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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.

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.

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.

An inspiring event designed to bring together all our regions from around the world in one location, to share and develop our unique global offering.

PRG Unite has been devised with the specific intention of gathering all of our international teams together, to discuss our global offering for the future. PRG globally is the leading technical solution provider for the event industry and is constantly looking at how to best assist our clients across the world, helping them grow and develop exciting activations. The PRG Unite event enables us to discuss future challenges and strategies while combining our resources and expertise as one team.

The event will enable each of our regions (United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Japan, China, UAE and United States) to showcase their very best corporate projects, detailing to our clients the processes from strategic planning to event delivery, allowing our clients the unique opportunity to share our knowledge and best practice which enable us to hold such a world-renowned standing within the industry.

This insider view is sure to be a unique and inspiring insight into the future of how PRG will work with its clients on a global scale. Speaking about the upcoming PRG Unite event Richard Williams - PRG UK Chief Executive Officer commented:
“We felt this would be a fantastic opportunity for our UK customers to meet and talk directly to all our global PRG colleagues in one place. Allowing them to understand how PRG can help support and work together to provide global solutions.”

End of press release.

About Production Resource Group:
Production Resource Group UK Ltd.
(PRG) is the world’s leading supplier of entertainment and event technology to a wide range
of markets, including corporate and automotive events, concerts, special events, theatre,
television and film, trade shows and installations, such as theme parks, museums, retail stores
and performing arts centres. PRG provides integrated services and equipment, including audio, video, lighting, rigging, staging and scenery and automation systems, for these markets from more than 40 offices in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

Post Malone, who has captured the zeitgeist through his unique genre-blending musical style and introspective songwriting, is on a global tour. PRG is supporting the superstar worldwide by providing 360 concert touring services, including sound, video, lighting and rigging.

One PRG team

The initial contact and contract in the USA was taken care of by VER, which recently joined the PRG family. Their expertise with big productions in the USA has been indispensable for this tour. Thanks to its unique global presence and network, PRG is able to provide worldwide 360° touring services and apply the same high standards in all countries, across continents.

The crew comes from both the US and Europe and can count on local support and gear in any of the countries on the tour’s agenda.

Production Manager for Post Malone, Dennis Danneels, put it this way: “The PRG team, between Los Angeles, Vegas, Germany and the UK, were basically just taking the project and handing it off like an assembly line all the way down. We were taking advantage of all these different time zones to be able to complete this project in time. People were working right until the last minute of load-in.”

Global reach, local support

For the European part of the tour, our UK and German teams joined forces, working closely together, with UK providing video and light and Germany being responsible for the sound. Thanks to their ample experience in cross-national productions and great communication, this resulted in a seamless and smooth collaboration in which the client benefits from both the scale of PRG Group and the local presence and understanding of the market in each country the tour passes.

Stephan Paridaen, President and COO of PRG says: ‘from day one, this project has been about a collaboration to define the best, most fully integrated technical production solution that realizes the artist’s creative vision. We take that even further and service the tour globally on the ground with local, highly experienced crew and state of the art gear. It’s a service and a 360-degree solution.’

Video Crew Chief ‘Topher’ (Christopher Davidson) was delighted about the seamless support in the various countries. “One advantage of having a worldwide support system, like you have with PRG, is that I am confident that I can go anywhere on the globe and have the same caliber of people, gear, and the same support virtually 24/7 that is required in this industry.”

A new standard in large-scale concert touring

This cutting-edge approach to servicing large-scale concert tours on a global level is made possible by PRG’s unique ability to combine high standards of gear with specialists who work seamlessly together.

“There is incredible skill level with the PRG crew. The gear has been consistent day in and day out. We’ve had very, very few failures, and this is all the stuff that we ran for almost 24 hours a day for three weeks,” Danneels adds. “I’m really pleased with it from a financial stand point, it made a lot of sense, and it saved a lot of money.”

