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COMPLETE EVENT PRODUCTION AND LARGE-FORMAT LED VIDEO WALL FOR GIFA 2026, THE 16TH GLOBAL ISLAMIC FINANCE AWARDS, AT SHERATON GRAND LONDON PARK LANE
Client:
Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA)Event:
GIFA 2026, the 16th annual awards. 8 September 2026Location:
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, Piccadilly, London W1J 7BXScope:
Complete event production: LED video wall, audio, show lighting, stage build, lecterns, 4K video with editing, event photography, and lobby branding.EMS Events supplied complete event production for GIFA 2026, the 16th Global Islamic Finance Awards, held in the ballroom at Sheraton Grand London Park Lane on Tuesday 8 September 2026 for an audience of 220 international banking, finance and institutional delegates. Scope covered a large-format LED video wall, full audio, show lighting, custom stage build, digital lecterns, relay screens, 4K video capture with post-event editing, dedicated event photography, and a branded lobby environment, delivered end to end under a single event production plan.
THE EVENT PRODUCTION CHALLENGE
The Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) held its 16th annual awards ceremony at Sheraton Grand London Park Lane on Tuesday 8 September 2026, bringing together 220 international banking, finance, government and institutional delegates for the industry’s flagship recognition event.
The brief called for a full-scale ballroom production anchored by a large-format LED video wall as the stage’s main visual canvas, alongside a complete audio package, a show lighting rig in GIFA’s company colours of blue and yellow-orange, custom staging, digital lecterns, 4K cameras with post-event editing, and event photography across the ceremony.
Alongside the ballroom, the brief extended to the lobby, with a printed backdrop and freestanding digital posters creating a branded arrival environment for arriving guests.
EMS Events managed every element as a complete event production under one plan, delivered by a seven-person specialist team on event day, with four-person setup and breakdown crews across the overnight build on Monday, 7 September, and same-evening derig after the ceremony closed.
ABOUT THE GLOBAL ISLAMIC FINANCE AWARDS AND SHERATON GRAND LONDON PARK LANE
The Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) is an international awards series recognising excellence in the global Islamic banking and finance industry, established in 2011 and organised by the Cambridge-Edbiz Group. The awards cover institutions, governments and individuals across the Islamic finance ecosystem, with annual ceremonies hosted in major financial centres around the world. The 2026 edition in London marked the 16th annual GIFA ceremony, held alongside the Global Islamic Finance Summit (GIFS).
The Sheraton Grand London Park Lane is a heritage five-star hotel on Piccadilly in Mayfair, overlooking Green Park. Its ballroom is one of the hotel’s principal event spaces, used regularly for international awards ceremonies, finance industry galas, corporate dinners and private receptions, with a built-in theatre stage and three-phase power infrastructure for large-format production use.
The venue’s prestige and central Mayfair location made it a natural choice for an international awards ceremony drawing finance industry leadership from across the Islamic world.
Square metres of LED video wall across the stage
Guests at the awards ceremony
Annual GIFA edition, held in London for 2026
The way forward for Islamic banking
DELIVERING THE AWARDS CEREMONY AS ONE INTEGRATED EVENT PRODUCTION
EMS Events treated the GIFA brief as one integrated event production. A single project plan covered the overnight ballroom build, the LED wall and audio installation, the show lighting rig configured to GIFA’s company colours, the digital lectern setup, the camera and photography coverage, the lobby branding, and the same-evening derig. On event day, seven specialists worked the room.
LARGE-FORMAT LED VIDEO WALL BUILT ON THE BALLROOM STAGE
The visual centrepiece of the ballroom was an Absen NT2.6 LED video wall measuring 12 metres wide by 3.5 metres tall, built from 168 panels and driven by a Novastar J6+ MCTRL4K display processor.
The wall sat on the ballroom stage, built on a 1.2-metre metal frame with four 3-metre LED video wall floor stands raised 1.2 metres off the floor, reinforced with 24 one-metre truss sections, 32 crossbars, panel clamps and stage weight bags.
Three show laptops drove content into the wall through SDI-to-HDMI conversion: content ran on the left and right thirds through the ceremony while the middle section carried static branding.
The configration gave the production team dedicated areas for live content, winner reveals and partner recognition.
The 12-metre by 3.5-metre LED video wall across the ballroom stage carrying the GIFS 2026 branding, with the stage build and digital lectern in position ahead of guest arrival.
FULL AUDIO PACKAGE AND SHOW LIGHTING IN GIFA'S COMPANY COLOURS
The audio package combined an RCF PA system for the 220-guest ballroom with a nine-channel wireless microphone setup. The PA used two RCF ART 912-A speakers stage left and right, two pairs of ART 910-A speakers for front fills and width relay, and two RCF SUB 905ASII subs, mixed through an Allen and Heath QU16 desk from an AB168 digital stagebox.
The wireless microphone package covered five bodypack and lapel channels and four handheld channels on UK Channel 38, giving flexibility between hosts, presenters and award recipients.
The show lighting rig was built around an Avolites Quartz console, with ten wireless battery LED PAR cans, four Chauvet F-EVE50 Fresnels, and four Chauvet Rogue 3 moving heads configured in GIFA’s company colours.
