Ron Wood and Keith Richards, for whom a smoking ban in the hangar has also been temporarily lifted.
August 5, 2006
Switzerland is gearing up for a Rolling Stones concert at a military airfield in D?bendorf near Zurich – the biggest concert of its kind ever seen in the country.
The fact that it is taking place on military ground is down to Swiss Defence Minister Samuel Schmid, who personally intervened to ensure the veteran group had enough space to rock’n’roll.
The concert is part of the Stones’ Bigger Bang world tour and is the 11th to take place in Switzerland.
Schmid offered the airfield – the first time such an offer has been made to a rock group – because of a lack of a big enough site to house all the fans.
The minister will also be present at the concert and is due to meet 82 apprentices from his ministry who have been invited to the show by Good News, the organiser of the event.
In all, 70,000 people are expected to at the concert, which has a budget of SFr10 million ($8.2 million). For the band, D?bendorf is one of the smaller stopovers on their tour – in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil they attracted 1-2 million people.
Huge event
But for Switzerland it is a huge event, the equivalent of two evenings at Pal?o, the largest of the Swiss music festivals.
“This will be the biggest concert ever seen in this country,” Dano Tamasy, spokesman for Good News, told swissinfo.
A Rolling Stones tour is an enormous undertaking. In all, 80 trucks are needed to transport 1,560 tons of material and 350 people are needed to set up the 62 by 27 metre-stage and the two metallic structures as tall as three-storey buildings around it. A giant screen measuring 18 by 13 metres has also been erected.
The D?bendorf site needed some work before it was ready to host the legendary group. This included putting in rows of seats, 50 food stands and 400 toilets. Counting infrastructure outside the airfield, building work took three weeks.
Added to this are the stars’ special requests. An aircraft hangar has been converted into a living space for the group, complete with carpet, furniture and dressing rooms.
Warm up track
A 50-metre-long pre-concert warm up track has been built for Mick Jagger and a billiard table has been found for Ron Wood and Keith Richards, for whom a smoking ban in the hangar has also been temporarily lifted.
And as the ageing rockers are not as sprightly as they were 30 years ago, a limousine will take them to the stage.
VIP suites have also been built around the stage which cost SFr1,500 each, “of which SFr600 goes to charity,” said Tamasy.
The veterans are expected to churn out such hits as “Jumping Jack Flash”, “Honky Tonk Woman, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and, of course, “Satisfaction”.
They may also pay tribute to other legends and include titles by Bob Marley and Ray Charles.
Before their last world tour in 2002 Richards said it would be the Rolling Stones’ last. But there has been no word yet on whether they will call it a day this time.
In any case, they still attract thousands to their concerts, so it could be that, true rockers that they are, the group will be on stage until the very last.
