Fleetwood Mac kept cool during world tour performances

With a capacity of approximately 20,000, the O2 Arena in Greenwich is now recognised as the world’s busiest music venue – attracting over 2 million people per year. Its size and prime location make it the ideal place to host popular performers, with Fleetwood Mac among several acts to play there during a busy summer schedule.

The British-American rock band played two shows in London as part of their world tour, and their arrival in the capital coincided with the early July heatwave that swept much of the nation. It was therefore requested by the entertainment agency in charge, that a temporary air conditioning system be installed to ensure members of the group were kept cool throughout.

A technician from our Charlton depot – situated less than a mile away from the arena – recommended the hire of two 90kW High Capacity Packaged Air Conditioning units, and these were deployed in a quiet area of the surrounding car park. Both air conditioners were ducted 40 metres through back quarters and secured underneath the main stage. A continuous flow of cooled air was then distributed upwards through grills, preventing the musicians from overheating during the concert.

Due to the high profile nature of the project and the potential impact an inadequate solution might have had, we assigned an engineer to remain on standby while the units were in operation. As expected, this precaution was not needed, but a contingency service was requested in the unlikely event of an emergency.

Ultimately, our client was extremely pleased with the overall installation and swift action taken to ensure appropriate climate control was available on both nights. The shows passed off without any issue and the equipment was off-hired the morning after.