Künstler-Magazin April/May 2007

With an enormous display of cutting-edge technology, lasers from Germany created an unforgettable  highlight of the opening ceremony at the 15^th Olympic Asian Games in Doha.

3.4 billion people watching the live broadcast or sitting in the sold out Khalifa Stadium are holding their breaths: A magnificent 14-metre tower of shimmering metal rises from a mysterious cloud of mist at the centre of the stadium, a small boy perching on its very tip. As he raises his hands, he is instantly surrounded by thousands of bright, gleaming laser beams. Just seconds later, laser effects shoot out of the platform he is standing on in every direction. Then the stadium seems to transform into a pool of glistening water. This gigantic dream sequence was the start of the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games on December, 1st in Doha, the capital of the Arab Emirate of Qatar. The IOC is organizing the Asian Games as a sister event of the Olympic games with exclusive participation of Asian athletes. For the breathtaking laser sequence, David Atkins cooperated with LOBO, the international market leader in laser shows.

LOBO’s Managing Director Bopp commented: “Having completed a number of government projects in the Middle East, we felt particularly honoured to be part of the Asian Games for the second time already, especially since the Doha games placed more emphasis on the potential of the latest laser technology than any other event in Olympic history. It is without a doubt one of the most interesting show laser projects of the past years.”

Indeed, the amount of backstage technology to have sufficient laser power available at the top of the tower was enormous: The 3-minute sequence involved six laser projectors connected via special high-performance glass fibers to a multi-colour laser system under the arena that needed 300,000 watts of electricity and 200 litres of coolant per minute to produce a total light output of about 100 watts. It took seven months of top secret preparations. Following the first two on-site meetings, a team of five designers and engineers came to Doha three weeks before the opening ceremony to install, program, and test the technology.

Despite the project’s enormous scale, the Asian Games were by no means LOBO’s only Middle Eastern activity at the time. In Abu Dhabi, about an hour by plane from Doha, a 12- metre sundial in which permanently installed LOBO lasers take over the sunlight’s function at night, was officially dedicated on the ocassion of the National Holiday only one day after the opening ceremony of the games.

LOBO wins 9 ILDA Awards

With a total of nine ILDA Awards, including five first prices in ten categories, LOBO clearly defends its globally leading position in laser show and multimedia design in China.

The annual conference of the International Laser Display Association, the umbrella organization of all laser professionals worldwide, was held in China near Hong Kong this time. As the highlight of each conference, ILDA honors the best laser shows of the year with the so-called “ILDA Awards”, considered as the 'Oscars' of the laser show industry by experts. As in recent years, the market leader LOBO received most of Awards for outstanding creative achievements. In a total of ten categories, LOBO got nine Awards with five first prices, two second prices, one third price and one honorable mention. With a total of 97 Laser Oscars, no other company in the International Laser Display Association’s history ever received more Awards than LOBO.

LOBO's Creative Director: “We are extraordinarily proud that our team was awarded in particularly demanding disciplines; disciplines, which are in special demand at mega events. This clearly shows that LOBO manages over years to provide its clients not only market-leading technical solutions, but also an unsurpassed level of creative spirit to make giant outdoor spectaculars and
even most demanding multimedia shows happen.”