Barco creates a giant 360° LED display for U2

Barco has created the first transformable LED screen designed for U2's world tour. With its 360° shape, the LED screen will surround the group during the performance and will be able to change shape in all directions during the concert.

For the third time in this new millennium, the collaboration between Barco and U2 has led to a revolutionary video proposal. This time it reaches a total of more than 500.000 video pixels, thus achieving the largest LED screen ever used in a concert tour. U2's world tour kicks off tonight at the Camp Nou in Barcelona on 30 June with all tickets sold out. Tonight, all eyes will be on Barcelona at the premiere of U2's new 360° tour. The stage and show are the work of Willie Williams and Mark Fisher, U2 tour designers for a long time. With the help of Chuck Hoberman and Barco, Your vision of a 360° mobile video display came true. Barco contributed more than half a million pixels of transformable LEDs (FLX), that are integrated into a transformable structure designed by Innovative Designs of Barco based on an invention of Hoberman. The resulting giant LED screen has a diameter of 24 X 16 meters and changes shape in all directions, making U2 the first band to tour with a transformable LED display with a total diameter of 24 LEDs×16 metre. In addition to the giant LED screen, Barco will integrate a total of 1.200 FLX-60 pixel modules surrounding the ends of the two scenarios, A and B, and bridges. The stage LEDs offer an additional dimension to the graphic spectacle projected on the screen. Almost a thousand custom-made lights, designed especially for this tour and manufactured in the facilities of Barco will illuminate the stage to offer an even more memorable show. Willie Williams, the designer of the U2 show has commented that “Video is the most powerful tool you can count on stage. But now that video has become a ubiquitous fixture on rock stages,, We needed a very radical change of scenery to be heard.. Transformable LEDs gave us the opportunity to create a transparent element of 360° mobile video never seen before in this sector. It is the icing on the cake of this design”. Chuck Hoberman added that “It is impressive to see the work I have been doing with transformable structures materialized in a totally new way.. The screen is like a living being, It continuously changes shape and the video acts like a real skin on it. At this time, It's one of the most fascinating things in the world.”. Mark Fisher, ensures that “We wanted to create something that was bigger than a conventional stage.. This tour was going to be big enough to make a specific structure for her," he says. , U2 stage designer—. I wanted to create a transparent stage and I really needed a video screen that fit into that environment., a circular screen that does not block the view of the public. FLX de Barco gave us the opportunity to make it happen. We were delighted to be working with Barco again. They helped us a lot in the last collaborations and have contributed an extraordinary product for this show”. Carl Rijsbrack, Vice President of Product Management, emphasizes that “is the third time we have collaborated with U2 in this new millennium and, as a response to the demand for excessive creativity by the market, we have created the FLX single pixel platform. FLX LED pixel modules can be mounted on any existing structure, generating the form that designers want". For its part, Frederic Opsomer, Vice President of Innovative Designs at Barco, commented that “There have been many advances in the market for LED video screens for concert tours., from fixed IMAG screens to mobile screens and the current transformable screens. It's my fifth time working with U2 and again it's a great honor to participate.. The world of entertainment constantly requires new and innovative products, Even in the difficult times we live in. U2's 360° tour is a perfect example”. [youtube]HTTP://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J73pYiEBSt8[/youtube]

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