Manager PRG Projects, “I have known Es for many years, and we have collaborated on several projects together. She is an amazing Designer, and I must say that this project reinforces her already stellar reputation. This breath-taking design of evermoving poetry, displayed digitally and integrated to illuminate the façade of the UK Pavilion was a beautiful challenge for us at PRG, and we are very proud to collaborate with her on this journey of innovation.”

This message of collaboration and international openness is reflected in the delivery of the project. The UK Pavilion is a truly global collaboration; designed in close partnership with Avantgarde, supported by structural engineer Atelier One and supported and executed by Pico International, delivered by our experts from across the PRG global network and finally executed on site by our dedicated PRG Dubai team.

Gavin Short, Senior Technical Project Manager for PRG in Dubai, said: “The UK Pavilion is an exceptional and unmissable part of the overall Expo experience, located in the Opportunity District and is clearly a space that will inspire visitors to the site.”

Expo 2020 is expected to attract 25 million visits, of which 70% are expected to be international visitors.

"Creating Tomorrow" - from 3rd to 12th of September, Berlin's landmarks are shining bright once again for the Festival of Lights. Featuring 70 of the most famous buildings in the German capital, the festival will showcase themes such as digitalisation, sustainability and cultural diversity in a spectacular open-air gallery. PRG again supported the festival this year as technical partner with video technology on site. More than 20 PRG projectors were used to bring these illuminations to life at various locations. These included the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin TV Tower and the Oberbaum Bridge.

The show can be enjoyed between 20h21 and midnight and has brought about 3 million people to the capital in the past years.

Enjoy the colourful show:

Many thanks for this great cooperation:

• MP Studio
• Zander&Partner
• Birgit Zander

In recent years, more and more synergies have developed between PRG and our German subsidiary Cinegate. The especially strongly growing market of virtual productions in the segments film, TV series and advertising have shown us that a closer interlocking of the services between PRG and Cinegate make sense for the future and is in line with the times. 
 
In order to clearly communicate this closer cooperation and the strong partnership in to the market, we have jointly decided that Cinegate would appear as PRG Cinegate on the market in the future. We will support this development by hiring another managing director from 2022 who will be working hand in hand with Martin Abert to enhance and accelerate our growth efforts. We will follow up with another press release on this in the foreseeable future.
 
Martin Abert (Managing Director Cinegate):
"The merger is the logical and consistent step for the joint future, with the aim of a concentrated orientation and focus on the strongly growing streaming market. Along with this, we will increasingly use our synergies to expand the growth market of virtual productions." 
 
Udo Willburger (CSO PRG Germany): 
"Together with Cinegate, we have greatly expanded our know-how in the important virtual production market in recent years and together we now operate several studios. At PRG, we see a strong growth market in both areas – scripted and non-scripted – TV & Film, in which we want to further expand our market position and make our joint technical expertise even better available to our customers. The new name PRG Cinegate is intended to communicate this clearly to the market."
 
Cinegate GmbH has locations in almost all German federal states and studios in Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne. Cinegate is a technical full-service provider for cinema, advertising and TV productions and operates an extensive rental of state-of-the-art cameras, lighting, grip as well as generators and trucks. The studios vary in size depending on location and are suitable for productions of all sizes. 

First episode about the European Football Benchmark by Statista will air free-to-watch on July 14th at 4 PM (CET)

SPORTFIVE and the Production Resource Group (PRG) today announce the launch of their joint sport business talk format ‘FIVEFIFTYFIVE’ [5:55]. The talk format aims to be a knowledge transfer and networking platform to address the international sport business industry, including diverse perspectives from business experts and utilizing an innovative virtual production set-up. The name FIVEFIFTYFIVE is founded on the talk format’s concept of having 5 people on the podium, who will then engage in a discussion for 55 minutes.

The first episode on July 14th 2021 at 4 PM (CET), produced at the PRG virtual production studio-xR in Hamburg, will focus on the most important voice there is in football: The fans. Based on key findings from the European Football Benchmark 2021, conducted in a joint effort by SPORTFIVE and Statista, FIVEFIFTYFIVE will provide a diverse look into the football fan’s mind in regard to several commercial aspects of the sport business and shed light on the fans’ current perception of the ‘beautiful game’. Guided by host Lisa Ramuschkat, the panel guests will e.g. discuss a potential facelift for European football clubs on social media, the current origins of fandom, influential developments around Esports or the fans' desire for progressiveness from the clubs’ side and much more. 