PRG wants to thank our client PostyCo and PM Dennis Danneels. We would like to extend our appreciation for our own Burton Tenenbein, responsible for the overall AE and lighting kit, Brent Dannen, who took care of the tour’s sound, and Mike Drew, supporting the tour’s video package. Also, a big thank you to the whole

This year it is in Tel Aviv that the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 will choose its’ winner. And – as in many previous years– PRG will be part of it again, delivering customized show solutions for rigging and video that will ensure an efficient roll-out of the show and offer the audience an unforgettable show. 

"Florian Wieder, the set designer, created some unique elements for this year’s show", explains Ingo Rehnert (Head of Sales & Account Management Sport & Special Events PRG). On one hand there are the triangles in the ceiling of the main stage. On the other hand, we have the LED strips in the ceiling of the Green Room. The customized triangle structures, which were developed by our special construction department, integrate the VER Blades.
According to John van Look, Head Rigger Production PRG Germany, the weight distribution and static calculation, in function of the suspension capacities of the venue, was the biggest challenge, considering the amount of automation technology that needed to be integrated in the ceiling.

The main elements at the back of the stage are the rotating LED panels, which are composed of ROE CB5 and mounted on turntables with customized metal frames in which the LED panels are integrated.

Another great element for the show is the LED floor on the main stage, which consists of Black Marble 4 modules, which were integrated in the Domino developed by PRG for fast and time saving assembly.

Ola Melzig, Head of Production ESC 2019, resumes: "Our job is to highlight 41 songs and for them to be unique. There are not that many companies in the world that can deliver that amount of high-end products – and that is delivered by PRG!"

We would like to thank:
KAN – KAN Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation
Meytal Cohen (TV Producer)
Shay Bonder (Head of Video & Technologies)
Avishay Giladie (Technical Director Show)
Tarmo Krimm (Senior Technical Director)
Johannes Schau – (Head Rigger EBU)

M&M Production Management AB
Ola Melzig (Head of Production)
Tobias Aberg (Head of Production)

Florian Wieder – Wieder Design (Set Designer)

We would also like to thank all the parties and people involved whom we had the opportunity to work with on this great production and our PRG Alliance partner Sincopa.

PRG Tech Facts

Video:

• 450m2 ROE CB5
• 100m2 ROE Black Marble 4 with PRG Projects Domino LED Frames (LED Floor)
• 16 x Panasonic PT DZ-21 Projectors
• 2.200 VER Blades - 90cm
• 4 x Disguise d3 VX4 Media Server
• 4 x GrandMa2

Special Construction:

• triangle aluminum frames (250x250x250cm) for VER Blades in the main stage ceiling
• triangle Pod for VER Blades for main stage kinetic section ceiling

Rigging:

• 3.800 m truss
• 650 hoists BGV D8 / D8+
• 300 m horizontal live line system

340 tons of material in total
Production period: 21st March – 03rd June (almost 11 weeks)
Crew: 35 Riggers + 18 Technicians
Number of Trailers: 32 x 40" Containers

Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG), the world’s leading supplier of entertainment and event technology headquartered in New York, is acquiring the Middle East division of Delta Sound, Delta Sound L.L.C. UAE, a specialist provider of live audio and event communications technology based in Dubai and operating across the Middle East. Peter McCann, CEO for PRG in the Middle East and Andy Jackson, the Managing Director of Delta Sound, jointly announced the acquisition today.

Delta Sound LLC, founded in 2006, is the leading specialist audio and communication company in the Gulf Region and will join forces with PRG’s operation in Dubai, forming a welcomed union between the two companies who have collaborated successfully for many years across a broad range of corporate, government and large-scale special events. Like PRG, Delta Sound provides technical design and technology support to both local and international production houses who benefit from the high standard of service and delivery offered.

