Wizcraft Makes India Proud; Recreates History with Coldplay in 2016 after MJ in 1996

by  Shantanu Jain Entertainment | November 21, 2016 | News

Wizcraft Entertainment Global Citizen Festival Sabbas Joseph MMRDA Grounds Coldplay

It was exactly 20 years ago, when Wizcraft International had pulled of the most stunning event the country had ever seen - The Michael Jackson Concert in India, a part of the History World Tour then, that spanned across the globe. And exactly 20 years later, Wizcraft has done it again. This time putting together a show that was far more daunting, of a more gigantic scale, garnering the devoted attention of media houses and music fans across the country.

A lot of things stood out in the first ever Global Citizen Festival India 2016 organized on November 19, 2016 at the MMRDA Grounds in Mumbai - the thundering performance by Coldplay, the presence of A-lister Bollywood stars, the weaving of numerous social causes into the festival, but what truly stood out for everyone at the end of the day was the unblemished execution by Wizcraft.

                                   (L-R) Andre Timmins, Viraf Sarkari and Sabbas Joseph

Let's state it at the outset itself: Global Citizen Festival India 2016 execution was no ordinary feat to achieve, as the event was high on technology, had an impeccable set design and was headlined by the biggest superstars in the world right now. However, team Wizcraft lead by its 3 Directors - Andre Timmins, Viraf Sarkari and Sabbas Joseph - managed to create a stunner of an event, one that will be remain in the hearts of musical fans for a long time.

High Points

The festival began in the afternoon, with actors Parineeti Chopra and Arjun Kapoor declaring it open. The main act of the event, Coldplay's performance, took the stage around 9 PM as lead singer Chris Martin, drummer Will Champion, guitarist Johnny Buckland and bass guitarist Guy Berryman delivered a mangnificnent performance.

The highpoint of the festival came when the British singer surprised Indian fans as he sang a few lines of the hit Bollywood song Channa Mereya. However, he outdid himself when he joined musical maestro A.R Rahman for a thundering rendition of Vande Matram, leaving a jam-packed stadium filled with 80,000 people spellbound.  
Have a look and decide for yourself.

Coming down to the technical aspect of the event, Roger Drego- Proprietor, Electrocraft was roped in to manage the sound set-up at the event which was done under joint operation with Manish Mavani- Director, SNL Pro. The lighting at the event was managed by Ulhas Sahasrabuddhe and the roof top structure  of the stage is believed to have been imported from a Belgium based company called Stage Co. Trussing and Rigging for the entire festival as well as the Broadcast Room was created by SNL Pro.

Speaking about the event, Manish Mavani- Director, SNL Pro said, "Global Citizen Festival India 2016 was by far the largest audio technical setup ever seen at one stage in one day. We had the maximum number of consoles, equipments and the biggest international stars on the stage. There has been nothing bigger and better than this."

The Wave of Social Change

In just two months since the launch of the Global Citizen India movement, more than 5 lakh young Global Citizens in India took more than 20 lakh actions calling on political, faith and business leaders, along with celebrities, to be more accountable in their efforts to improve education, gender equality and water, sanitation and hygiene in India.

In response, leaders at the Global Citizen Festival India made 25 announcements and commitments which are set to affect 500 million people (50 crore) people, with a collective value of US$ 3.37 billion (INR 22,490 crore).

Speaking about it Hugh Evans, CEO, Global Citizen, said: “Global Citizen Festival India showed the power of youth taking action together. More than 500,000 young Global Citizens took more than 2 million actions. And tonight, we saw the results - dozens of commitments that will affect the lives of 500m people. Tonight, marks a moment of great celebration, but it is only the beginning of the journey. The growing movement of more than 8 million Global Citizens around the world will keep campaigning to make sure leaders deliver on these promises, and commit to do even more."

Industry Stalwarts Speak

The Global Citizen India 2016 was met with tremendous enthusiasm and support from the Indian event industry professionals as well. Most of who, were present to catch the action as it happened.

Speaking about the concert, Martin Da Costa, Founder, 70 EMG commented, "Coldplay were slickly excellent. Jay Z killed it - gave it his all. The Vamps were young and fun and sexy as hell. The three fresh-faced lads from youtube's fabulous East India Comedy were hysterically irreverent, and a welcome change from the portentous rhetoric that consistently punctured the vibe through the afternoon and evening.The whole day was a serious tribute to Wizcraft's legendary strength in depth. That they were able to not just manage such a vast array of speakers but also navigate and direct such a heavy political and celebrity burden."

He added, "ARR'S best moment was a spirited Vande Mataran, post which he walked off with Chris Martin's mic, forcing that lovely man into an athletic 80m sprint to salvage the end of a great set.The politicians, corporate drones and celebs talked. And talked. Mostly in vague clichés and of doubtful futures. Modi was the best of them. Freida Pinto, by some excruciating distance, the worst. The 80,000 suffered. No water and a ton of platitude. I met that brilliant man from ABB and had just a great time. I suspect most people did. It was a hell of an achievement by Sabbas, Andre, Viraf and the Wizcraft team.".

                         
Shubhra Bhardwaj- Director, Ferriswheel Entertainment said, "Global Citizen Festival India 2016 was an amazing experience. Fabulous delivery. Hats off to Wizcraft for a smooth delivery of such a large scale operation, production, guest list and telecast."

Devraj Sanyal- Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Universal Music Group & EMI Music, South Asia shared his views on the festival by saying, "Having been part of this industry for 25 years now, the global citizen concert was our finest and proudest moment. Getting 80,000 people to come watch some of the greatest artists from here and globally with over 9000 people on ground working relentlessly to make the best event I've been to needed some real doing. I want to say that my brothers at Wizcraft Andre Timmins, Sabbas Joseph and Viraf Sarkari, Ashish from BookMyShow and all the vendors who pooled together to make this epic event happen have outdone themselves. From PM Modi to our CM to everyone in the govt went out of their way to pave the path have been the most progressive and we are now finally in an era or growth and change."

Roger Drego- Proprietor, Electrocraft and Head of Audio for the Global Citizen Festival India 2016 commented, "I am happy with the great success of the Global Citizen Festival India with the collaboration and support of Manish Mavani and the SNL Pro team followed by equipment support from Santana Davis of J Davis Prosound & Lighting and Porus Jussawalla of Effectstech SLT Pvt. Ltd."

The Global Citizen Festival India was presented by Colors Viacom18 and Venky’s, and was powered by UPL and NECC. The festival, a collaboration between The Global Education and Leadership Foundation and Global Citizen, was hosted in Mumbai by the Government of Maharashtra and was event-produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd. Other partners of the event included: the United Nations; the Times of India Group; Google; Hindustan Unilever; Ola; Spykar; Make My Trip; Taj Group of Hotels; BookMyShow; Rishtey Cineplex; Voot; Radio Mirchi.