Qatar 2022 · World Stage · Daydream Stage · Spider Stage · Curve Stage

How the work went

Four stages of different sizes with different audiences, and a programme that changes with every new artist. Each headliner arrives with their own lighting designer and their own show, and the lasers have to fit into it within minutes, not after a day of rehearsal. So the installation and set-up were done before the festival in a way that meant nothing had to be touched during the month, and the work every night was at the desks: an operator on every stage, the show changing with every artist, to their music.

From sunset to sunrise, 31 nights in a row. Over 400 sets in a month means over 400 different programmes, run by our operators in real time. After Qatar, the same crew worked in Khobar and Manama.

Working outdoors in the desert adds its own conditions: sand and dust on the optics, a temperature that drops sharply after midnight, and power that each stage supplies in its own way. The lasers were cleaned and checked before every night, and the operating shift lasted exactly as long as the stage programme, from the first set to the last.

For a similar project

A festival or a multi-day event is planned by stages and by sets, not by nights: how many artists, how many shifts, who brings their own lighting designer. Outdoor lasers also need clearance from the venue and from aviation, and that goes into the schedule before the first night. Ask for a laser show quote on the laser show page; for a multi-day programme, give the number of stages and sets in the brief.