In August 2022, Leutgeb Entertainment Group staged the largest open-air concert ever to be held in Munich. Taking place at the Munich Exhibition Centre, approximately 320,000 fans attended shows by Andreas Gabalier, Helene Fischer and Robbie Williams over three weekends in August. Wonder Works was responsible for the technical design and coordination of this epic concert series, which featured a huge diamond-shaped stage designed by Florian Wieder and lighting design by Roland Greil.
Working closely with Wieder and Greil, Wonder Works Technical Manager, Nick Evans was tasked with bringing the ambitious stage design to life. This involved the design and integration of all technical elements, as well the coordination of lighting, audio and video. With help from Wonder Works’ highly skilled team of technical designers – John Prentice, Kevin Edwards and Andy Bailey – Wieder’s renders were first turned into a detailed 3D autoCAD model with the correct equipment in it. This was then used to generate detailed drawing packages for the various suppliers to work from.
The challenge lay in the sheer scale of the site and stage. Promoter, Klaus Leutgeb wanted to give fans a stand out show with a high production value but at a stadium scale. Not only did the stage design need to have real firepower from a distance but it also needed to have its own distinct look and feel. The result was a huge 150m-wide diamond shaped stage outlined with a striking LED strip, a giant semi-transparent central LED video screen, a central bridge that acted as a band roof, 1,600 sqm of angled video screens on the wings, 1,086 lighting fixtures, 18 audio delay towers, 20 sky beams, 6 IMAG screens, and a bespoke runway and B Stage.
Although approximately 90% of the setup was the same for all three shows, the rig still had to be versatile enough to create a unique look for three very different acts. Nick Evans worked with production manager Howard Hopkins and the production teams for each of the acts, to modify the stage for their individual requirements. While the fascia remained the same, the runway and the B Stage changed for every act and with only a week between shows, this required a huge amount of planning and coordination.
German pop queen, Helene Fischer was the second show in the concert series and the most highly attended, drawing crowds of up to 130,000 fans. Unsurprisingly the performance had a number of complex gags that required extra stage lifts, aerial flying, travelators, a jib arm from the B Stage and a further C Stage to bring the artist closer to the audience. English pop star Robbie Williams ended the epic run of concerts on 27 August to a crowd of 100,000 fans.
Wonder Works co-director, Jeremy Lloyd concluded: “It was great to work with long-time collaborators Florian and Roland on such an ambitious stage design. The sheer scale of the site and stage meant that everything had to be scaled up, which was challenging and fun in equal measures!”
