Ski Opening Schladming – Getec Stages Robbie Williams with L-Acoustics and Robe

Ski Opening Schladming – Getec Stages Robbie Williams with L-Acoustics and Robe

In Schladming, Austria, the start of the ski season has always been a reason to celebrate. After a three-year break, there was plenty to make up for. The promoter, Leutgeb Entertainment Group, went all out by bringing none other than Robbie Williams to Schladming, performing live in front of 25,000 fans on a 50-meter-wide stage at the foot of the Planai mountain. Technical production for the two-day mega event was handled by Getec Eventtechnik, who came well-equipped with a host of L-Acoustics and Robe gear.

Challenging Sound Design

The open-air site posed several acoustic challenges for Getec. The venue features a downward slope and significant height differences between the standing area and grandstands, while also being flanked on both sides by buildings with large glass surfaces—including Europe’s largest après-ski hut. “We had to cover three major audience areas: the standing area, the grandstands, and the side balconies,” explains Tobias Gailhofer from Getec. “At the same time, the elaborate stage design limited our PA positioning options.”

The solution was an L-Acoustics setup using K2 for the main PA (with Kara II as downfill), Kara II hangs as outfill for the balconies, 18 Kara II for frontfill, and three A10 Focus units as lip fills at the catwalk. A total of 30 KS28 subwoofers were deployed in a 1:1 cardioid configuration. The entire system ran through nine LA-RAK II AVB units, all connected via fiber for full AVB redundancy. Four P1 processors served as AVB processors.

Lighting at Every Peak

The stage design was inspired by the surrounding mountain landscape. Three pointed stage sections represented mountain peaks, forming a backdrop made of expansive LED surfaces and large decorative elements that were enhanced with FOH projections. Numerous lighting fixtures outlined the edges of the stage peaks, complementing classic setups on the ground and in the front and back trusses.

For the “decorative lighting,” Getec relied on a combination of Robe iForte and BMFL WashBeam. The IP65-rated iForte left a strong impression on Tobias Gailhofer and the rest of the Getec team: “We invested in the iForte specifically for this event—and we weren’t disappointed. It’s a top-notch fixture with massive output, and despite being IP65-rated, it’s surprisingly lightweight.”

Also in use were iSpiider wash-beam hybrid fixtures, ESPRITE spots, Spiider, MegaPointe, and three FORTE FS units working in tandem with three RoboSpot follow-spot systems.