U2’s 14 metre wide stage was notable for its minimalist design in the shape of a record player, a concept borrowed from Brian Eno’s colour-changing art piece ‘Turntable’. A month before the band arrived at Sphere for production rehearsals, however, STAGECO was commissioned to build and supply a full-size replica of the creation to assist the band in their advance preparations at the Studios de la Victorine, a major film studio complex in Nice, in the South of France. Dirk De Decker, who managed the project for STAGECO, commented: “Although it was a small job for us, it was interesting because it was so out of the ordinary. It needed to be an exact mock-up of the stage so that it gave them a feeling of performing on the kind of traditional rake that was common with old Italian theatres. It was also important that we copied the stairs in almost the exact configuration, using Layher scaffolding.” STAGECO’s long-time clients went on to play 40 shows at Sphere – a stunning run that finally ended on March 2nd 2024. - PIC CREDITS: Kevin Mazur
Stageco België