A triumphal success

In an ironic twist of fate, after having laser show meetings in metropolises like Las Vegas and Moscow, in 2013 the contemplative south-German town of Aalen, home of the worldwide renowned laser show company LOBO, became the venue of the largest laser show meeting of all time. On 2-7 November, the leading companies and individuals of the laser show industry came together under the roof of the “LaserFreaks” and the International Laser Display Association.

According to ILDA President Christine Jenkin already more than three months ahead of the actual event, the booking numbers spoke for themselves: “It looks like the ILDA conference will break record attendance.”

This circumstance alone would have been a sensation for itself, but LOBO also invited the largest online community of laser enthusiasts to Aalen, the so-called LaserFreaks.

Marco Hoyer, founder of the LaserFreak forum laserfreak.net: "When we received the invitation of LOBO, we did not hesitate one moment and many freaks followed the invitation with great enthusiasm. Almost 200 participants, mainly from Germany, France and Switzerland attended just the LaserFreak Meeting. We experienced also a strong local support in Aalen with many resident visotors of our public events."

Both events together, ILDA-Conference and LaserFreak Meeting, formed the largest laser show convention ever held. Between November 2nd and 7th 2013, the visitors experienced an exciting week, tightly packed with lectures, roundtable discussions, personal exchange of experience and, of course, with many magnificent shows. In the conference hotel even a small trade show was held, where virtually all renowned companies presented the latest developments in laser show technology. All evening events also took place in the LOBO facilities.

During LOBO's welcome reception, attendees witnessed the world premiere of LOBO's new infinity beam product family, designed for the really big shows, leaving even established laser specialists spellbound.

Head and initiator of this event is LOBO’s Creative Director Alexander Hennig, who is also a Board member of ILDA: “There was a time when we almost felt queasy thinking whether we could control this massive wave of enthusiasm we triggered. But the unbelievable support and the positive feedback from all sides was worth all efforts.”

Hennig continued, “It always has been important to me bringing together professional users with laser show enthusiasts in order to break down reservations and barriers between these two worlds. Obviously the time was ripe for this step, as among our professional members and LaserFreaks it did not require a lot of effort convincing them that we all pursue many common targets and challenges. Especially in the field of laser safety it was common sense that all will profit from an intense exchange as due to inexpensive entry-level laser projectors, the distribution and the usage of show laser technology has changed fundamentally. It obviously is time that we together lay the foundation for a sustainable safe handling of the laser show technology without losing sight of the fascination and the fun behind this magical light.

Therefore this event has been the first step, but probably one of the most important steps for the future of our industry."

But Patrick Murphy, laser show pioneer and Executive Director of ILDA, also sees another, obvious reason for the enthusiasm towards this event: “LOBO is an icon in the laser show industry. Both, in technology and creativity, LOBO is a class of its own. No other company in our industry has received more ILDA Awards for the outstanding quality of its shows; they inspire and fascinate laser show enthusiasts around the globe. The chance to look behind the scenes of LOBO and to see LOBO shows in their home studios -- no one wanted to miss this."