The main challenge for lighting designers Christian Bréan and Jacques Rouveyrollis was to cover with light the 11,000 m2 of surface area of the stadium - which was covered in compacted red clay.
"The lighting for this mega-spectacular required detailed study of the placing of the projectors around the entire oval that covers the Stade de France" - the two lighting designers explained. "It needed at least a year's work to plan and implement the lighting design."
The lighting installation was carried out by Procon who together with the Belgian Blue Squares Company, supplied the 180 Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1200 projectors. The choice of Alpha Spot HPE 1200 projectors was made after precise tests and preliminary objective comparative assessments were carried out on the huge St Denis pitch.
The majority of the show's scenography was created through light and colour, elements that allow an evocation of the hot desert atmospheres, the pale mauve harshness of rocky mountains and the scarlet colours of the Arab quarters.
(Jim Evans)
