ADIA 2023: The Defence Industry’s Event of the Year
The Australian Defence Industry Awards (ADIA) returned 2023 and delivered a stunning night recognising the top businesses and professionals in the defence industry including businesses, academic institutions and associations, Indigenous and female leaders, scientists, technicians and academics.
The ADIA gala awards were produced by Captivate Events in partnership with Encore and held at the National Convention Centre in Canberra on 21 September 2023.
Brief
Encore was contracted to deliver an immersive experience comprising end-to-end event services, design, technical solution and production for more than 800 guests – including the Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency, Vasyl Myroshnychenko. Defence Connect wanted to take the annual ADIA gala to the next level and create a ‘WOW’ moment for guests when they enter the room.
The event design needed to incorporate an engaging pre-function area with live band and then WOW guests as they entered the gala hall for the traditional Welcome to Country, MC Welcome, keynote speeches, presentation of over 30 awards and live music entertainment.
Challenge
To accommodate more guests and provide an impactful experience when they enter the room, our client asked to reconfigure the room 90 degrees (from landscape to portrait). This change of direction came after the initial event design was approved and just a few short weeks prior to the event. This presented the Encore team with several technical challenges to reengineer the 3D design renderings and technical specifications for the rigging, audio, visual and lighting systems. It’s fair to say, our teams rose to the challenge!
Solution
Within a matter of hours of receiving the request, our agile team was able to imagineer a new technical solution, one that would bring the customer’s vision to life without compromising the guests’ experience.
The Encore team utilised their advanced expertise and supply of cutting-edge technology to transform the National Convention Centre from a ‘blank canvass’ to an engaging and immersive experience.
Despite the last-minute change to the room configuration, Encore’s quick-thinking team used the change to create an improved audience experience as the audio was directed from the stage, without the need for delay speakers behind the audience members. The other benefit was that the technical solution could be simpler with dual system hangs rather than numerous ones positioned the length of the room to the back.
Result
Encore’s impressive audio, visual and lighting systems were finely tuned for the space by highly experienced technicians to produce the desired audio and lighting effects. Our team and their skilled reimagining of the technical solution was fundamental in successfully bringing the customer’s vision to life which was to create an immersive experience for guests with the stunning stage a focal point.
