If you have been one of the nearly 200 million TV viewers watching the European Song Contest finals on May 23 in Vienna then you have not only seen stunning performances, a terrible last place for us Germans but also a beautiful light show.
Image: Thomas Hanses (EBU)
The Eurovision Song Contest is the world’s largest TV entertainment event. This year the lighting has been a central component of the show concept. Each of the individual performances in the Vienna city hall has its own lighting concept and lighting design.
The sophisticated lighting design was realized by Emmy winner Florian Wieder (Creative Producer and Production Designer) and world-renowned Al Gurdon who has already illuminated American Super Bowl, the MTV Video Music Awards, the TV Brit Awards, the Victoria’s Secret Show in London 2015 and various Olympic opening ceremonies.
The big eye on stage consisted out of 1288 pillars, measuring 44 meters in width, 14.3 meters in height and up to 22 meters in depth. The LED pillars were able to produce a variety of lighting effects as was the 11 meter diameter stage.
Image: Thomas Hanses (EBU)
EBV, OSRAM and its subsidiary Clay Paky provided the majority of the cutting edge lighting technology. The Eurovision stage converts to a total of 40 individual presentations for rousing musical performances during the semi-finals and on the evening of the final event. Virtual spaces are created in mere seconds thanks to the state-of-the-art lighting technology.
The Eurovision fans in Vienna’s City Hall were able to experience a glittering party atmosphere full of colors, shapes and dimensions. A first pointer to the digital and interconnected world of light in the future – with luminous walls, facades and landmarks. The lighting performance, together with the song and stage decor, is crucial in determining how popular a show is with the public, and how strong the voting is for the individual artists.
For many years Clay Paky products have been used for the ESC and continued to set new standards in event lighting. This applies also this year, which has been designed as a green event where energy-efficient products had to be used.
Get an impression of the stunning light show with the video playlist below.
