Nordic Business Forum 2024

The collaboration between Nordic Business Forum and Creative Technology (CT) dates back to the event’s early days in Jyväskylä. This successful collaboration has continued over the years, and in 2024, CT and NBF started an official partnership.

World-class speakers deserve world-class technical execution, and CT was responsible for the event’s technical planning and implementation of lighting, sound, and video technology. The visual concept and design were handled by Visual45. Visual45’s operators managed the lighting and media servers, and CT’s technicians were in charge of operating the screens and presentation materials.

CT Finland’s Sales Manager, Hannu Hautalahti, describes Nordic Business Forum:

“Nordic Business Forum has become one of CT Finland’s most significant annual productions. Our cooperation with the organization has always been open and forward-thinking, constantly challenging our planning and production in positive ways each year. The boldness to take plans further each time allows CT and Visual45 to excel, showcasing our strengths in professional and creative approaches combined with top-notch technical execution.

This year’s design was completely revamped compared to last year, allowing us to utilize and optimize CT’s equipment resources across Northern Europe. We sourced gear not only from Finland but also from Sweden and Norway. Thanks to this cross-border collaboration, we were able to deliver a large-scale production with nearly 100% in-house resources.

With our recently signed three-year partnership agreement, we are eagerly looking forward to surprising and exceeding audience expectations again next year.”

The Bar for the Event Was Set High

Winning the 2023 Evento Award for Best Visual Implementation at Nordic Business Forum set the bar high for this year’s event. Once again, the stage featured impressive video and lighting design, creating a world-class spectacle.

Our largest technical production took place in the main seminar hall, where thousands of attendees gathered to hear some of the world’s leading business experts. At the heart of the space was the over 200 m² large stage where the key speakers got to shine.

For the first time, CT also had its own booth at the NBF expo area, where visitors could see how their custom light shows would look on the main stage of the event.

Truckloads of Top-quality Technology

In the main seminar hall, our audio specialists delivered flawless sound with over 100 speakers, the majority from d&b audiotechnik’s latest KSL and XSL series, along with 16 channels of wireless microphones. The sound was controlled using two Yamaha CL5 and two Yamaha QL1 digital mixers.

In total, 824 LED panels created six separate video screens with a combined area of 353.5 m². Of these panels, 620 were from the ROE Black Quartz 6 series and 204 from the ROE Black Onyx 2 series. Two Disguise Gx3 and two Gx4 servers were used for media content, and the visuals were managed using Barco’s EM E2 Gen2 system.

Lighting included a total of 966 fixtures: 507 moving lights, around 100 static fixtures, and 315 Sceptron LED lights. The entire lighting setup was controlled via two MA Lighting GrandMA3 consoles. For the first time in Finland, we used the Follow-Me 3D SIX intelligent follow spot system, which had also been used at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö earlier this year.

Visual45 once again led the visual concept and design for the event. Given the complexity of the project, Visual45 carried out a two-week pre-programming period for the media server and lighting operations. This allowed the NBF team to preview how the final design would appear on the main stage ahead of the event.

CT’s expertise extended beyond the seminar hall as we provided lighting and sound for the VIP and networking areas in Hall 7, including the stage and networking areas. The setup involved more than 60 technicians during the build-up phase, and 15 technicians were present throughout the event to ensure flawless technical operations.

Committed Partnership

For Creative Technology, Nordic Business Forum is a significant project that we have worked on closely with the NBF team. Events of this scale require deep expertise and technical know-how. The strong, long-term commitment to a shared vision resulted in an unforgettable event.

Thank you for your trust and collaboration, Nordic Business Forum! We look forward to seeing you again next year!

CT Expo Booth:

Visual design: Pietari Koskenniemi

Video content production: Pertti Jääsaari, Minna Saalasti

Main Stage:

Visual design: Kai Lainkari, Tero Kärpijoki

Video content production: Pertti Jääsaari, Saku Väänänen

Light programming and operation: Tero Kärpijoki

Video programming and operation: Saku Väänänen

Keylight programming and operation: Eero Keskinen

Technical provider: Creative Technology Finland

Project Managers: Toni Toivo, Mikko Makkonen

Head of Lighting: Ville Lehtinen

Lighting system engineer: Oskari Nykänen

Follow-Me system engineer: Tim Smith

Followspot operators: Emmiina Koski, Erik Koskela

Audio system engineers: Reima Saarinen, Anssi Karjalainen

Intercom/Network: Ville Kärkkäinen

Microphone technician: Antti Rintamäki

Audio stage system technician: Olli Nousiainen

Screen director: Lauri Ordén

Presentation operators: Mikko Törmälehto, Roni Tuomivirta

Video system engineer: Juuso Jaakkola

Expo video system engineer: Topi Rinne

FOH Sound engineer: Janne Röning, Middle8 Live Finland

Band monitor technician: Matti Korhonen, Freelancer, Nordic Business Forum

Production: Nordic Business Forum

Hans-Peter Siefen

Miika Riikonen

Jukka Tallgren

Théotime Pellé

Jani Pellikka

Petra Kytölä

Juha Hanhinen

Photos: Nordic Business Forum, Kai Lainkari, Arttu Hurme