The Laureus Awards get the Unusual touch in Kuala Lumpur

15th May 2014

The most prestigious awards in the international sporting calendar, the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards were held in Kuala Lumpur on March 26. Attended by the greatest names in sport, past and present, the event was staged at the Istana Budaya, the National Theatre of Malaysia and home to the National Theatre Company and National Symphony Orchestra.

An event such as this, which is broadcast to audiences across the world, requires a first class setting and once again this was staged by production company Done and Dusted. Helping to build that set was a crew of four from Unusual Rigging, led by senior project manager Steve Porter.

Working alongside Paddy Hocken, Done and Dusted’s technical production manager, Unusual also supplied winches to track two video screens, plus a variety of specialist rigging components not available in the region, to overcome the challenges of suspending the scenic elements in the theatre’s existing mechanical flying system.

The scenic elements included several holographic cubes, two of which measured 3m² and were flown from the flybars, while the third and larger cube, measuring 6m², was tracked on and off stage. Paddy explained: “This was probably the most challenging aspect of the job, because once the two smaller cubes were flown, we realised that there was a lot of other rigging and suspended scenery around them which would dramatically slow their movement. We needed a way of ensuring they could move faster, but safely, and thanks to Steve and his team, who overcame it by using the venue’s points hoists together with their own diverters and pulleys.”

Rebecca Porter, line producer at Done and Dusted, added: “We work with Unusual Rigging on the majority of our major projects where a rigging element is required. As always with Unusual, this year’s Laureus Awards was a smooth operation and Steve ensured that all potential challenges were overcome quickly and easily. We like and have confidence in Unusual and their team and most importantly, we trust them implicitly.”