Alejandro Sanz 2017

The production team wanted some spectacular visual moments to make what was already going to be an outstanding show … even more memorable … so the show’s production manager Borja Gonzales contacted stage automation and engineering specialists WICREATIONS.

WI’s Geert Stockmans headed their team after the introduction, which initially came six months ahead of the gig via Frank Janssens, a Belgian lighting specialist living and working in Spain. Geert and Frank have worked together many times, including on Malu’s 2016 tour.

Containing a diverse collection of ballads strongly influenced by flamenco, pop, and tropical rhythms, Más opened the door to international stardom for Alejandro Sanz who is from Madrid, and it was a pivotal work in his incredibly successful career.

Fifty thousand ecstatic Sanz fans attended the concert, made all the more special, historic – and emotional - for the fact that … as soon as the get-out was completed, demolition began on a truly iconic building, home to the legendary Atlético Madrid football club between 1966 and this summer.

Sanz’ lighting and set designer Luis Pastor already had an ambitious plan! It involved the tracking of LED screen columns around a curved upstage truss to reveal matrixes of moving lights rigged on a structure behind.

Geert had an initial meeting at WI’s HQ in Heist-op-den-Berg with Borja and Frank where they presented Luis’ lighting plot and visualisations. Immediately Geert saw the designs and had an insight into Luis’ creative goals.

He recalled an event a couple of years previously, where WI was commissioned to make and track LED columns on a circular trussing track, which also rotated to reveal moving lights on the reverse side.

He tentatively suggested that using this proven automation technology in a slightly different context and on a larger scale … might actually be a more flexible option for creating the original effect that Luis had in mind.

When Luis was presented with this option, he realised that in addition to doing virtually everything he originally envisioned, it would actually bring a whole raft of even more dynamic looks, scenes and transformations to the stage.

Geert then presented Luis, Frank and Borja with a possible set-up in CAD for tracking and rotating the columns, which they loved! From there their initial design plans were adapted to incorporate the WI system.

A bit further into the project, some other movement elements came into play! They wanted to lift and tilt a vertical lighting pod which weighed close to 5 tonnes, and they also added a stage lift to the spec for the B-stage out in the audience, that would be capable of elevating the artist 2.5 metres above stage level.

An ever expanding brief was then extended again, this time to include the automation of two piano risers for one of the show’s frequent WOW moments.

So, ultimately, WI supplied a total of 52 metres of curved tracking system, including the truss to which it was rigged, plus the 16 automated trolley carts to which the columns of LED / moving lights were attached, each fitted with a WI rotating element. Each LED / moving light column weighed 1100kg.

To move the 5 tonne central lighting pod, four 2.5 tonne WI motion controlled hoists were deployed. One of WI’s standard hydraulic stage lifts was also supplied, complete with a 2 metre diameter circular stage platform for the B-stage, and for the two automated piano risers, WI supplied two of their exclusive LCW (laser controlled wagons) plus control.

WI co-ordinated a scaled test build of the system in Antwerp’s Sportpaleis three weeks ahead of the gig to demonstrate to the key Spanish production personnel exactly what would be delivered. It was also a chance for any major queries to be answered, and it put overall weight awareness at the centre of everyone’s attention, and underlined its importance to the success of the concept.

It was also good having a reasonable amount of time to work on this project, with the initial approach coming six months ahead of the show. This allowed proper and controlled planning, rather than more compressed timescales which sometimes force quicker - and therefore more compromising - solutions.