Wicreations elevates Eurovision 2018
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The event, viewed by 200m across the globe, was staged at the Altice Arena in Lisbon.
The four TP06 lifts were installed under the stage which was part of the elaborate set designed by Florian Wieder, and were used for two of the 43 finalists, Austria’s third placed Cesár Sampson and Belarus contestant Alekseev.
The project was designed and co-ordinated for WI by Geert Stockmans and tech’d and looked after on site by Mateo Marastoni working alongside Robert Roos who was the production’s props and special staging co-ordinator.
One TP06 lift was positioned centrally beneath the stage and surrounded by the other three, all of them supporting a trussing structure with a 6m triangular section of decking on top. This top section split in two – donut style – with a central cut out that could elevate independently on the middle lift.
For Austria, the whole wedge section lifted up several metres in a dramatic moment with the artist on top to reveal a set of vertically rigged LED battens below, on the underside. Chasing and twinkling, these gave the appearance that the artist was floating in the air as the platform rose up, all helping to make him a favourite with the crowd.
While the Belarus entry didn’t make it through the first semi-final (also televised) this year, it was not before a rousing performance by Alekseev who was raised up on the centre TP06 lift dramatically back lit by multiple beam lights.
WI was “extremely pleased” to be involved in the 2018 ESC production which looked fantastic in the Arena and on television with lighting designed by Jerry Appelt, all helping to deliver one of the highest profile and most talked-about international music competitions of the year.
The TO06 Stage lift has been designed around spiralift theatre technology which is offered for the first time by WI in this mobile format that is designed for touring and special events.
(Jim Evans)
