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Amir Cup Final 2020 concludes with a vision
Qvision handled all technical aspects of the ceremony, which also served as the stadium’s World Cup inauguration
The lighting system was controlled by dual grandMA3s QATAR VISION COMPANY (QVISION) WAS CALLED INTO action recently for the Amir Cup Final 2020 Ceremony, the biggest football cup competition in Qatar, which also served as the inauguration ceremony of Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, the fourth FIFA World Cup stadium to open. Qvision developed, produced and managed the inauguration and final, which took place during Qatar National Day. Earlier in 2020, it was announced the stadium would host seven matches during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 up to and including the Round of 16 stages. Because of strict health and safety protocols implemented, the 40,000-capacity Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium was only allowed to reach approximately 50% capacity when it hosted the final. Tickets were limited to one per person and were linked to the holder’s Qatar ID. Following discussions between the Qatar Football Association (QFA) and the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), any fan who attended the match had to return either a positive Covid-19 antibodies test or a negative Covid-19 test prior to being allowed access to the stadium. Social distancing measures were also implemented within the vicinity of the stadium, including the fan zone and on public transport. The opening ceremony concept and creative treatment was realised by Qatari artistic director and producer Sharif
Hashisho, who is also the managing director of Qvision. Hashisho is widely known for his previous work as a director of ceremonies for the 15th Asian Games and director for the 17th Gulf Cup, as well as the artistic director and producer of the IAAF World Athletics Championship in 2019. Both the opening ceremony concept and creative treatment for the inauguration ceremony of the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium were inspired from Arabic poetry. The opening ceremony showcased a poetic riddle presented through a dialogue between two famous Qatari poets. Based on the concept and creative designs made by Hashisho, Qvision fulfilled all the technical requirements for the show to make it a truly spectacular event for both the stadium and TV audience. A variety of visual content and 3D projection mapping was created for the show and deployed by QVision – it was considered an essential tool to bring the answer of the riddle as close as possible to the audience. QVision covered the field of play in a special screen measuring 120m x 65m (WxD). The screen was used to showcase the 3D field of play mapping content. Projections themselves were delivered by 20 Christie Roadie Boxer 2K 30,000-lumen projectors supplied by French company VLS Event Technology. Five positions were selected on the top
tier of the audience grandstand, with four projectors stacked at each of the five locations. A modular server was used to control all the projectors through 400m of fibre-optic cabling. Show content was created at Maxi10sity in Hungary. A total of 50 Claypaky Scenius Unico and 40 Sharpy Plus moving head lighting fixtures were used to illuminate the show as well as to create several beams and patterns throughout. Twenty Claypaky Hepikos were used to illuminate the VIP tribune and His Highness in the Amir Seating area. A further 40 A.leda B-EYE K20 CC moving head wash lights were used to illuminate the internal roof of the stadium and four Robert Juliat CYRANO followspots were used to illuminate the presenters of the show as well as the singer. The entire lighting system was controlled by dual MA Lighting grandMA3 consoles connected through an MA network switch. Mohammad Assaf and Mark Anton were the lighting designers. Qvision opted to make use of the existing yet brand-new audio system installed at the stadium for primary audio reinforcement, deploying several clusters of Meyer Sound speakers to further enhance audio intelligibility in the main VIP seating area. This included 16 Meyer Sound M2D compact curvilinear array loudspeakers, 12 UPM-1P ultracompact wide-coverage loudspeakers, 12 UPJ-1P compact VariO loudspeakers and eight M2D sub-compact curvilinear array loudspeakers. The entire audio system was controlled by DiGiCo SD8 consoles with Abel Lamboson serving as sound engineer. The show included a four-minute fireworks display provided by Pirotècnia Igual divided into two segments, the first in the pre-show and the second at the finale of the match during the Coronation Ceremony. Qvision also provided additional special effects, including 13 music-synchronised flame machines, 70 SPARKULAR EFX units, eight CO2 Confetti machines and 20 CO2 Jet machines. “Any decision to hold an event during the Covid-19 pandemic, no matter how large or small, should rely on a risk-based approach,” said a Qvision representative. “We have succeeded in making this event an absolutely safe one for all the workers involved, as well as the audience attending the ceremony and the football match. A massive risk assessment approach was designed to cover all the risk areas and issues that might arise and have truly succeeded in delivering this exceptional event.” www.malighting.com
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