Held in Ghana at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, the opening and closing ceremonies for the 26th Africa Cup of Nations took place on 20th January and 10th February 2008 respectively.
The Africa Cup of Nations, a biennial soccer tournament for countries affiliated to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was watched by hundreds of millions of people globally. Both the opening and closing ceremonies presented an opportunity to showcase Ghanaian culture, business and the country in general and for Ghana to market itself on a global stage.
The Event Production Company, partnering with CAP Events and Global Media Alliance of Ghana, was brought on board to take care of logistics, choreography and audio-visual aspects related to the opening and closing ceremonies.
The logistics... An exciting project for The Event Production Company team, this event involved the following:
For the opening ceremony, The Event Production Company managed the pyrotechnics, mass field display choreography, travel, video production and backstage logistics management.
For the closing ceremony, The Event Production Company was involved with the pyrotechnics, trophy hand-over, choreography, scripting and well as backstage logistics management.
The challenges... The Event Production Company was given six weeks to organise the logistics and audiovisual aspects as well as to oversee the on-field choreography of the 1 600 cast over the December period.
Working across borders in an unfamiliar environment always comes with challenges and working across borders within Africa comes with its own set. Indeed working in Africa is not for the feint-hearted and The Event Production Company drew on years of experience and working together as a team to ensure success.
Eventing in Ghana is an elevating and enriching experience. Ghanaians in general are a proud and passionate people, and were eager to assist in whatever way they could.
The challenges faced ranged from a lack of availability of third party suppliers, to late delivery of equipment, to unpredictable transport. Also because of damage to the pitch, mass display rehearsals could not take place in the stadium.
The difficulties, however, certainly did not hamper the joy and magic of managing this event. More than ever, clear, open and frequent communication became a priority and the team was in constant close consultation with each other, the client, other stakeholders and service providers.
The Event Production Company team was prepared for any eventuality and had not only clarified as much as possible well in advance but had also built in bigger time buffers than usual and had contingency plans in place. Their ability to think on their feet and “make a plan” was fundamental to ensure that “the show went on”.
The Event Production Company was required to work closely with local organisers, whose local contacts and in-depth insight into the way things operate in Ghana were invaluable. However working with local organisers presents challenges and the team had to adopt a sensitive approach in order to create an optimal synergy.
Ultimately the challenges and issues that arose added to the exhilaration of managing this event. The Event Production Company team thrives on a challenge, and in this context their expertise and ingenuity became even more apparent. Challenges were overcome, and precious insights were gained.
The results: The Event Production Company successfully overcame all hurdles, and co-coordinated a professional and energetic opening and closing ceremony that aptly showcased Ghana's charming brand of tradition and culture. Both ceremonies were appreciated by the global audience, and generated a massive amount of media exposure.
Visit our PRESS OFFICE: The Event Production Company is an event creation and production company with a wealth of proven expertise in conferences, exhibitions, theme functions, launches, corporate theatre, audio-visual productions and hospitality. The company has handled events ranging from the spectacular opening ceremony of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and Nelson Mandela's 85th birthday party.- more....
Connected by: Uninet
muti
del.icio.us
stumbleupon
yahoo
google
facebook
newsvine
Digg
Reddit
GoGuide
