Mojo Barriers Australia Supplies High Fence at the Sydney Opera House
Mojo Barriers Australia has supplied over 300m of its reinforced barrier system ‘High Fence’ at the Sydney Opera House for a number of outdoor shows.
Originally manufactured by Mojo for the 2014 G20 Summit in Brisbane, High Fence offers a 2.4m high robust security barrier, compatible with all additional components such as gates or corners. It has a polycarbonate upper, which is a durable and high impact resistance material which easily withstands destructive attacks. Mojo Barriers Australia supplied High Fence to a number of outdoor concerts at Sydney Opera House including Crowded House and Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, which formed part of Live Nation’s ‘On The Steps’ concert series.
Opera Australia also chose Mojo’s High Fence to secure the perimeter of the Sydney Opera House forecourt for their outdoor production of Handa presents Sydney Opera House – The Opera (The Eighth Wonder) which saw a run of five shows.
Mojo Barriers provided transparent polycarbonate upper panels to create perimeter fencing without obscuring sight lines, to ensure the public could still see the iconic Sydney Opera House backdrop. For areas where a sight kill was required, Mojo utilised its tinted polycarbonate panels while the shows were taking place on the forecourt, to block views of the stage and prevent crowd build-up outside the perimeter barrier.
Mojo also supplied mega exits to allow access for large emergency vehicles and emergency exit points for large crowds.
Craig Edwards, general manager of Mojo Barriers Australia commented: “It’s great to see Mojo Barrier’s High Fence creating safe event areas at such an iconic venue as the Sydney Opera House. The event safety, security and management teams all love the look and strength that this product provides. With adaptable polycarbonate uppers, High Fence has given organisers the option of blocking off views of certain areas, such as the back of house, whilst also ensuring attendees are able to enjoy the beautiful harbour views. High Fence is more aesthetically attractive compared to the usual perimeter fencing used at major event and it’s the perfect solution for occasions where crowd and structure segregation is a vital part of the crowd management process.”
Mojo Barriers say Ahoy to MTV EMAs in Rotterdam
Mojo Barriers was called upon to supply and install the main stage crowd barrier, perimeter high fence and the star-studded red carpet barrier at the glitzy MTV EMAs held in the Rotterdam Ahoy, 6th November 2016.
Hosted by American songstress Bebe Rhexa, the 2016 ceremony marked its return to Rotterdam having previously hosted it back in 1997, and saw Mojo Barriers implement an effective crowd barrier configuration both inside and out of the iconic music venue.
Mojo Barriers’ Stanley Jilesen and his 6-strong team installed over 650 metres of aluminium barrier throughout the Rotterdam venue. Over 250m of crowd barrier was installed to line the perimeter of the main ‘infinity’ stage and the B-Stage, created by set designer Julio Himede, which witnessed performances from Kings of Leon, Afrojack, One Republic and Bruno Mars.
Over 100 metres of crowd barrier was used to create a media pit within the standing audience, segregating the broadcast cameras on floor tracking from the crowds. This ensured clear sightlines for the entire audience whilst allowing the broadcasters to film all the live performances throughout the night. Black barriers were installed throughout the venue to blend-in with the set and enhance aesthetics for TV broadcasting.
Broadcast pit and stage barrier configuration
Mojo Barriers supplied its High Fence outside the venue, to provide 50m of sightline kill extensions, offering 2.4m of additional opaque height to protect the privacy of VIP guests on arrival from crowds waiting outside the venue. Over 250m of crowd barrier was installed along the perimeter of the front entrance of the Rotterdam Ahoy to ensure the safe and smooth ingress and egress of music fans.
Stanley Jilesen’s High Fence installation outside the Rotterdam Ahoy
In-front of the venue, a temporary structure played host to the glamorous red carpet area, which utilised over 190m of Mojo Barriers’ crowd barrier to segregate the media and fans from the arriving performing artists, presenters and award nominees. Each section of barrier was adorned with MTV EMA and sponsor logos, in line with event branding and sponsor aspirations.
Stanley Jilesen comments: “Continuing our longstanding relationship working with the MTV EMAs, Maggie Mouzakitis and the wider production team, we were delighted to welcome such a great event to work on back to our home country. It is a pleasure to work on a project which each year pushes boundaries of creative production and we relish the opportunity to enhance the experience for the audience and keep them as safe as possible.”
High Fence and Crowd Barrier lining the Rotterdam Ahoy’s perimeter
Success at Sziget Festival
Mojo Barriers was called upon to supply the main stage barrier, high fence and line-up gates to this year’s Sziget Festival, which welcomed an increased capacity of over 90,000 people per day, 10-17 Aug.
Budapest once again played host to the week-long Sziget Festival, one of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe, which this year boasted performances from Muse, Sia, Rihanna and Bastille. Following on from the success of its inaugural year supplying Sziget Festival, Mojo Barriers was once again called upon to supply 400m of barrier, 50m of High Fence and 20 line-up gates to the 2016 event. As well as stage barrier within the main stage arena and line-up gates throughout the festival site, Mojo also supplied its high fence to the main stage front-of-house in order to enhance security and improve the aesthetics of the structure. With a crew of 10-12 people, protect managed by Mojo’s Rik Beulink, the install took one day.
Mojo Barriers’ Stanley Jilesen commented: “We first worked with Sziget Festival in 2015, introducing a breaker fence to the main stage to break up the audience and keep the pressure off the people at the front. This is something the organisers are really impressed with and it’s worked really well to enhance the experience for the audience and help keep them as safe as possible.
“We’re also on-hand throughout the event to make any modifications to the barrier configuration or supply any additional equipment. Two days ago Daniel called me and needed some line-up gates, so half an hour later the equipment was in a truck and on the way from Holland to Budapest. We always leave a project manager on site in case any changes are required, or if a band wishes to bring in some extra set which affects the barrier layout, such as a catwalk, and having one of our team on site means this can be quickly accommodated. It’s great to work on such a progressive festival, one which has such a brilliant team and which is constantly evolving, and we look forward to building on our relationship in the future.”
Daniel Benis, head of production commented: “Over the last few years, we have used barriers from our existing partners but couldn’t beat the quality of Mojo Barriers neither in the equipment side nor on service side. In the last few years nearly all riders have placed greater emphasis upon crowd controlling issues and Mojo Barriers are now seen as a standard, so we had to step up. Mojo’s services and equipment has solved all our problems, and any incoming production manager knows what they are getting when they see Mojo Barriers. Regarding the Hungarian regulations and crowd controlling issues, we had to find a solution to help improve the circulation of the crowds, in terms of normal flow and also in case of heavy crowds. Our security teams were also really satisfied with this.”
