Every year since 2013, BigCityBeats WORLD CLUB DOME has transformed Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park into an arena-sized club with a crowd of over 180,000, more than 200 acts, and about 25 stages in and around the central stadium.

POOLgroup has been involved with the WORLD CLUB DOME brand as BigCityBeats’ technical and creative partner since 2014 – from the main summer festival in the stadium to Winter and Snow Editions, as well as Pool Sessions, Cruise Editions, and standout events like the Space and Las Vegas Editions.

With WORLD CLUB DOME, BigCityBeats is cultivating club culture in a wide variety of spaces: from football stadiums, indoor arenas, and an outdoor swimming pool complex to a cruise ship and even Europe’s highest point – the Jungfraujoch in the Swiss Alps. The aim: A consistent brand experience that feels fresh with every edition while remaining unmistakably WORLD CLUB DOME.

And then there’s signature content such as the Space Edition and the collaboration with the ESA (European Space Agency) culminating in ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano’s DJ set from the ISS (International Space Station) and broadcast live to the WORLD CLUB DOME Cruise Edition – a bridge between space, science, and club culture.

The WORLD CLUB DOME Zero-G flight can also be added to this list: 50 VIPs and astronauts partied in zero gravity on a parabolic flight at an altitude of around 8,500 meters, enjoying the club vibe in a specially equipped Airbus aircraft – a record-breaking start to the WORLD CLUB DOME season.

WORLD CLUB DOME is not just a single festival but a whole series of events with very different demands:

• Summer WCD at Deutsche Bank Park, consisting of 180,000 visitors and more than 25 stages across a 700,000 m² site,
• Winter Edition in the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf with heavy-duty rigging, over 1,500 spotlights, and more than 60 loudspeakers,
• Snow Edition on the 3,500 m high Jungfraujoch requiring complex logistics and multiple reloads to bring material up the mountain using the rack-and-pinion railway,
• WCD Pool Sessions in the Frankfurt Stadionbad open-air swimming pool complex – the first large-scale EDM festival after the COVID lockdown was lifted with 25,000 guests and strict testing/vaccination requirements,
• as well as bespoke events such as the Cruise Edition with several dance floors on board a cruise ship.

And then there’s the extraordinary projects like the WORLD CLUB DOME Zero-G flight which took place in an Airbus A310 usually used for ESA research and training flights. In just two days, the aircraft was fitted with lighting and audio systems and turned into a zero gravity club. And despite the tight schedule, all the necessary safety features were included.

What’s more, the lineup requires highly versatile technology: In addition to the EDM sessions, the running order frequently includes live acts such as 50 Cent or Deichkind whose tour sets have to be integrated into the existing festival architecture, including a quick turnaround between DJ and artist performances.

POOLgroup supports BigCityBeats’ WORLD CLUB DOME by providing scalable 360° services covering specialist planning, project management, and production teams.

Some of the most frequently used services include:

• specialist technical planning for lighting, audio, video, media technology, IT, rigging, and power supply tailored to the individual stadium, arena, open-air venue, ship, or mountain-top location,
• venue and stage design for the main areas including the Main Stage, Zombie Stage, Walk of Fame and shaping the WCD Pool Sessions,
• content and lighting design including LED walls pulsating in sync with the beat and complementing the artists’ performances – for example, the arena-size LED wall acting as a visual anchor during the Cruise Edition,
• stage management and artist technical support, ensuring DJs and band performances run smoothly across the evening,
• logistics and construction services, particularly for exceptional projects such as the Snow Edition on the Jungfraujoch mountain.

There are additional requirements for special projects such as the WORLD CLUB DOME Zero-G flight: POOLgroup equipped a zero gravity Airbus with flexible lighting in the cabin and along the ceiling, installed distributed speakers and subwoofers in the fuselage and designed an audio system that took cabin pressure, parabolic flight phases, and strict safety requirements into account to achieve a stable club sound during weightlessness.

POOLgroup works closely with BigCityBeats on content: Ideas and creative universes – from Las Vegas and winter settings to space concepts – are translated into coherent technical approaches and staging. The closing show in the stadium was developed together, creatively refined, and technically executed to perfectly capture the essence of the event.

The audience enjoys a compact club vibe, despite the size of the event:

• Inside the Deutsche Bank Park stadium, they find an intense, vertical club environment with a main stage, additional dance floors, and club areas.
• For the Winter Edition, the arena turns into an indoor festival, complete with striking illuminations and a clearly presented winter aesthetic.
• Thanks to the WCD Pool Sessions, the Frankfurt Stadionbad was reborn as a summer open-air venue and became a symbol of the festival industry’s comeback after lockdown.
• On the Jungfraujoch, the Snow Edition created an exclusive Club “On Top of Europe,” using technical infrastructure that performed just as reliably in Alpine conditions as it does in a stadium.

And the addition of stories such as the DJ set from the ISS, real astronauts appearing on stage, and milestones like the WORLD CLUB DOME Zero-G flight – where club culture was literally celebrated in zero gravity – results in an overall experience that combines music, science, and imagination and clearly positions the WORLD CLUB DOME brand.

The first collaboration in 2014 resulted in a long-term partnership in which trust, pacing, and a passion for innovation play a critical role. BigCityBeats develops the vision and themes, the POOLgroup provides the technical foundations and staging for those ideas to work in stadiums, at sea, in swimming pools, in the Alps – and even in zero gravity.

In recent years, WORLD CLUB DOME has grown into a multi-faceted festival brand that attracts international attention. POOLgroup has been a reliable partner during this growth period with an approach that balances the big picture with operational details.

A brand that constantly conquers new ground – and a team that delivers the necessary technology and staging from a single source.