For PRG’s worldwide clients, this acquisition means that they will have access to additional expertise and technology when working with PRG in the Middle East and beyond. They can continue to be confident in the quality of product, experience, and professionalism whilst enjoying the addition of world-class event communications through the provision of fully scalable wired and wireless solutions.

“By acquiring Delta Sound LLC, we have bolstered our existing offering for our many customers who produce events and shows internationally”, said PRG’s McCann. “I’m also delighted that this acquisition integrates comprehensive event communications into our product offering thus ensuring that we can present a truly turnkey solution to our customers and partners. With events such as Expo 2020 on the horizon these are certainly exciting opportunities for a company that can operate at scale and this acquisition demonstrates both a significant level of commitment to the region and a continued appetite for growth.”

“As Delta Sound LLC, we have worked on some of the region’s largest and highest profile productions,” commented Andy Jackson. “We have established a loyal client base that has become more appreciative of the standard of audio production and event communications being delivered today by Delta. Having worked closely with PRG for several years across many of these events, our partnership has naturally evolved into a trading relationship and today we solidify this to the benefit of both our clients and teams.” It will be business as usual and Delta Sound will retain its existing operational format and be officially titled ‘PRG deltasound” during the transition process. 

Stephan Paridaen, PRG’s Global President and Chief Operating Officer, concluded, “PRG and Delta Sound are extremely well positioned to provide a multi-disciplined, integrated solution. Making the UAE Delta Sound team part of the global PRG family will be extremely valuable to our clients and this has been our top priority from the start.”

Paul Keating, MD of Delta Sound UK commented, “Myself, Mark & Andy go back 40 years together and Andy has been involved with Delta since our humble beginnings back in 1988. He has done an amazing job in building and managing the business over the past 12 years. We have always had a very good working relationship with PRG both here in the UK and in the Middle East and this is a great fit for Delta UAE becoming part of the extended PRG family. We very much look forward to continuing this relationship together in the future.”

PRG invests in Movecat motion hoists — VMK S 500 and VMK S 1250 — innovative and notable for their unusual flexible handling, whilst satisfying the highest safety level on the market.

MOVECAT

With their remarkable features, VMK-S hoists represent the elite class on the world market and are recommended for all state-of-the-art applications in locations such as in TV studios, theatres and event venues demanding maximum performance and safety combined with the widest possible bandwidth of uses.

VMK-S hoists have the possibility to move both horizontally and vertically and can move live artists; they can be controlled at variable speeds for way- and time-synchronous runs. These high-speed hoists (from 10 m/min) in combination with a V-Motion Powerpack are capable of speeds ranging from 0 to 40 m / min. In addition, its control desks are optimized visually, which significantly facilitates programming.

Gary Boyd, Executive Vice President & COO PRG EMEA comments: “Working with Movecat over the last six months we have established a great partnership in variable speed and safety technology. We have been able to create new products at a PRG specific working with Movecat here in Stuttgart and these new products and developments will lead to a great partnership across both companies!”

Movecat fulfilled PRG’s needs going forward and proved that it was a future proof product and the safest most compliant product in all markets at this time.
They are currently the only kinetic solutions on the market to have received the Safety Integration Level (SIL3), meeting the highest safety standards.
Oliver Nachbauer, CFO Movecat stipulates “Both PRG and Movecat are looking for solutions for their clients and their requirements, working together on our products and their specifications to service these unique requirements clients have. I am very much looking forward to the partnership with PRG and the challenges we might get.”

By adding these products to the portfolio, PRG can offer an even wider range of fully integrated solutions, serving clients more creatively given the wide range of possibilities as well as the most recent and safest solutions on the market!
Motion signals can now be synchronized with video and lighting cues, which will positively reflect on the cooperation between the motion operator, the lighting operator and the video operator.

A first batch is available as from November 2018 and will further be supplemented during the month of March and June 2019. The Movecats will be featured for the first time during Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of ‘The War of the Worlds’ in the UK, operated by our trained PRG crew.