tube uk designed sound for a dazzling Opening Ceremony to mark the start of the ancient and mythical city of Pafos, Cyprus’s year as joint European Capital of Culture for 2017 (together with Aarhus in Denmark).
Working for Pafos2017, tube was recommended for the project by Liz Pugh from outdoor arts specialists Walk the Plank, producers of the main OC show in central Pafos together with a team of Cypriot creatives and artists.
A special soundtrack for the show was written by Pafos-born international composer and music director Christina Athinodorou, who combined classical and electronic elements into the intricate soundscape.
tube’s Melvyn Coote took up the challenge of delivering sound for a cast of hundreds and an enthusiastic audience of around 12,000 who packed into the 28th October Square to enjoy the occasion which was also broadcast live by national TV network, Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CYBC).
He liaised with a number of locally based audio suppliers and compiled a control specification which was sourced from tube’s rental stock in Manchester, UK.
It’s arguably the largest integrated live show seen on the island. From a sonic angle it involved a lot of organising and communication to amalgamate kit from around seven different companies.
The control package comprised a Yamaha CL5 console, Yamaha DME64 matrix control system, two Yamaha RIO3224 racks and two Mac Mini servers – configured as an active machine plus ‘hot’ backup – running QLab for the audio playback content, working in conjunction with additional locally-supplied control including a Yamaha QL5 and another RIO 3224 for additional inputs.
A 3D surround sound concept was at the heart of the system around the square, with 9 points of PA. The PA stacks included L-Acoustics Kudos and subs, Martin W8LCs and subs, Nexo GEO Ds and Turbosound Flex Arrays … as well as some others!
There was a lot of boxes … and a host of audio inputs!
An additional parameter to galvanise the audio team … was the decision to stage a massive concert by Greek singing superstar Alkistis Protopsalti immediately after the end of the OC, requiring a completely new and different FOH setup, monitors and backline on top of the Opening Ceremony show … that could be turned around in 10 minutes!