PRG will act as technology partner in this collaboration and - as as a global market leader in event engineering - will deliver the overall virtual production and the set of FIVEFIFTYFIVE, whilst the international sport business agency SPORTFIVE holds the editorial and content ownership of the talk format.

Florian Riepe, Head of Sports & Special Events at PRG, comments: “SPORTFIVE is the perfect partner for this new talk format as we both work closely with many major global stakeholders in the Sports industry and Esports world. We share the same drive, creating lasting entertainment experiences for fans and brands. With FIVEFIFTYFIVE we aim for a diverse industry network exchange using our Virtual Production Studio-xR for an exciting 55 minutes business talk!”

David Rothenhäuser, Vice President and Head of Global Marketing Communications at SPORTFIVE, adds: “With FIVEFIFTYFIVE we aim to enable a nurturing discussion about contemporary topics within the sport business industry. We are excited about this very first episode with top speakers and I want to thank our partners at PRG and Statista for their trust and fantastic collaboration in the build-up to this launch.”

ABOUT SPORTFIVE

SPORTFIVE utilizes the unique emotional power of sports to create and enable partnerships in sports. By delivering full-service-solutions and long-term value for all stakeholders in sports, SPORTFIVE strategically and creatively connects brands, rights-holders, media platforms and fans by leveraging a global network paired with decades of experience and innovative spirit. As market leader and with customer centricity and vast data intelligence at its core, SPORTFIVE often leads the sports business into the future through its innovative digital solutions and thereby always aims to be the most progressive and respected partner in sports. SPORTFIVE operates as an international sports business and marketing agency with a global mindset and network of over 1,200 local experts based in 15 countries around the world, active in football, golf, esports, motorsport, handball, tennis, American football and many more. For more information please visit SPORTFIVE’s website, rel="noopener noreferrer" content hub and social profiles.
  

GLOBAL MEDIA CONTACT PRG

Valerie Cuno
Chief Marketing Officer EMEA & APAC
vcuno@prg.com
+3216615319

GLOBAL MEDIA CONTACT SPORTFIVE

David Rothenhaeuser
Vice President and Head of Global Marketing Communications
david.rothenhaeuser@sportfive.com
+49 176 11 99 04 17

Changing times also bring changes in personnel – and at PRG there are three notable news items this year: 

Ingo Rehnert becomes new COO: 

Ingo Rehnert, our former Head of Account Management Sport & Special Events, has been appointed Chief Operations Officer of PRG Germany and will join the Executive Board at the end of the year. Ingo Rehnert's career in the entertainment industry began in 2000. He initially started as a freelancer in project management and a few years later completed his training as an event technician at PROCON Event Engineering GmbH. After an internal trainee year in project and account management, Ingo Rehnert proved himself as a senior and key account manager for about ten years. During this time, he managed numerous projects in a wide range of PRG market segments and was available to customers as a contact for advice and support. In 2017, he became Head of Sports & Special Events. He successfully held this position for two years until he moved to PRG Gearhouse in Dubai as Director of Account Management Special Events in 2019. Along the way, Ingo Rehnert studied business administration and successfully completed his studies. Over the past 20 years, Ingo Rehnert has been able to acquire a wide range of knowledge and experience in national and international projects, as well as interdisciplinary management and is ready for his new position and the challenges it entails:  

"As COO, I am primarily responsible for our operational areas Asset Management, Operations and Technology in day-to-day business. In close cooperation with my fellow board member Udo Willburger and the EMEA management, we develop our organisational strategies and thus lay the foundations for our future corporate direction. My greatest motivation is to achieve continuous improvement in our processes and services in an increasingly dynamic and volatile market environment. I look forward to the challenges this will bring and to working closely with a very strong team." 

