Final preparations are under way in the Luxexpo car park before The Offspring open the concert series on the main stage on Wednesday. Although visitors may not notice the difference immediately, the site has undergone several changes compared with the past four years.
Spectator safety is the highest priority at events of this scale. The Crans-Montana disaster has heightened awareness of the risks, prompting the team at den Atelier to seek further safety advice and carry out numerous simulations.
Michel Welter, director of den Atelier, said evacuation exercises had been conducted and that they had worked with Luxexpo to review and improve the entire safety plan. The revised arrangements were then submitted and presented to the authorities, he said.
He added that several measures have since been introduced, including minor changes to the site layout. Welter said most visitors would probably not notice them, although two new emergency exits had been installed.
Workers were putting the finishing touches to one of the new exits to the right of the stage on Monday morning. The large bar in the middle of the site has been moved closer to the flagpoles, creating wider passageways on either side. Kerbs around several trees have also been removed to reduce the risk of people tripping.
These are relatively small changes, but they could make a significant difference during an emergency.
Well over 100 people have been working at the site for the past week ahead of Wednesday evening's opening concert.
The physically demanding work was made more difficult by the recent heat, with litres of sun cream distributed to staff, according to production manager Rahel Feidler.
She said conditions had been particularly difficult for the teams, adding that staff were encouraged to take sufficient breaks, drink plenty of water, and begin work as early as possible. Temperatures were still manageable in the morning, but became extremely high by midday, Feidler noted.
Despite the conditions, construction and preparation work had to continue because the team was working to fixed deadlines, Feidler stressed.
"We have kept to our schedule. We will be ready", Feidler said.
No heat-related medical incidents were reported, with experienced professionals working both outside and inside the venue.
An important final meeting was also held ahead of the seven Luxexpo open-air shows.
The summer concert series always involves a degree of financial risk for the organiser, Welter said, with the weather remaining one of the main uncertainties.
He explained that, provided conditions developed as expected and all the events ran smoothly, this could be a very successful year, possibly the best yet.
Welter said that none of the concerts had sold out at the time of the interview, but noted that two or three were very close to reaching capacity. The programme also includes one more concert than in previous years, he said.
With stars such as Katy Perry and Robbie Williams on the programme, each concert is expected to be a highlight. Welter nevertheless has his own personal favourites.
From a musical perspective, he singled out Gorillaz. He explained that the band has already performed elsewhere in Europe this season, and that although he was unable to attend that show, he said he had watched clips from it and expected the Luxembourg performance to be "fantastic".
He described Damon Albarn as "one of the geniuses currently working in the music scene".
Welter also highlighted Beirut's concert at Neimënster Abbey as another special event.
It is one of five open-air concerts organised by den Atelier in the Grund, some of which will take place at the same time as the Luxexpo shows, which are expected to attract well over 10,000 people.
The motivation remains clear: the show must go on.
