Objective
For its international tour, The Marvels of Saudi Orchestra required a central London venue with capacity for 150 musicians to perform to 1,600 audience members on the evening of 28 September 2024, and the ability to provide high production quality, both within the venue itself and for a live broadcast to Saudi Arabia.
The venue would also need to pull out all the stops for the fourth performance on the tour, which had previously been performed at Place du Chatelet in Paris, the National Theater in Mexico City, and the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.
Expectations were high for the event, designed to promote and raise the international profile of Saudi arts and heritage, so an expert events team would be required to work with both in-house and third-party production companies, including florists, set designers, security teams and traffic management teams to ensure a flawless delivery.
Organisers, the Saudi Music Commission, were also keen to work with a venue with an impressive history and strong values that outwardly cared for its team and supported its community.
Execution
While the concert took place over one evening, the magnitude of the event and the sheer volume of performers and equipment meant organisers required four days to prepare the space.
The venue was booked out exclusively for the event’s organisers on 27 and 28 September but with other clients using spaces two days prior to this, the Central Hall Westminster team had to work efficiently to manage access to production teams, designers, florists, dressers and crew, as well as storage without disruption to other booked events.
On the night itself, the concert, which included performances by The Saudi National Orchestra and Choir and the UK’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, took place in Central Hall Westminster’s Great Hall. The room’s iconic self-supporting dome, and awe-inspiring grand organ, mastered by the venue’s former musical director William Lloyd Webber, set the scene well, providing an impressive backdrop for the musical extravaganza.
The venue’s flagship space, offering capacity for up to 2,000 people, with its adaptable stage area, and blind spot-free seats meant both performers (from both the Saudi Orchestra and the UK’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) and audience members could be comfortably accommodated.
In addition to using the Great Hall’s recently upgraded audio system to ensure the music -a mixture of traditional Saudi and British pieces – had pitch-perfect delivery, Central Hall Westminster’s in-house AV partner White Light supplied close mic’ing and in-ear monitors for all 150 musicians and singers.
White Light also supported video streaming, using Central Hall Westminster’s internal fibre patching to project in 4K, and enhanced lighting in the Great Hall for TV production.
Further lighting and audio solutions were provided inside and outside the venue to bring the wow factor.
Central Hall Westminster’s catering partner Green & Fortune, worked around the clock from the morning of Friday 27 September to keep event production crews well-fuelled with refreshments, including tea and coffee, soft drinks, fruit skewers and biscuits.
For the event itself, which was alcohol-free, Green & Fortune served traditional coffee and dates, supplied by the organisers, to every ticketholder on arrival. They also created bespoke mocktails and sourced non-alcoholic Saudi sparkling wine to be served alongside a selection of canapes (all Halal) to those attending a VIP reception attended by His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Culture.
Other exciting elements included the presence of a falcon – a symbol of status in Saudi culture – in the building’s rotunda and traditional Saudi instruments and costume placed around the venue.
Results
Central Hall Westminster’s events team faced certain challenges throughout the experience, but they faced them with professionalism and pragmatism. This was a new client with unique requirements specific to their culture and with multiple stakeholders involved. The team therefore took extra time to understand their needs and ensure the outcome was perfect.
Communication in the lead-up to and during the event was frequent and well-managed to ensure any requests hadn’t gone unnoticed and teams were supported throughout the set-up process and the event itself resulting in a smooth and seamless performance.
The final event was a triumph. The atmosphere on the night was electric with guests wowed as they entered the building and saw the grand staircase before taking their seats in the Great Hall for the performance.
Musicians and singers were revered for their performances which were seen and heard clearly, both in the auditorium and on-screen. Reviews following the event were favourable with multiple media channels reporting on a ‘mesmerising’ performance which united nations through the power of music.
After the event, James Sirling, creative consultant for Saudi Marvels, said ‘in a show full of moving parts’ the team had remained solid and ‘made everything happen, no matter the request or how late it came’.
He said: “The Central Hall Westminster team really is the best. I have never worked on a project quite like this and it would not have been successful without the team’s dedication and attention to detail.”
Photography copyright: Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture.
