20Rigging

The short version: Rigging is how heavy things are hung safely above people: chain hoists from rated points in the building, or ground-supported towers and roofs outdoors. Hoists built to the D8+ standard can hang loads over people without extra safeties, standard D8 hoists cannot, and outdoor roofs are governed by an engineering standard whose importance the 2011 collapses made clear.

Chain hoists ("motors") attach to the building's structure with steel wire rope and shackles, then lift truss, LED walls and scenery⁴³⁷. A dead-hang point drops straight below a beam; a bridle spans two beams so the hook falls between them⁴³⁷. Weak link analysis - finding the lowest-rated component in the chain - is described as the most common rigging assessment⁴³⁷.

The German hoist standard has two levels that matter. A standard D8 hoist is not designed to suspend loads over people unless a secondary safety is fitted. A D8+ hoist has double brakes and higher safety factors and can suspend over people without one, which also spares a rigger the climb to fit secondaries and the risk of fitting them wrong. The choice should follow a project-specific risk assessment⁴⁴⁷.

Outdoors, ground support - towers and roofs standing on the ground rather than hanging from a building - is governed in the US by ANSI E1.21, "Temporary Structures Used for Technical Production of Outdoor Entertainment Events", which sets minimum design and performance parameters and does not cover fire or egress; the current edition is 2024⁴⁴⁸. The Event Safety Alliance lists ESTA standards for rigging, outdoor ground-supported structures and temporary special-event structures⁴⁴⁹.

The reference failure is again Indiana in 2011: the engineering review found the rigging "wasn't built strong enough to meet state building codes". It was required to withstand 68 mph gusts and came down in gusts of about 59⁴⁵⁰.

We could not source, and so do not state, ESTA's specific hoist and truss standards, typical arena point loads, or exactly who signs off a rigging plot. In practice the house rigger approves a tour's rigging plot against the building's limits; check the specifics with ESTA and the venue.

Report an error in this section