The U2 360° tour started on 30 June 2009 in Camp Nou in Barcelona and will go on until the summer of 2011. This month, it finally sets foot in Belgium. Both the spectacular stage, as well as the transformable LED screen were made possible by Belgian companies.
StageCo was responsible for the construction of the impressive stage. "As it became clear what the designer and the band wanted to achieve, it was obvious to me that this was something unprecedented," says Hedwig de Meyer, president of Stageco. "The sheer scale of the structure, the span of the legs, lifting the huge technical production 28 metres in the air, none of this had ever been done in our industry."
Frederic Opsomer, now owner of Tait Technologies, was responsible for the design of the transformable LED screen. He comments: "Working with U2 is always a big honour. Every time, their creativity and desire to push the envelope inspires us to take technology to the next level. For this tour, we designed a transformable LED screen - a screen that in effect 'shape-shifts' from a 3-dimensional elliptical shape into the shape of a 3D cone.
"Many thought it could never be done, we proved it could. To welcome the show here gives us the chance to show Belgium that we have both the creativity and the technical know-how to make seemingly impossible dreams a reality."
For the third time this millennium, the close cooperation between XL Video and Barco has resulted in revolutionary shows for U2, each with sets comprised of LED arrays previously unseen in the events industry. The shows are the result of months of intense technical and creative collaboration.
XL Video was instrumental in the realization of the screen, by investing in the LED pixels and subsequently by renting them out to Live Nation, the tour organiser. "This is the third time this millennium we are working with Barco for a U2 world tour," says Rene De Keyzer, CEO of XL Video. "For the whole duration of the tour, a 14-man XL Video team joins U2 on the road, turning every show into a visually stunning spectacle, with the support of Barco. In addition to the LED screen and crew, XL Video also provides the sophisticated 12-camera system together with all video-control equipment in order to deliver content for the screen."
Barco was responsible for the manufacturing of the giant LED screen. Carl Rijsbrack, director product management, comments, "The market is always asking for new technologies to visualise their ideas. We are proud to be able to deliver what they want, every time. The U2 360° tour is a perfect example of unlimited creativity."
(Jim Evans)
