COP28 brought global leaders together in Dubai to address urgent international challenges, including the Reaching the Last Mile Forum.

Working with Identity, ON THE SLY led the music and sound direction for a 360° immersive poetry performance created specifically for the event. Designed for a 96-speaker L-Acoustics spatial audio system, the piece placed sound at the centre of the experience, not as an accompaniment but as the structure that determined how the story was felt.

Paired with visuals by NorthHouse, the performance combined spoken word and spatial audio to explore the global impact of neglected tropical diseases. Two slam poets representing communities from Africa and the UAE delivered the narrative, with music and sound used to heighten the emotional impact of the spoken word, guiding perspective, movement and focus across the space.

The composition was built as a journey, moving from tension and complexity toward clarity and hope. Spatial sound allowed moments to expand, isolate or surround the audience, helping translate a complex global issue into something immediate and human.

The wider audio system extended beyond the central performance, with ON THE SLY also creating spatial sound design moments for event transitions and show branding to ensure consistency across the experience.

This project forms part of ON THE SLY’s work creating immersive and spatial audio experiences for installations, environments and cultural moments around the world.