Last fall, Doha, Qatar was host to the Asian Games and Clay Paky moving body luminaires and color changers were used on the four stages located along Khalifa Stadium. The installation and lighting design were by Lumen Art, a large Lebanese rental company, and the lighting was managed by the LD and owner of Lumen Art, Roger Bakhos.
Germany-based Procon installed and supplied some of the many lights used during the Games, including of 110 Alpha Spot HPE 1200 moving body luminaires by Clay Paky, which together with many other lights, were used by lighting designers Andy Doig and Fabrice Kebaour. Alongside them were 120 specialized technicians, who, under the guidance of the Procon project manager Michael Casper, worked non-stop before, after, and throughout the event (from December 1-15, 2006), using a total of 520 tons of material (which also included 5 Km of truss and 400 chain hoists).
The lights were installed mainly on three distinct elements of the arena: on scaffolding supporting the roof of the stand, on a truss hooked to the arch that crossed the length of the stadium, and on the truss placed at the top of the largest of the LED video walls, boasting an incredible base length of 492’.
On the light engineering level, one of the fundamental questions when operating in mega-structures is whether or not there will be uniform coverage of the surface. From as early as the design phase the combined action of all the projectors was considered, bearing in mind that the beam of light from each projector had to cover a distance of up to 100m. This was one of the reasons for using Alpha Spot HPE 1200. Procon had already used HPEs in similar circumstances in Paris, for Ben Hur staged at the Stade de France. [For additional Live Design coverage of this production, click here ]
The opening and closing ceremonies, produced by David Atkins Enterprises, packed an emotional punch: Doig and Fabrice Kebaour put on a show where the colors and special effects blended perfectly with the actors on stage, almost like a Broadway musical produced in an arena. In addition, great importance was given to the public, lit up so that they also became an individual element of the show.
For additional Live Design coverage of the 2006 Asian Games, please see the following links:
Asian Games Awash In MAC 2000 Color
Element Labs Creates Collossal LED Display For Asian Games Ceremonies
