Cunard Queen Anne: Ship Naming Celebration in Liverpool

It's rare that one can participate in a ship naming ceremony, but at the beginning of June, Adlib were invited to support Luxury British Cruise Line, Cunard, with audio rental services at Liverpool's iconic waterfront.

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With its roots dating back to 1840, Cunard has always shared a special bond with Liverpool. Liverpool was the birthplace of Cunard’s first transatlantic crossing 184 years ago and the company’s headquarters for 128 years. It's a source of pride that the company has chosen to return to its spiritual home, naming the 249th ship in its fleet right outside the Three Graces and making the city of Liverpool the godparent of the cruise line's newest ship.

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The celebrations included the traditional smashing of a Champagne bottle against the ship, performances by world-renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Liverpool-based DJ Lauren Lo Sung, The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and legendary Liverpudlian, TV personality and DJ, Craig Charles.

To facilitate the ceremony, the Adlib team specified a K-Series L-Acoustics Loudspeaker system comprising 12 x K2 loudspeaker boxes per side, with KS28 subwoofers in a cardioid configuration. This was an essential part of the system design, providing a quiet stage for the orchestra and maximum clarity for the audience.

L-Acoustics X8 loudspeakers covered the VIP area and served as fills on the downstage edge. To ensure uniform coverage across the entire site, the Adlib team deployed two ground-stacked stereo delays of L-Acoustics KARA II loudspeakers, each featuring six boxes per side, along with SB18 subwoofers for low-end reinforcement.

For control, the Adlib team deployed DiGiCo Quantum Consoles. A SD7 Quantum was used to mix the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with multiple SD racks and local racks for inputs. Over 70 channels were split between playback, wireless, and the orchestra.

A separate console, a DiGiCo Q225, was provided to mix Andrea Bocelli, who sang one of his all-time hits, "Time To Say Goodbye," which concluded the naming ceremony. The celebrations continued into the evening. BBC Radio 6 Music's Craig Charles delivered a funk and soul set accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra before the fireworks display sent Queen Anne on her way to the next stop on the historic maiden voyage.

Many thanks to Cunard, Event Production Management, and Wilson Dow for inviting us to participate in this fantastic project.