Thousands of Students Take the Stage for Stars in the Arena 2026
Novatech Creative Event Technology was proud to return for Festival of Music’s Stars in the Arena 2026, presented by the SA Public Primary Schools Music Festival and the SA Department for Education, delivering technical production across four nights of performances at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena in Adelaide, South Australia.
For a production of this scale, bringing key technical disciplines together through one experienced production partner provides significant benefits. With audio, lighting, projection, lasers, communications and technical integration coordinated through Novatech, the production team could work toward one cohesive technical vision, streamline communication and ensure systems were designed to operate together from pre-production through to rehearsals and performances.
Bringing together thousands of primary school students from across South Australia, Stars in the Arena is a large-scale annual celebration of young talent. Working alongside Festival of Music, Nexstage Staging & Rigging Solutions, Ding Productions, Clever Wombat for camera production, Howard & Sons for pyrotechnics, the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and a network of South Australian production partners, our team helped transform the Arena into an immersive performance environment capable of supporting the scale and complexity of the event.
Large-Scale Visual Production
Visual production played a major role in transforming the Arena, with more than 120 square metres of ROE Visual V8 LED incorporated into the production design.
A significant projection system was also used to deliver large-scale projection mapping across the Arena floor, dramatically extending the visual canvas beyond the stage itself. Barco UDX projectors, supported by disguise media servers and integrated content workflows, allowed visual content to move across the performance environment and complement the choreography, lighting and wider creative direction of the show.
The projection, LED, lighting and laser systems were designed as interconnected elements rather than standalone disciplines, helping create a cohesive visual experience throughout the performances.
An extensive lighting package featuring over 170 lighting fixtures provided the flexibility required for the enormous range of performances across the program. Combined with laser effects, the lighting design helped shift the Arena between intimate performance moments and high-impact sequences involving thousands of students.
Audio and Communications
An extensive L-Acoustics audio system provided coverage throughout the Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena, supported by DiGiCo consoles and a substantial wireless microphone package incorporating approximately 50 channels of Shure Axient and UHF-R systems.
With thousands of performers, multiple technical departments and large teams operating throughout the venue, clear communication was important. Riedel communications systems connected production personnel across the Arena, supporting coordination throughout bump-in, rehearsals and all four performances.
The technical design needed to accommodate both the creative ambitions of the production and the practical requirements of a major school performance, where large numbers of students needed to move safely and efficiently through the venue while technical teams delivered a highly choreographed live show.
One Integrated Production Environment
Novatech worked closely with the wider project team throughout pre-production, bump-in, rehearsals and performances to ensure each technical discipline formed part of one integrated production environment.
Our staging partner, Nexstage Staging & Rigging Solutions, delivered the custom staging and structural elements for the event, including integrated seating platforms designed specifically around the Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena configuration. Their solution helped maximise the available footprint while supporting the movement of students on and off stage throughout the performances.
Productions of this scale rely on close collaboration between creative teams, technical crews, venue departments, suppliers and event stakeholders. For Festival of Music’s Stars in the Arena 2026, Novatech worked alongside Festival of Music, Ding Productions, Clever Wombat, Howard & Sons, the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and a strong network of South Australian production partners to deliver another successful edition of the annual event.
Across four nights, thousands of South Australian students had the opportunity to perform within a major live production environment, supported by large-scale professional audio, projection, lighting, laser and communications systems, alongside specialist camera production and pyrotechnic effects designed to bring the performance to life.
