The annual convention of the Institute of Directors has been held at the Royal Albert Hall for many years. The choice of venue for 2002 remained the same though there were big changes behind the scenes with IOD bringing on board production company Creative Realisation to bring a fresh look to the event. Sound By Design remained the first choice for sound, and lead engineer Paul Turner looked after the event with Dave Shepherd.

Sound By Design's Meyer Sound MSL-2A/ UPA-1C cluster was ideal for the job, augmented by Meyer UPA-1P and UPM-1P front-fill with a pair of USW-1P subs to fill out the bottom end for video clips and music stings. A BSS Omnidrive Compact Plus provided the preset eqs and delays required for the system. Rigging began the morning before, and the pre-flown cluster, along with the preset system management, helped to cut down the rig time dramatically. The system was ready well in time for the 1.30pm rehearsals.

The bulk of the show took the form of individual presentations from the lectern. A pair of Shure MX412s were used here, with four more as table mics for the round table discussions which took place after every couple of speakers. Each of the speakers used a Trantec S5000/ Sennheiser MKE2 lapel radio system as many of them walked around the stage during their moment of glory. The event compére, seasoned TV news hack Alastair Stewart, also wore a lapel and presented from centre stage, as well as chairing the round table discussions.

The rig and rehearsal day went very smoothly. Things hotted up the next morning when staff and delegates found themselves the subject of an anti-capitalist demonstration, with a large number of police in attendance. The start of the conference was delayed by 15 minutes. Speakers at the event included Henry Kissinger, surrounded by numerous bodyguards and speaking on "Globalisation", the main theme of the conference. Also speaking were Unilever UK Chairman Richard Greenhalgh, London Stock Exchange CEO Clara Furse, Shell UK Chairman Malcolm Brinded, and US Ambassador to the UK William Farish.