On May 16, 2015, Vienna’s City Hall Square was transformed into a gold-drenched fantasy world as it hosted Life Ball, Europe’s biggest AIDS charity event.
As thousands of celebrities, musicians and revelers came together to raise awareness for the cause, AKG provided audio to complement the stunning visuals.
Gold – Ver Sacrum was the theme of this year’s event, where the décor and outfits glittered like never before. Celebrity participants included Mary J Blige, actors Sean Penn and Charlize Theron, and Eurovision Song Contest winner Conchita Wurst.
The night also included a fashion show featuring French icon Jean-Paul Gaultier.
Behind all the glitz and glamour was a supporting cast of AKG microphones and monitoring gear, including 100 channels of AKG wireless systems and a variety of cabled mics and headphones.
For 10 individual stages, the event staff turned to the WMS4500 analog reference wireless mic system and the DMS700 V2 digital wireless system. Both were chosen for their outstanding audio quality, reliability and ability to simultaneously handle multiple channels – up to 70 for the WMS4500 and up to 40 for the DMS700 V2.
Monitoring for speakers and performers was handled by the AKG IVM4500 wireless in-ear monitoring system.
“Ever since 2006, we have been the proud partner and sponsor of the annual Life Ball in Vienna,” said Walter Rührig of AKG artist and key customers relations. “Finding the right equipment for 10 different stages with differing acoustics was challenging, but thanks to the flexibility of AKG microphones, the input and pickup patterns perfectly complemented the wide variety of presenters and performers.”
