
The city of Lyon (France) recently hosted the 47th edition of WorldSkills, an international competition that brought together nearly 1,400 young competitors from 66 countries, aiming to inspire youth through excellence in vocational skills. Held across several iconic sites in the city, this global event welcomed 140,000 visitors and featured opening and closing ceremonies worthy of the largest sporting events, planned and executed by Groupe Novelty. The WorldSkills opening ceremony kicked off in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron at a sold-out LDLC Arena, in front of 12,000 spectators.
Two Groupe Novelty companies, Novelty Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Novelty AURA) and Alabama Média, handled all technical requirements for the event under the direction of Stéphane Simmat, technical director for the opening ceremony, and Étienne Loiseau, production director for WorldSkills. For the opening night, Novelty AURA managed all staging requirements, including audio and lighting equipment. At the centre of the LDLC Arena, Novelty AURA’s technical teams set up three stages for the delegations and deployed nearly 100 speakers for sound reinforcement. To complement the arena’s existing AV system, Novelty AURA chose L-Acoustics for the ceremony and d&b for the subsequent evening in the venue’s event space. On the lighting front, over 330 fixtures (from Chauvet, Claypaky, Minuit Une and Robe) enhanced the existing system.
For video requirements, about 30 technicians from Alabama Média handled the installation, broadcast and recording. Their work was aided by the company’s intimate familiarity with the venue, having previously integrated the LDLC Arena’s entire video equipment set-up, including the central LED cube, existing LED strips and side scoring panels, which were utilised for content created by Magic Bird. This meant the Alabama techs could focus on additional video needs, including the installation of a semi-transparent 6m × 3.5m LED screen as a backdrop for the main stage, as well as a 12-camera recording set-up. Production was handled by Roman Fortune.
Outside the arena, in the fan zone, Alabama deployed a 63m² LED container screen and an auxiliary 3.5m × 2m LED screen (Absen Polaris with a 3.9mm pitch) to broadcast the ceremony live. The challenges were significant for both companies, as Arnaud Douchet, director of Novelty AURA, explains: “Beyond the scale of such an event, whose logistical demands were huge, we faced exceptionally tight time constraints. A Justin Timberlake concert was held at the LDLC Arena the night before, meaning we only had access to the venue the following morning after the dismantling.”
The coordination between the teams was greatly facilitated by Groupe Novelty’s corporate structure, Douchet adds: “As companies within Groupe Novelty, we know each other well, which made planning and set-up remarkably smooth, with a rare sense of camaraderie on site. We capitalised on this synergy to ensure everything was ready for the first rehearsals that same evening.”
Christopher Dubost, project manager for Alabama Média and video lead for this event, confirms: “The stakes were high for that evening: we also had to record and manage live content for the WorldSkills YouTube channel, and the content was also made available to international broadcasters. Thanks to thorough pre-planning with Novelty AURA, everyone knew their role, and everything went seamlessly.”
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