World Port Days (Wereldhavendagen in Dutch) is an annual event, the largest maritime festival in the Netherlands, held in the fall each year to celebrate the city’s position as the largest commercial port in Europe. Centered around Rotterdam port’s main piers, the three-day festival features demonstrations in, around and on the harbor by representatives of the port authorities, commercial shipping pilots, the Dutch navy, and the city police and firefighters, culminating in a large-scale live music event on the final night.
For the sixth year in a row, the sound system supporting the event for the 300,000-plus visitors was comprised of 60 QSC KLA12 line array loudspeakers with 60 KLA181 subwoofers.
2017 marked the 40th anniversary of the festival, and the final Saturday night concert was headlined by 80s British funk stars Level 42, who played their set live from the deck of the BigRoll Baffin, an enormous 173-meter icebreaker moored in the harbor, which served as a floating stage.
For many years, Dutch technical production company Livetime Productions, based in Reeuwijk, near Gouda, have been responsible for sound reinforcement throughout the harbor during World Port Day.
“We have always had great results from the KLAs, so we wanted the same setup for the 40th anniversary. The QSC KLA system is tried and true – it’s reliable, portable and sounds amazing,” explains Jack van Deursen, founder and co-owner of Livetime Productions. “And because they are supplied by AED, (the QSC distributor in the region), we were able to use their nearby facility to prep, set-up and test them before the event.”
The KLA system was deployed on the two main piers used during the festival, where most of the visitors gather. “We used 60 KLA12 units and 60 KLA181 subwoofers in total, providing a PA stack with subs and tops every 20 metres on the pier sides,” continues van Deursen. “For the Saturday concert, we set up a small studio on the deck of the icebreaker; the live sound mix was done there and sent wirelessly to the PA stacks on each of the pier sides, and also to various private ships where VIP guests were listening in.”
According to van Deursen, the important 40th-anniversary celebrations went off without a hitch. “Another job well done by KLA.”
