Unveiling the Brandenburg Gate

Info

On the twelfth anniversary of German reunification, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was to be unveiled and presented to the public in a new guise following nearly two years of being completely under wraps due to renovation work. The Berlin police estimated that about a million people would gather around the gate to watch the spectacular show on the Pariser Platz.

Starting situation

The City of Berlin commissioned production firm Schwantsein AG to take care of the conceptual design and organization of a two-hour live event with a worldwide TV broadcast which would be the high point of the formal unveiling of the Gate. Schwanstein brought amp on board to be the music production company responsible for all musical concerns – from concept to implementation up to performance.

Implementation

After many workshops together with the organizers, a concept was developed which provided for a selection of music full of variety and exactly in harmony with the evening’s climax, played by an extremely flexible ensemble enhanced by national and international artists. Amp arranged all the pieces, produced playbacks at Teldex Studio in Berlin to support the live orchestra, and provided a musical director to conduct rehearsals and studio recordings, and be responsible for keeping all the music segments running smoothly on the big day.

Result

With such political celebrities as German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, German President Johannes Rau and former President Bill Clinton putting in an appearance, it turned out to be a mega-event, moderated by Götz Alsmann, powerfully supported by a 90-piece orchestra brought together just for this one evening to back vocal stars like Montserrat Caballé and Nena. Amp even produced a compilation of the musical highlights for the main sponsor, Vattenfall, to serve as a give-away souvenir of the highly regarded event.