Inside Sing50 — Singapore's SG50 golden-jubilee concert at the National Stadium (2015) — with stage design by Patrick Larsen for a finale of 50 pianos, a full orchestra and a 1,000-voice choir.
Sing50 at the National Stadium (2015): a curved wall of pixel orbs frames the SG50 target motif, with beams cutting through the stadium haze. Stage design by Patrick Larsen.
Singapore turned fifty in 2015. Sing50 was the golden-jubilee concert. National Stadium, 7 August 2015. I designed the stage.
A stadium and a song
A jubilee concert is a particular brief. It has to feel intimate enough for music and big enough for a stadium, and it has to carry real weight for a country watching live and at home. The design has to hold a vast room and still put your attention on the singer at the centre.
A finale that only happens once
The show built to fifty pianos, a full orchestra and a thousand-voice choir on stage at the same time. Most of that work is unglamorous — sightlines, levels, access, safety for hundreds of musicians, making sure the whole thing reads as one picture from the cheap seats. Co-organised by Singapore Press Holdings. The hardest briefs in this job aren't always long runs. Sometimes it's one night that only happens once.
Sing50 across the night — a packed stadium bowl in red and gold, the orb-wall stage in full beam, leaders and performers on stage, and intimate solo moments under floating lights. Stage design by Patrick Larsen.
