Rapper Casper and hip hop artist Marteria were performing on stage at around 9.20pm when the monitor fell down during stormy weather at the event in Essen.
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Thirty people injured after giant LED screen collapses onto fans at rap concert in Germany
Rapper Casper and hip hop artist Marteria were performing on stage at around 9.20pm when the monitor fell down during stormy weather at the event in Essen.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
It's terrible that something like this would happen. I hope that the people in charge of the rigging have learned what mistakes were made and how they can avoid accidents like this in the future. I'm interested to learn how theater equipment is designed to withstand outside forces like a storm. Rigging inside doesn't have to withstand wind or rain. The engineering behind weatherproof theater instruments must be quite interesting. Thinking of the source 4 light, it has openings in it and it is by no means waterproof, but it would need to be able to vent heat appropriately. The most reasonable fix I can figure is making sure the fixtures are always covered.
This is a truly horrifying instance that happened and a risk that can sometimes happen with live theatre outside when people are not careful which is terrifying. The importance of safety when it comes to theatrical rigging (or any rigging) in any setting is crucial, but even more so when it comes to rigging outside where lines are exposed to the elements. Rigging an outdoor environment instead of a controlled space like an actual theatre is definitely a whole other beast when it comes to design, care, and weatherproofing. This idea also carries over to all other elements when dealing with live entertainment- weather that be protection for lighting instruments, sound equipment, or props/ scenery (in the case of theatre not necessarily a concert like the article is talking about). Additionally, in terms of this article, I think the injury could have been prevented had management decided to call off the show or change the venue at the sign of a storm. Weather is unpredictable and unless you have intended for your set up to be indestructible, you should always air on the side of safety for your performers and patrons.
This now makes a THIRD concert-related mishap/disaster that has hit the news this week. First the crowd barrier, then the entire deck which festivalgoers were standing upon, and now a whole LED panel screen. In this case, it would seem as if the rigger was at fault. Regardless of whether or not the excessive wind that night was expected, the screen should have been rigged to withstand the most testing scenarios. This also begs the question of redundant safety features. Were any redundancies employed? Did they fail as well? Although an individual LED panel does not weigh much in and of itself, when hundreds are connected together with aluminum or steel hardware then suspended multiple feet in the air, this can become deadly. Fortunately, no one was killed in the accident, but this could’ve ended much worse than just the 30 reported injuries. Whoever designed and rigged this system has to reevaluate how they chose to rig the screen to prevent future accidents as such.
This is a horrible event. No one should be injured while attending a concert for any reason, especially because of falling scenic, lighting, sound, or media equipment. This article made me curious about how theatrical riggers account for weather events. At school, we don’t do anything outside, but I wonder if our safety factors should change when working outdoor events. There have been an increasing amount of natural disasters recently, so it may not be crazy to develop standards for outdoor events. ETCP may have outdoor event rigging standards that I’m unaware of. I also wonder if there is an ETCP like certification in Germany or the EU and how their standards may differ from those in the United States. Though there may not be any reason for standards to be different in different countries, often times these laws and regulations get passed after a disaster and therefore shaped by them. I’m curious to see how the investigation proceeds and if it causes any changes in theatrical rigging.
Post a Comment