kicked off the European stadium leg of its Bounce world tour in Eurfurt, Germany, on May 25 with a new stage design. The satellite dishes from the first US leg have been retired, and the stage now features a moving high-resolution video screen, along with three bands of fixed low-resolution video across the complete width of the stage. The design was created by Doug "Spike" Brandt. The video screen was provided by Nocturne, and the specialized video screen support system was designed and manufactured by Brilliant Stages and Tomcat UK.
Brilliant Stages designed the vertical tracking system to support the six sections of moving high-resolution video screen. Four towers and a header truss pick up the screen sections which are arranged three wide by two high. The towers transfer a portion of the weight of the video screen down to the stage to avoid overloading the roof steel, and the header truss carries the hoists and drives during transit. Removable wheel units pin to the existing video screen frames and capture the DS tower chords. The screens pass within 15mm of adjacent columns while moving at up to 9.8mpm (32fpm) lifted by variable-speed chain hoists under computer control. The customized Columbus McKinnon chain hoists and metal fabrication were supplied by Tomcat UK.
The system was designed to keep the setup and operation of a complex system tourable. Bon Jovi will finish the European leg of the Bounce Tour in London on June 28, and the equipment will cross the Atlantic in time to open the final US leg in Chicago on July 11.