Cyrus Gorimar Speaks On Dealing with Last Minute Venue Change of the One Republic Concert

by  Shantanu Jain Industry Watch | April 16, 2018 | News

Opium Events MMRDA Grounds DOME@NSCI

It was in early March this year when Opium Events, one of India's leading event management companies announced that it will be bringing OneRepublic to India for a LIVE show on April 21st, 2018 at the MMRDA Grounds in Mumbai. The concert ever since the time of its announcement has remained in the media spotlight as it is being touted as the ‘Next Big One’ after Coldplay and Justin Bieber’s Purpose Tour Leg in India.

Interestingly, just 2 weeks before the concert Opium Events India took to Facebook to announce that the venue of the concert was shifted from MMRDA Grounds to the DOME @ NSCI, in Mumbai. While the news of the concert being shifted to a different venue so close to the concert was met with mixed response from the audiences, not much was revealed on why the venue of the concert was changed in the first place.

After much digging, it was shared with EVENTFAQS that the MMRDA Grounds was, in fact, closing its gates for all events altogether because of a government project. The news is a definite disruption for Opium Events that were set to host one of their biggest productions ever at the venue.

In an exclusive conversation with EVENTFAQS, Cyrus Gorimar, Director, Opium Events spilled the beans on what led to the concert venue change and how is his team and event partners salvaging the situation.

“It takes a humongous effort by everyone to get the show on the road. From the licensing part to the plotting the approvals, to the rider shifts, to the rigging - the stress is unreal.”- starts off Gorimar.

“Normally the international bands and we at Opium work with such planning that once we lock on the details there are no further changes and that’s the reason why Opium is known to produce smooth and hassle-free concerts. But in this case, with barely two weeks to go for the show to undergo a massive change like this is insane. Thankfully, we have very co-operative sponsors on board who have changed the communication overnight.”- he adds.

When questioned why was the MMRDA closing not conveyed earlier to Opium, Gorimar revealed, “The venue was confirmed as the authorities accepted our letter with the demand draft. And, we started planning the venue and set up according to that allotted plot of land. Suddenly, we were told only verbally sans anything in writing that the permissions to host any event at the MMRDA Grounds post-April 1st, 2018 have been withdrawn. Why? Because of the bullet train project. Can’t say for others but the project in place surely hit me like a bullet.”

Commenting on how Opium is salvaging the situation Gorimar assured, “When we take on a show so huge, we have top-notch professionals with us who plan and run the show like a well-oiled unit. I am elated to have an ‘A team’ working with us on the project. This is not a one-man show. Thanks to the outstanding support shown by Vinay Agarwal, Hemant Somaya, Rishabh Gupta, Rafael Pereira and Mazhar Nadiadwala we will nail this show and deliver to our audiences the experience of a lifetime.”