Groupe Novelty delivers papal visit production in Monaco
Groupe Novelty delivers papal visit production in Monaco
Four companies from Groupe Novelty provided technical production across five venues in Monaco for Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic visit earlier this year, supporting ceremonial gatherings and a pontifical mass attended by 15,000 worshippers at Stade Louis II.
The visit marked the first papal apostolic visit to the Principality in the contemporary era. The programme included a welcome at the Palais Princier by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlène, a balcony address at the Place du Palais, a prayer gathering at the Cathédrale de Monaco and a meeting with young people at the Église Sainte-Dévote.
Groupe Novelty companies Dushow, Mediacom by Dushow, DushowTV and Magnum Power were deployed across the Stade Louis II, Cathédrale de Monaco, Place du Palais, Place Sainte-Dévote and Musée Océanographique.
Mediacom by Dushow led technical coordination and video across the sites. Dushow provided staging, sound reinforcement and electrical distribution, while DushowTV handled lighting design and delivery. Magnum Power supplied the power infrastructure, including generator sets positioned across the venues.
“To be entrusted with this technical production is a milestone for our group,” said Dushow general director Christian Lorenzi. “It’s the first Papal visit in nearly five centuries, with millions watching a single day unfold. Our teams understood the responsibility that this carried. Our role was to ensure the technology served the moment while remaining totally invisible and functioning flawlessly.”
The Stade Louis II served as the main venue for the afternoon mass. The technical setup was developed in collaboration with Monaco Broadcast, the Gouvernement de Monaco, the Palais Princier de Monaco and the Diocèse de Monaco, with operational and ceremonial requirements informing the design and placement of equipment.
At the Place du Palais, the installation provided audio and visual coverage for the balcony address. Systems at the Cathédrale de Monaco and Église Sainte-Dévote were adapted to the smaller scale and architectural constraints of the sacred spaces.
“No two venues had the same requirements. With teams operating across Monaco simultaneously, constant communication was key,” noted Lorenzi. “We ensured we kept a single technical direction, while adapting our work site by site.”
The project brought video, sound, lighting, staging and power under one operational structure. Groupe Novelty cited its permanent presence in Monaco and experience of working across the Principality as factors in coordinating the multisite production.
“This project demonstrates exactly what our model at Groupe Novelty was built for,” Lorenzi concluded. “This project had four brands and one operational structure covering video, sound, lighting, staging and power across five different venues on that day. Our permanent presence in Monaco and our longstanding relationships there meant we arrived not as visitors, but as partners who understood the context and what was at stake.”