 
Florian Riepe takes over the position of Head of Sports & Special Events: 

Florian Riepe is also moving to a new position at PRG. On 01 July 2021, he will become the new Head of Sports & Special Events. Riepe has been an important part of the PRG team since the end of 2019, supporting the company with his expertise and, of course, his sporting spirit. In recent years, Florian Riepe has held various management positions in companies such as UFA Sports GmbH or SPORTFIVE, among others. Before joining PRG, he was Senior Vice President of Marketing & International Markets at Hamburger SV.  In addition to his work in the sports segment, Florian Riepe will also be responsible for special events at PRG from the summer onwards and will further advance the areas of sales and account management in both segments. For Florian Riepe, this means new tasks that he will tackle with a strong team.   

 
Jochen Dorn new Director of Production Management:

There is also a personnel change to announce on the production front. Our long-time colleague and Director of Production Management Manuel Meloh has left us to take on new challenges. We are happy to have already found a successor in Jochen Dorn – he took over the position in May. Jochen Dorn has also worked for PROCON for many years and completed his training as an event technology specialist with us. He then worked for PROCON as a Project and Account Manager and oversaw many projects until 2009. Jochen Dorn then worked as a freelancer for six years and supported various event formats with a focus on health and safety at work. After his freelance period, he was able to supervise further projects as Technical Producer and Director Operations at two renowned planning offices, acquiring further comprehensive industry know-how along the way. For his position as Director of Production Management, Jochen Dorn will be able to contribute his many years of experience on the service provider side, as a freelancer, and from the perspective of our clients.  

EMEA – April 20, 2021 • Production Resource Group LLC, (PRG) is known as the entertainment industry’s go-to production solutions provider for music, TV, film, corporate events, and theatre. Over the last year, the company has created a worldwide network 20 of studio environments, including locations owned and operated by PRG Alliance partners. Ideally suited for efficient, scalable production of pre-recorded and live content, each location is equipped with the most sophisticated gear and engineering to service its local market. These studios offer artists, brands and other creators a COVID-compliant setting and the resources to bring their visions to life. Beyond their responsiveness to today’s need for safety, they represent the future for digital and hybrid events.

“The studio environment has never played a more significant role, not only for legacy TV and film creators, but in music, corporate events and emerging fields like esports,” said Jere Harris, PRG Chairman & CEO. “Over the past year, we transformed spaces within our facilities—with every expertise and technology at hand—to serve that surge in demand, and we are seeing a very strong response from our customers.”

PRG Virtual Production Studios are located in Hamburg, Paris and Los Angeles. The PRG Digital Studios can be found all over the globe, including in "The EGG" in Brussels, London's trendy "Saatchi Gallery", Madrid, Dubai and Buenos Aires, Chicago, Las Vegas, Nashville, New York Metro, Orlando and PRG Alliance Partner Studios are in Budapest, Lisbon, Milan, Athens, Sao Paolo, Singapore and Zagreb.

Studios are strategically housed in the immediate vicinity of major facilities, putting both PRG’s inventory and technical expertise within reach, businesses, brands, musicians, filmmakers, and advertising agencies are given the opportunity to realize their projects with maximum security, expertise and cutting-edge technology.

Each studio has its own character, catering to the markets it serves such as music, TV/Film production or corporate event. An expert team is in place to supervise and staff each location, which all offer a variety of solutions for realizing productions and online events. PRG Digital Studios provide the perfect studio environment for pre-recorded or live broadcasts of a wide variety of digital event formats. 

Select locations within the network are PRG’s Virtual Production Studios, which seamlessly combine the physical and digital worlds. Advanced technology solutions—including extended reality (xR), mixed reality and proprietary Enhanced Environments and Ncam® technology—are used to add virtual environments onto real stages. These Virtual Production Studios are equipped to host green screen, standard capture or xR shoots, depending on the needs of production. Here, limitless creative possibilities are available to cinematographers, advertisers, event producers and DPs. From entirely imagined worlds to realistic scenery and backdrops, any environment can be brought into the studio with options for real-time visualization of virtual elements. As a result, talent can interact with their setting in real time, while producers realize major savings in post-production and travel costs.

Whether a simple livestream, an online product launch, a virtual session, elaborate film, television spot or advertising production, our studios are suitable for almost any digital production. High-quality technology, expert engineering for multi-purpose suites and spacious guest amenities characterize the studios. 

