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Chicken skin feeling. Full of emotion. Exuberant. Cheerful. This is how the new BernExpo event format can be briefly summarized.
"Summer in the City" welcomed hungry visitors after a long Corona drought with concerts, public viewing and open-air cinema from June 26 to August 7, 2021. Kilchenmann AG took over the entire technical management and organized the event in record time.
"I actually had to shed a tear," says Samuel Berger, describing his emotions as the first concert swept across the stage. Normally, the experienced stage manager is not fazed by anything. But the last few months have been too quiet for him in Switzerland. Now that the events are slowly picking up speed again, emotions are running high among artists, supporters, organizers and visitors. Stefanie Heinzmann puts it like this: "Playing in front of people who are dancing and singing - I can hardly wait and I'm totally nervous."
State-of-the-art audio, video and lighting technology
BernExpo is a well-known trade fair organizer. This year, it wanted to try something new with a festival and, after a long period of corona inactivity, finally get the people around Bern back to listening to hot beats and powerful voices. Kilchenmann AG acted as general contractor for the entire on-site technology as well as the technical pre-production. "We supplied the complete audio, video and lighting technology as well as the stage. On site, we provided the entire technical infrastructure with up to 18 technicians and a stage management team. All with the support of long-standing partners," explains Stephan Huber, Technical Director at Kilchenmann AG.
The big event that was organized in 6 weeks
At the kick-off with BernExpo in May for the program schedule, the ideas were sparkling: "Why not offer a public viewing during the European Championships? And since the big screen is already in place, we could use the time between the European Championships and the concert highlight for an open-air cinema." Thought, said, done! So there was just one month between the kick-off on 24.5.2021 and the broadcast of the first match on 26.6.2021. A lot to do in such a short time. Among other things, the entire pre-production, i.e. the technical clarification with the artists for the upcoming concerts. As a reminder: a production like this normally takes 6 to 12 months to plan. "Everything happened in rapid succession: team calls, bilateral discussions, quick decisions," recalls Martin Loosli, Technical Project Manager at Kilchenmann AG. Getting such a major event up and running in this record time is only possible thanks to many years of experience, the great trust between the partners, great commitment and a lot of fun.
The challenges for event organization
Undisputed: The extremely short planning phase was challenging, but everyone involved was very happy and committed. The event could not be pulled out of the drawer as it was being held for the first time. But with all the professionals at work and a few night shifts, everything was ready on day X. The COVID protection measures are also still a challenge. In the end, however, the implementation of all the mandatory certificates for visitors and artists worked flawlessly, so that everyone felt safe and could celebrate in style. Unfortunately, the weather was capricious, which partly affected the number of visitors. "The festival absolutely has potential and we would be delighted to host it in 2022," says Martin Loosli.
The joys
"Finally standing in front of the stage again, a beer in my hand and enjoying the atmosphere, simply fantastic," said one visitor and her companion added: "I'll be back next year!" Francine Jordi also said: "I was so carried away by the crowd. I didn't even know how live works anymore! I'm thrilled with what the crew has put together here. I'll definitely be back!"
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