Point a reasonably powered telescope at the planet Mars and you will see the so
called canals beloved of science fiction writers. Turn that scope around to view
Earth from Mars and a new canal is clearly visible at the heart of Dubai; this one is
no fiction. Cutting an elegant swathe through the city, the new Dubai Canal opened
with a spectacular ceremony hosted by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai.
When it came to providing the ultimate in fanfare, drama, and excitement, creative
agency and show producers Prodea Group, engaged the services of Protec, the
Middle East’s largest and best known specialist event technology provider.

“With such a prestigious opening spectacular nothing can be left to chance,’ said
Paul Flint, Head of Production International Team for Prodea. “The delivery of this
event by Protec did exactly that; their attention to detail was superb.’

“Fit up commenced on 18th October and had to be rehearsal ready 6th November
for the show on the 9th. As you can imagine, there was a big commitment of
equipment from all departments; audio was led by Dan Dignan who ran the DiGiCo
SD10 for the opening ceremony where a stage presentation played to a temporary
grandstand seating many hundreds of dignitaries and guests. It was here we
provided a Kinesys automation system for the three aerialists that performed upon
the main stage. The audio system was L’Acoustics K2. For all the other areas we
called upon L’Acoustics xt range (virtually all models) and Kara. The Legacy zone
show ran off Qlab; time code here and elsewhere providing cues for lasers, pyro
and some lighting. That gives just some indication of the complexity involved,’
Protec’s project manager for this event Simon Travis explains.

“Lighting was arguably the most stretched department, over three kilometres of
canal bank each side takes a huge commitment of resources. An MA dot2 and two
full-size MA2s were used at main locations, controlling an armada of lighting
largely, but not exclusively, drawn from the Clay Paky range. Over 700 Alpha Spots
alone were complimented by large numbers of Sharpy, Super Sharpy, K10 and K20
B-Eyes, Scenius, Mythos as well as VL3000 Spots. Ambient and architectural accents
were provided by hundreds of Schnick Schnack strips, Pixel Smart and Pixel Batons.
Arguably the most artful lighting was at the waterfall across the full 120 metre
width of the canal, cascading from the Sheikh Zayed bridge. Here we used the
Claypaky Scenius, taking full advantage of the shutter function to minimise spill off
the water to spectacular effect.’

Flint was equally delighted, “Our client, the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority,
wanted an event that reflected the importance of this massive engineering project
and Protec helped us achieve that with style and taste, and with minimum of fuss.
Linking as it does, Deira and Bur Dubai through the extended waterway of Dubai
Creek, Business Bay and Dubai Water Canal, we are sure the new canal will benefit
the Dubai community for many years to come.’