“What makes these studios so valuable is their location near the world’s major business and production centers, the range of technologies and people skill sets immediately available and our ability to bring all these technical solutions and workflow expertise elements together in-studio to realize the project vision of our customers,” said Stephan Paridaen, President & COO.

Visit our new microsite for all the details and info on our digital studios: studios.prg.com
 

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About Production Resource Group
PRG is the world's leading provider of entertainment and event technology solutions and has the largest inventory of rental production equipment. PRG provides comprehensive and discreet services to an array of clients in the live music, TV/Film, Broadway, sports, gaming, corporate experiential, and live events markets. Clients and partners depend on PRG's innovation, experience, and depth of experience in audio, video, lighting, rigging, staging, virtual production and extended reality, and scenery and automation systems to bring their stories to life. With 65 offices across North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia, PRG has capabilities to provide services worldwide. PRG is owned by The Jordan Company and GSO Capital Partners and PRG Management. For more information, please visit prg.com.

Corporate events, advertising shoots, film and series productions, festivals - all of this is difficult to invision during the Corona crisis. But thanks to the PRG Virtual Production Studio-xR, it is once again possible to create these productions! Our team has turned one of the Cinegate studios in Hamburg into a "gateway to the world". Covering more than 400 square metres, PRG has built a setup which is capable of bringing almost any scenery into the studio to make virtual events possible. Virtual Productions have already successfully produced various productions including blockbusters such as ‘Joker’ and ‘Star Wars’ to shoot scenes in ideal conditions in the studio. The studio offers optimal technical conditions for all digital and virtual formats; and with the help of Extended Reality (xR), completely new production formats are also possible in which the real-world merges with the virtual world.

For the advertising and film industry in particular, this concept brings enormous added value, and not just in times of the pandemic. By implementing xR in the studio, the production saves time, logistical effort and costs for post-production. You are independent of weather conditions and a change of location is possible at the click of a mouse.
In the PRG Virtual Production Studio in Hamburg, a 90 square meter high resolution LED wall was set up as a backdrop. The screen is about 22 meters wide and is 4 meters tall, and is made up of panels with a 2.8mm pixel pitch. A 35-square-meter movable LED ceiling is also used both to illuminate the set and is also ideal as an Ambilight. In addition, an LED floor can be added to enable a virtual set extension. Compared with green screen, the use of xR means reflections on mirror and glass surfaces as well as on faces are real and do not have to be added afterwards in post-production. In our studio, we shoot in real time, for nobody to have to be cut out in the process. With the help of additional mobile LED modules, realistic-looking lighting effects can also be created. With the help of additional mobile LED modules, realistic-looking lighting effects can also be created.

Another big oppourtunity PRG offers is the collaboration with Cinegate. Cinegate is a subsidiary company of PRG and uses high-quality camera and lighting technology as well as grip such as dollies and rails and thus offers film productions diverse and professional possibilities. The proximity to the PRG warehouse in Hamburg also ensures that all types of event technology is quickly available.

Our team is very happy to advise customers and support them in the implementation of their projects. If you are interested in a production in our studio, please contact our experts:
studios_emea@prg.com

See also our Microsite for more information:
www.studios.prg.com

PRG has already proven its expertise and know-how for the smooth logistics and set-up of COVID-related major projects in a very short time, with the provision of the technical infrastructure for the temporary COVID- 19 treatment centre, in two halls on the Berlin exhibition grounds. Following this, PRG Germany has also been entrusted with the set-up of a similar technical framework for the temporary vaccination centres at Tempelhof Airport and the Arena Berlin Treptow.

PRG is supplying the complete infrastructure for this, including:

• Rigging
• Video
• Lighting
• Audio
• IT and power cables
• Floor plan & AV/IT planning
• Special software solution: Management system for inoculation booth assignment
• Digital signage (route guidance system via LED displays)

 
The rigging, which consists of a total of approx. 1.4 km of truss for both locations, is used to attach the fixtures for the comprehensive lighting, to lay and provide the IT and power set-up for the vaccination booths and the reception and care areas, as well as for the distribution of audio and video signals. As a special software solution, PRG supplied an automated vaccination booth management system, so that the booths are efficiently utilised during operation, minimising waiting times for patients and providing medical staff with an overview of occupancy at all times. PRG also developed a digital signage system using LED screens to help visitors find their way around. An area-wide public address system ensures that announcements can be made.