GIFA’s company colours of blue and yellow-orange visible across the ballroom during the ceremony, with the moving-head rig picking out the stage area and the venue’s heritage Art Deco bas-reliefs lit in warm tones.
DIGITAL LECTERNS, CUSTOM STAGE BUILD AND 4K CAMERA CAPTURE WITH POST-EVENT EDITING
The ceremony used two digital lecterns, each fitted with a built-in 46-inch monitor for confidence displays and a supporting Acer 22-inch monitor, with four Shure MX412 gooseneck lectern microphones mounted for host and presenter use.
The stage build used 56 0.6-metre stage risers across a 12-metre by 2-metre footprint, with 0.6-metre stage steps for host and recipient access, and camera risers for the floor-level 4K camera position.
Two Canon XF605 4K cameras captured the ceremony from fixed positions, one at the back of the room and one at the side of the stage, each with a dedicated camera operator. A post-event editing day was included in the scope, providing GIFA with an edited video deliverable from the ceremony. A dedicated event photographer covered the ceremony alongside the video capture.
A presenter at the GIFA 2026 digital lectern, with the LED video wall carrying Thames content behind, flags of nominee nations at centre, and the relay screen visible at right.
LOBBY BRANDING WITH PRINTED TFS BACKDROP AND FOUR FREESTANDING DIGITAL POSTERS
Alongside the ballroom production, the lobby gave arriving guests a branded arrival environment. A free-standing TFS frame at 3.9 metres wide by 2.5 metres tall carried a printed graphic to the client’s design, with 7.5-millimetre bleed and silicone edge finishing for a clean presentation.
Four freestanding 55-inch digital poster displays positioned around the lobby carried additional branded content and sponsor acknowledgement, giving GIFA a continuous visual identity across the delegate journey from arrival through to the ballroom.
The lobby setup was installed as part of the same overnight build as the ballroom production and derigged in the same working window at the close of the ceremony, keeping the full production under one coordinated plan rather than splitting it across separate suppliers for the branded entrance and the main event room.
The four freestanding 55-inch digital posters in the lobby at Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, carrying GIFA Laureate recognition for arriving guests.
THE EVENT PRODUCTION TIMELINE, FROM OVERNIGHT SETUP TO SAME-DAY DERIG
The event production was staged around GIFA’s confirmed schedule, with an overnight ballroom build from Monday 7 September through to the ceremony on Tuesday 8 September, and same-evening derig at the close.
Pre-production
Event production planning covered the LED wall specification and truss build, audio sizing for the 220-guest ballroom, lighting rig and show programming in GIFA's company colours, lectern setup, camera positions, lobby branding production, and crew rota across the overnight build and same-day event.
OVERNIGHT SETUP ON MONDAY 7 SEPTEMBER
A four-person setup crew arrived at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane on Monday, 7 September, by truck. The LED wall build, audio, lighting rig, stage, lecterns, and lobby branding were installed overnight ahead of doors opening the following day.
AWARDS CEREMONY ON TUESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER
On event day, seven specialists worked the room: audio, lighting and LED wall technicians, two camera operators, an event photographer, and a manager on site. The ceremony ran through the afternoon and evening, with hosts, presenters and award recipients taking part throughout.
DERIG AND LOGISTICS
The four-person breakdown crew cleared the ballroom and lobby productions immediately after the ceremony closed. The LED wall, audio, lighting, staging, lecterns, cameras, and lobby backdrop and digital posters were derigged and returned to the EMS Events warehouse the same evening.
HOW THE AWARDS CEREMONY CAME TOGETHER
The complete event production supported the awards ceremony at Sheraton Grand London Park Lane on Tuesday 8 September 2026, delivered end to end across the overnight build on Monday 7 September, the event day itself, and the same-evening derig after the close.
The LED video wall anchored the stage across the ceremony, with content running on the left and right thirds for award branding, winner reveals and partner recognition, while the middle carried static branding. Two relay screens gave guests across the full width of the ballroom a clear view of the stage content.
The audio system, wireless microphone package and show lighting rig in GIFA’s company colours of blue and yellow-orange supported hosts, presenters and award recipients throughout the ceremony.
Footage from two 4K cameras was edited and delivered to GIFA, alongside event photography. The lobby branding gave arriving guests a consistent visual identity from the moment they entered the venue.
By managing every element as complete event production under one coordinated plan, from the LED wall and audio through to staging, lecterns, cameras, photography and lobby branding, EMS Events gave GIFA a self-contained delivery for the 16th annual Global Islamic Finance Awards.
Client Feedback
Really proud of how the ceremony came together. The stage looked incredible, the LED wall carried our branding beautifully across the room, and the lighting in our colors gave the whole evening the sense of occasion we wanted for our 16th year. Setup went smoothly the night before, and the team on the day knew exactly what they were doing. Already in contact to do London again for 2027.
Moments From The Event
NEED COMPLETE EVENT PRODUCTION FOR AN AWARDS CEREMONY, FINANCE INDUSTRY GALA OR INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT IN LONDON?
EMS Events supplies complete event production for international awards ceremonies, finance industry galas, corporate summits and recognition events at London hotels and prestigious venues. From large-format LED video walls and show lighting through to custom stage builds, 4K video capture with post-event editing, event photography, and branded lobby environments, EMS Events manages the whole production under one coordinated plan.