Schwäbische Post 05 December 2006

1.7 billion viewers watched the show in the Khalifa Stadium in Doha on TV – company from Aalen with a highlight
With enormous technical efforts, lasers from Aalen provided an unforgettable highlight during the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Olympic Games in Doha. 1.7 billion viewers on TV and in the fully packed Khalifa Stadium watched the show.
OSTALB DISTRICT • The audience holds their breath: As if from nowhere, a majestic 14 meter high tower made of shimmering metal appears from a cloud of fog in the middle of the stadium. A small boy stands on top. When he raises his hands up, he is suddenly surrounded by thousands of dazzlingly bright laser beams. Only seconds later, laser effects also shoot out from the platform on which he stands into all directions, until the entire field is ultimately covered in laser light. Shortly after, the stadium appears as a gigantic water surface.
This gigantic dream sequence, realized by the laser specialist LOBO from Aalen, was the highlight of the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games in Doha, capital of the Arab Emirate of Qatar. Since the Second World War, the Asian Games have been organized as a parallel event of the Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee exclusively for athletes from Asian countries.
For the world’s second largest sports event with 10,000 athletes from 45 participating countries, gigantic sports facilities were built in the desert sands. As there is no such thing as half measures in the Middle East, the city was completely redeveloped in the run-up to the games. Obviously, the aspiration with the opening ceremony was also to offer the best games in the world. No one else but the Australian producer and director David Atkinson, who had also been responsible for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sydney, envisioned a superlative spectacular for Doha, putting everything else to shame that had previously been seen at events of this scale.
For the sensational laser sequence, the team of David Atkinson put their trust into the competency of the global market leader for laser shows – LOBO. Managing director Lothar Bopp was enthused: “We are extremely honored to be part of the Asian Games for the second time after having already received numerous government contracts in the Middle East. Even more so, as Doha placed a stronger focus on the advantages of modern laser technology than ever before in the history of the Olympic Games. This was without a doubt one of the most coveted show laser contracts in recent years.”
The technical effort behind the scenes was enormous: for the approximately three-minute long sequence, six laser projectors were supplied by special high-performance glass fibers from a color laser system installed under the playing field with a power requirement of 300,000 watts, a cooling water volume of 200 liters per minute and a total light output of almost 100 watts. Under utmost secrecy, the preparations for the event lasted for a total of seven months. Following two meetings on location, a five-person team of designers and engineers was already on site in Dubai three weeks before the actual opening ceremony for installation works, programming and rehearsals.
Not even the most miniscule details were left to chance. In parts, the system featured quadruple redundancy. From the laser to the projectors, only the very best components were used, having been tested thoroughly beforehand. Special projectors were developed only for this event, which could be integrated harmoniously and almost invisibly into the tower. The installation and protection of the highly sensitive fiber optics technology within the slim hydraulically moveable tower alone was a science in its own right. Bopp is convinced: “The results speak for themselves: Dazzlingly bright and brilliant beams that pose absolutely no danger to health.”
But despite the enormous efforts, the Asian Games were not LOBO’s only project in the Middle East during that time. Only one day after the opening ceremony of the games, a twelve meter high sun dial was officially inaugurated in Abu Dhabi, only about a one hour flight away. Here, a permanently installed LOBO laser will take over the role of the sun during hours of darkness.