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Wed, July 30, 2003
T.O. stage set 450,000 converge on Downsview Park By SARAH GREEN, TORONTO SUN
Start me up. The Rolling Stones storm the stage at Downsview Park tonight, headlining a 15-act show that will shine Toronto's SARS-tarnished image and enter the history books as North America's largest single-day concert.
The show, announced just six weeks ago, will transform the former military base into a city for a day to feed, heal, police and most of all, entertain an estimated 450,000 fans.
Jake Berry, the Stones' production director, called today's concert "the biggest rock show in the world."
'HUGE UNDERTAKING'
"This is a huge undertaking," Berry said at Downsview Park yesterday as crews worked to finish preparing the massive stage and 320-hectare site.
"If you imagine that we're going to be the size of Woodstock -- and Woodstock took a year to prep -- we just call this Woodstock in a month here," he said.
The Stones -- jetlagged from their Monday flight from Prague where the band played a show Sunday on its European tour -- spent much of the day resting at their hotel.
Mick Jagger and the band were on stage at 6 p.m. yesterday for a soundcheck to prepare for their 90-minute set.
"We never know what they're going to play," Berry said. "It'll be a big surprise."
The Stones will play the longest set in the 11-hour show, which starts at noon. The other performers, from Sam Roberts and Justin Timberlake to Rush and AC/DC, will play for 15 to 45 minutes each.
Riley O'Connor, vice-president of House of Blues, said he'll advise the performers, each one with butterflies in their stomachs, to take a drink of water before stepping on stage and looking out into a sea of humanity.
"Their mouths will probably go dry," O'Connor said. "I think it will take their breath away."
Burton Cummings is not only a performer at today's concert. The Guess Who frontman, who bought a lesser-known Stones album in Yorkville yesterday, is also a fan.
"To be asked to do this was wonderful," Cummings said. "I was very excited when I found out. Who knows how much longer the Stones will tour?
"It can't go on indefinitely, so it's really nice to be part of this while they're still a worldwide entity," he said.
Before the gates open at 8 a.m. today, crews will set up 12 truckloads of barricades around the site to keep the massive crowd orderly. The Stones -- "the biggest and best in the world," Berry said -- normally need one truck of barriers for a concert.
'10 TIMES BIGGER'
"We're 10 times bigger than the Rolling Stones," Berry said.
Also needed to stage the show are nine video screens, 11 trucks of sound equipment, nine trucks of lighting, 15 trucks of staging and 35 sound delay towers, he said.
"We're told you can hear it in London, if you're really cool," Berry said. "This is going to be superb. The vibe backstage is unbelievable."
Yesterday was a day to tie up loose ends and O'Connor said preparations were "on time in a remarkable way." Only 100-km/h winds and torrential rains would have steered organizers off schedule, he said.
There were 415,000 tickets sold as of yesterday and O'Connor said attendance is expected to hit 450,000 when dignitaries and others are counted.