Brief
Evening4Ricky was a celebration of the late Ricky Hatton – a star-studded show with a boxing twist, featuring 12 rounds of live entertainment. The event brought together performances, interviews and appearances from across the worlds of music, sport and entertainment, creating a unique live experience inside the AO Arena.
Legends Soccer approached Sterling to provide a complete technical production solution for the live arena audience whilst simultaneously capturing video content for future distribution. The show was split between a central boxing ring and a main performance stage, creating a dynamic event space that required multiple focal points, seamless transitions and consistent audience engagement throughout.
The event featured performances from Tinie Tempah, The Lottery Winners, Bugzy Malone, John Newman and Rowetta, alongside interviews and appearances from stars across sport and entertainment. With only 12 hours of venue access before doors opened and 12 acts requiring rehearsals & soundchecks, detailed planning and integrated delivery would be essential to making the event a success.
Solution
Working closely with the Legends Soccer team and show producers Road3, we delivered a fully integrated technical production solution across audio, lighting, video, rigging, staging and content capture. Every element of the production was designed to support both the live audience experience and future content requirements, ensuring the show delivered impact in the room whilst creating long-term value beyond the event itself.
The audio solution was designed to deliver the energy and scale expected from a live arena show whilst maintaining the clarity and control required for interviews, performances and transitions across multiple show environments. The system supported a varied programme of live acts, presenters and guests, ensuring a consistent audience experience throughout the evening.
Lighting was used to reinforce the boxing-inspired format and create distinct visual moments across each round. A dynamic lighting design combined performance lighting, audience moments and visual cues to maintain momentum throughout the show & create atmosphere across both the central ring and main stage.
The video solution ensured every audience member remained connected to the action regardless of where it was taking place. A central LED display acted as both scenic backdrop and show content canvas, supported by live IMAG screens and integrated playback systems. A dedicated broadcast camera package enabled high-quality content capture, creating premium assets.
Supporting the production required extensive rigging infrastructure across the arena to accommodate audio, lighting and video systems. The staging was designed to support the varied programme throughout the evening, including rolling risers for artists and DJs alongside dedicated control and camera positions.
With access to the venue limited to just 12 hours before doors and 12 acts requiring preparation, pre-production played a critical role in the success of the event. Using our Manchester HQ facilities, we hosted an offsite cue-to-cue rehearsal and show programming session involving the Legends Soccer team, Road3 and key suppliers. Running in parallel, our technical crew prepared and labelled equipment specifically for the production to streamline onsite installation and maximise available rehearsal time. This preparation proved invaluable in accelerating delivery and ensuring the team arrived onsite ready to execute.
Result
Evening4Ricky successfully transformed the AO Arena into a high-energy live entertainment experience that celebrated the life and legacy of Ricky Hatton. Despite the complexity of delivering across multiple performance spaces, integrating live entertainment and capturing content simultaneously, the production felt seamless for the audience from beginning to end. The combination of integrated technical production and detailed pre-production planning enabled the show to maintain pace across all 12 rounds of entertainment whilst supporting artists, presenters and guests throughout.
Importantly, the event delivered value beyond the live audience experience through broadcast-quality content capture, creating assets for future distribution and extending the legacy of the event long after the final performance. By bringing every technical discipline together under a single delivery model, the client team could remain focused on the show experience, confident that every production element was working together behind the scenes.
The technical execution was flawless. The lighting looked incredible, the sound perfect and the music transitions on stage were all so smooth - I’ve had so many things go wrong in a technically complex show which was rigged and set in a very short time and the team worked tirelessly with absolutely no complaints. It was seamless
Legends Soccer Group
Tech Spec
- Full arena PA system (d&b Audiotechnik line array)
- Complete monitor and IEM package with side fills, wedges and DJ monitoring
- FOH and monitor control with Yamaha DM7 consoles
- Digital RF microphone and wireless communications systems
- Multiple DJ systems and full backline provision
- Full arena lighting design and show package
- Dynamic fixture inventory including Ayrton, Clay Paky, Chauvet and Showtec
MA3 lighting control with Luminex networking - Large-format LED and IMAG screen solution
Broadcast camera package with long lens capability - Barco E2 screen management and Green Hippo media servers
- Backstage monitoring and content distribution
- Full rigging and truss infrastructure with motorised hoists
- Rolling risers, production platforms and staging systems
- Multi-camera live capture for future content distribution
- End-to-end technical production management and pre-production programming
- Offsite cue-to-cue rehearsals enabling rapid 12-hour venue turnaround