Barco Presents Magical Festival of Lights for 2010 Asian Games
Guangzhou, China, 15 November 2010 – The opening ceremony of the long-awaited 16th Asian Games was held on Haixinsha Island on 12 November. Barco, a world leader in visualization and display solutions, presented a seemingly magical festival of lights on the water-stage for the exciting ceremony.
The largest multi-sport event in Asia, the Asian Games (also known as Asiad) are held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. During the 16 days of competition, the Guangzhou Asian Games will feature 42 events, the most events ever in Asiad history. In addition to showcasing China's outstanding achievements in sport, the 2010 Asian Games will also promote harmony among the Asian countries.
For the opening ceremony's water theme, the 2000 m² main stage was covered by water 10 centimeters deep, and four mighty sailing ships, with a total of eight LED velamena, were set around the stage. Barco and BeiAo, one of China's largest event planners and executors, had placed 16 XLM HD30 projectors around the 10,000-person audience area, projecting a dazzling array of lights onto the huge water-stage. As the velamena opened under the stunning light, the audience felt as though it was on a huge ship sailing east.
The brightest and most advanced projector available today, the Barco XLM HD30 projector is the first DLPTM projector with a native wide-screen aspect ratio, native 2048 x 1080 resolution, and light output of 30,000 center lumens. The XLM HD30 projector is ideally suited for ultra wide-screen and HD projections, and its modular design facilitates installation and maintenance at major events. An advanced liquid cooling system ensures the reliability of the cutting-edge HD30 technology .
Barco and BeiAo were both pleased with the results of their team effort. The video lighting solutions enable the event to present the Chinese culture in rich, dynamic colors, conveying the Games' positive message and highlighting the Games' theme: “Invigorate Asia, Spark the World”.
“We are greatly honored to participate in this grand event,” Fei Yan, General Director of Barco Greater China, said: “This isn't the first time a large number of Barco 30,000 lumen HD projectors have been used in sports events, but this is the first time for Barco at such a world stage event in China. These Asian Games show Barco's leading position in the market of global event and stage performance. The success of the opening ceremony was due to the efforts of everyone involved – and BeiAo's professional cooperation and trust were key elements.”
About BeiAo
Beijing BeiAo Grand Cultural & Sports Events Co. Ltd. (BeiAo) is one of the largest event planners and executors in China. As an award-winning event planning and production company, it has successfully planned and staged ceremonies for a wide range of international and national sports events, commemorative ceremonies, grand art performances, theme parties, conferences and concerts.
About Barco
Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with about 3300 employees worldwide. Barco recorded sales of 638 million euro in 2009.