These temporary installations are carried out in close cooperation with the Berlin Senate Administration for Health, Care and Equality (GPG) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), which ensures that the vaccination centres (also in accordance with the Covid protection rules) are ready for operation as efficiently as possible and within a short time. The challenge for all parties involved, but especially for PRG as the technical service provider, is to ensure planning permission is in place, plan the movement and disposal of large quantities of equipment and also personnel, and ensure the installation is managed on site within a very tight time frame. The two temporary vaccination centres are expected to be completed on schedule by mid-December. PRG Germany will then support the vaccination centres with technical staff on site for the entire duration of the vaccination process.

As one of the last events before the coronavirus-related restrictions, Deutsche Telekom had staged a video projection on three sides of the Elbphilharmonie (the famous new Hamburg Opera House) for the launch of its new campaign "X Times More Possibilities", with PRG commissioned for the technical implementation. A total area of almost 2,000 square metres had to be covered! For this purpose, a total of eight projection towers were erected around the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall, each housed up to four laser projectors, some of which were vertically 'stacked', with an output of up to 50,000 AnsiLumen, which resulted in a brilliant and uniform presentation of the video content.

 
The whole thing was controlled by a feed control system consisting of four high-performance D3 servers that distributed the video content to the individual projectors. The setup allowed individual access to each projector, e.g. to adjust brightness, colour temperature and the position of the projection. In addition, a separate WLAN network was installed between the projection towers, so that fine adjustments could be made directly on site at any point around the building, with the help of a remote laptop shortly before the projection started. This was done by means of a 'grid' that was projected onto the walls to check whether the image overlays of the individual projectors were exactly right. This was also necessary because "the weather during the set-up phase was once again – typical for Hamburg – sensationally bad, so the installation and set-up of the projectors within a rather short time frame became a real challenge", explains Michael Ebinger (Senior Account Manager PRG) with a smile.

The agency DO IT! was responsible for the overall project management. The content was created by Urbanscreen. Majo Ussat (Managing Director at Urbanscreen) outlined the development process as follows: "At the beginning, Telekom had hardly any ideas, except that they had sent us a campaign motif and said: 'what can you make out of this'? We then made use of some stylistic elements as the polygonal 'grid', a classic 3D mapping effect (with the cuboids going in and out), and then of course implemented the campaign motif "X Times More" with the Telekom logo. All this was spiced up a bit with Hamburg symbols, such as anchors, cranes and also a big ship."

On the day of the event itself, the weather in Hamburg showed a more merciful side, there was no rain and the wind kept within limits, so that the guests and also the Hamburg residents were offered a perfect projection spectacle. "At the end of the day, the result was to the point and what it should be: a great campaign start, a support of the Telekom street gigs and a bit of a greeting for Hamburg from Telekom. All the feedback we've received has been consistently positive," Majo Ussat sums up.

PRG was pleased that this event went smoothly and to the satisfaction of the customer, thus once again demonstrating its competence in outdoor projections of this size and quality.

The 14th European Handball Championship was characterised by exciting matches, atmospheric chants and lots of sports spirit - and of course, event technology that supports exactly that! One of the venues was the Vienna City Hall, where preliminary and main rounds took place from 9th to 26th January 2020.

Our Austrian PRG team was responsible for the event. The experienced crew worked alongside our colleagues René Rarrel and Sander van der Hoeven from our Vienna office, to carry out the technical planning in close cooperation with the client and ensure a smooth implementation. PRG supplied the video technology, lighting and audio technology for this event, and when it comes to the technical equipment for a sports event, it is important that above all, emotions, information and the feeling of the sport are showcased.

Florian Riepe, PRG Head of Sports, and his team try to achieve exactly that:
"It is of course extremely important that such events are staged appropriately and that the sound, lighting and everything else that goes with it is perfect. We understand the athletes, the organisers, the fans and we also understand the marketing, which enables us to use the technology accordingly".



