Powering a record-breaking, rock ‘n’ roll New Year’s Eve concert

2020 has been a tough year on us all and at Atlantis, The Palm Hotel and resort in Dubai, there were big plans to see in a fresh new year – in spectacular fashion.

Legendary rock band, Kiss, were on their farewell tour and part of this would be a record-breaking show on New Year’s Eve at Atlantis, The Palm Hotel and resort. Combining the luxurious environment with an unforgettable music spectacle, this event would be the perfect way to bid sayonara to 2020.

These were big ideas but to bring them to life would be a little tricky. Firstly, COVID had all-but shut down events across the world on all scales, and to ensure full safety for those in attendance and working on site would be a big logistical task.

Then there was the site itself. Sand everywhere would be harder to get things in place at the same speed. And time was of the essence – after all, you can’t delay New Year’s Eve…

To get this show ready, power was needed, lots of it.

2,780 kVA to be precise.

Our technicians collaborated closely with the exclusive location to ensure that every necessity was catered for and that was optimised for seven different power supplies – lighting, audio, visual, broadcast, special effects, pyrotechnics and even two 150 kVA step-down transformers to manage tour requirements.

This would ensure that everything from the pay-per-view web coverage of the concert, the massive screens that would show every second of action for spectators – and the record-breaking amount of fire. There would be the tallest ever flame projection on stage at a music concert (35 metres) and also 73 simultaneous flames on stage.

This show also had a mammoth stage. The length was approximately 250 feet and to make sure the spotlights were always on the star attractions, lighting would need to be lifted up 18 storeys in three separate locations. How? By leveraging our mobile, modular equipment and around 200 metres of cabling.

All of this and much more would need to be delivered, organised, implemented and tested within just four days, due to limited delivery slots, site lockdowns between 9pm and 6am and a full lockdown over the festive holidays for six days. In addition, the only access for all equipment to be placed on site is a 500 metre-long road, which would take around ten minutes to reach the stage.

None of this fazed our team though. Even with sand underfoot making movement slower with the equipment, we followed all requirements and worked tirelessly toward our deadlines.

All safety rules were diligently adhered to as well. We collaborated with the resort team so that holidaymakers were completely unaffected by the major work ongoing – hence the single access road – and every single member of our team was routinely COVID-tested before entering the site, as well as following strict social distancing guidelines and personal safety gear such as face masks, gloves and anti-bacterial hand gel.

We left nothing to chance.

Despite the global pandemic impacting heavily on the events sector, we helped make sure this music extravaganza blew away 2020 and saw in the new year in the best way – with iconic music!

It is the biggest show in Kiss’s history and was confirmed to be a record-breaking show too, thanks to the unparalleled pyrotechnics on stage.

The result proved that with the right people in a team, comprehensive planning, a splash of experience and a belief that hard work pays off – anything is possible.

Millions tuned into the show online and Kiss played rock and roll all night to create an unforgettable moment for all who were there and witnessed this music concert put a positive end on 2020.