Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo had the honour of celebrating the 11th edition
of the African Games in September 2015, marking not only the 50th anniversary of
the Games (held every four years) but also the return to Brazzaville, which hosted
the very first edition back in 1965.
Organized by the African Union (AU), this multi-sports event drew in participants
from 54 nations with a programme of 22 separate sports disciplines plus two
additional disability sports.
GL events Audiovisual, a subsidiary to GL events Group, was tasked with the
exceptional closing ceremony of the Games. From design to production, the teams
focus was fully on guaranteeing top-quality service within sound, lighting and video.
To achieve the best possible light installation, they selected 18 G-Spot LED moving
heads from SGM with an IP-rating of 65.
French lighting designer, Vincent Mongourdin, worked closely together with show
director Martin Arnaud.
“Arnaud’s scenographic method was to place a cube balancing on its lowest vertex
in a pool in the middle of the stadium, symbolizing the history, presence and future
of Congo, when the cube opens. The lighting concept behind was to make this cube
become a piece of jewelry magnified by a concentric implementation. This called for
a powerful light output in order to give the right impression of the cube floating on
water as I worked with the water reflections.
This concept required the only moving head on the market that can provide a high
output while operating in a humid environment; actually placed right next to a huge
water screen. This being the G-Spot. And I must admit, I was also attracted by its
LED system. So we decided to place 18 G-Spots in the pool,’ says Vincent
Mongourdin.
The G-Spot moving head is IP65 rated, causing the use of domes to be completely
unnecessary. By avoiding domes, the light output and contrast of the luminaire will
maintain unaffected and thus the projection is bright and powerful at all times.
Besides being protected against water and humidity, the G-Spot is also protected
against sand, dust and the accumulation of other damaging particles, resulting in a
prolonged lifetime of the unit and a significant reduction in maintenance resources
as only the outer luminaire requires occasional cleaning.
Head of the technical lighting department, Alexandre Trapon, reports: “I am very
enthusiastic about the G-Spot. This was my first time working with this
moving head and we received fantastic feedback especially regarding the colours
and the quality gobos. The quality of SGM’s products is very good, so we will for
sure be using the G-Spot again for other shows.’