For the sound engineering, the choice fell on a powerful system from Meyer Sound. Among other things, 38 Meyer Sound Lyon-M line arrays were installed, along with 16 Meyer Sound Leopard. Meyer Sound UPQ-1P and UPJ-1P were installed in the lower tiers. For the bass, the sound experts chose Meyer Sound 1100-LFC loudspeakers, which were hidden under the stage and therefore, not visible. When installing the sound system, it was important that there should be no restriction to the audience's field of vision.

The audio technology delivered what it was supposed to, even the local media reported it a success:
"In any case, the public address system in the Vienna City Hall worked excellently: The arena in Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus created good acoustics during the dress rehearsal for the European Handball Championship 2020," Peter Karlik wrote in the KURIER.

Besides the good sound, video technology played an important role. In total, two 46 square meter screens were installed in the hall. Absen T5 modules were installed for this. These LED walls showcased the activity from the playing field and doubled up as a scoreboard. To display this in parallel, the screens were each divided into two LED walls, but looked like one large area and could therefore be used to showcase different content.

The lighting technology also came from PRG. In addition to lighting the handball field and the audience ranks, the crew also equipped the Mixed Zone with lighting technology so that the players were also professionally illuminated during the interviews.

Even though the German national handball team only reached rank five, in the end, it was a successful European Championship with a great atmosphere, first-class handball and of course a successful technical implementation. Christoph Joklik from the "Österreichischer Handball Verband" was very satisfied:
"When there are 9,000 people in the hall, the music and the speakers are very, very important in handball to showcase the sounds and the atmosphere. As such, a very, very good sound system is incredibly important to make the event a positive one - and that worked outstandingly!"

December 19th to 21st, 2019, are dates that EDM fans in Saudi Arabia will not easily forget! The very first edition of the MDL Beast Fest held in the capital, Riyadh, was an immediate hit. The stellar line-up included 28 International music acts, such as Tiesto, Steve Aoki, David Guetta, Martin Garrix, and 24 home-grown Saudi Arabian DJs including DJ Duo Dish Dash and EDM DJ Cosmicat. PRG is proud to have provided 360° technology support and production services to this.

From a creative dream to technical reality

The record-breaking festival took place at a purpose-built venue on the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Entertainment offerings were split across five stages delivering a truly spectacular event. PRG was the proud provider of 360° technology and production services for this remarkable first of its kind and it proved a real showcase, demonstrating the collective capabilities of the PRG teams from Dubai, UK, Belgium, Germany and France and their ability to collaborate in making that creative dream a technical reality!

MDL Beast is a festival of superlatives. The PRG team set up a total of 480 tons of equipment on-site — audio, lighting, video and rigging for the five primary stages — but it’s not all about the gear!

For this world-class and amazing first in the region, PRG has come together as a global team to deliver production excellence across all disciplines. This is what PRG is all about…it’s all about our people!

5 stages, 1 big immersive experience

More than 400,000 visitors immersed themselves across the 5 performance arenas, each of them beyond spectacular in terms of scale and visual impact! This, together with a mix of art & cultural zones, fashion activations and food & beverage outlets created a fantastic festival setting.

“We delivered over 3000 square metres of high resolution LED Screens across the festival site, from the impressive and Guinness World Record winning main stage, reaching some 37 metres high, to the immersive 360 degree video performance zones, the scale of this event was truly mind-blowing ”, explains Niel Beelen.

PRG in the Middle East

The supply of state-of-the art equipment was simply one aspect of our scope of work for MDL Beast. Added to this technology was the supply of a diverse range of technical specialists from the across the PRG world.

“PRG is all about technical production services. In a short time-frame our teams across three continents were able to come together team to deliver a truly mega event. MDL Beast was a great festival and we are really proud to have played a part in making this a success!” says Stephan Paridaen, CEO of PRG Group, who was in Saudi Arabia for the occasion. Paridaen continues: “We are really proud to be supporting the vision of 2030, delivered by the Saudi Arabian Leadership, has a focus on culture and tourism, sports and entertainment and what better example than this amazing event, MDL Beast!”

PRG wants to thank and congratulate MDL Beast LLC and Sela for this incredible achievement and to our fantastic global PRG Team.