MARCH | REVIEW
usually take weeks or months. Everyone
said, ‘We have a challenge – let’s rise to
it!’. We were very lucky to have a Group
that got on board at every level. In Chile,
Lyon, and Spain, everyone got involved.
The biggest issue was time – we had
very little time to put all this together.
What resulted where extremely long
hours, as at this point, only ten days
remained until the event: “We had to
do a very fast yet precise analysis to get
the basics right. We were all shaken, but
everyone just got on with it. The shared
goal for everyone, was to make COP
happen.
“The logistical challenge was
enormous because a lot of equipment
was specifically designed and
configured for the COP, so the only
option was to bring it from Chile.
And to do so, we had to come up
with ‘extraordinary’ means, such as
chartering a cargo plane. And, everyone
helped out – both Chilean and Spanish
governments and customs services. It
wouldn’t have been possible without
them, so that was a huge challenge.
Completely new floor plans were
drawn up, and set up in different halls
of the venue. Meanwhile, new service
providers were found to set up all the
offices and pavilions.
For the original COP 25 in Chile, GL
events was the principal contractor and
was contracted to deliver everything.
For the event in Spain, GL events
was contracted to deliver delegation
pavilions and offices. It also had the
main contract to deliver sound, video,
IT, IPTV and simultaneous translation.
Rosenwald continues: “We tried to
stick as closely as possible to the plans
drawn up for Chile and build in barely
ten days what would usually take
two to three weeks. In total, we built
12,000sqm of pavilions and offices, and
all except 300-400sqm had exactly
the same configuration as what was
planned for Chile.
“It was an indescribable feeling when
we saw everything was ready. When
I saw the screens lit up, and the sound
systems working, I felt such emotion. It
was a real rollercoaster ride of emotions.
It’s part of what we do. It’s part of our
nature.”
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