WIcreations creates mammoth set pieces for Islamic Solidarity Games
Published: MEA
AZERBAIJAN: WIcreations was approached by Betty Productions on behalf of the Islamic Games Operations Committee to design and create a pair of large set pieces for the opening and closing ceremonies of the fourth Islamic Solidarity Games at Baku National Stadium. For the opening ceremony, the entertainment engineering and effects company constructed a large water fountain that formed a central part of the set, while the 27m high Tree of Life was built for the closing event.
Both pieces were conceptualised as part of production designer Thanassis Demiris’s visual treatment for the ceremonies. They were built in Belgium at WIcreations’ Heist-op-den-Berg headquarters over the course of two months, following which all 60 tonnes were transported to Baku by five trucks.
The water fountain was 8m in diameter and constructed from a 200mm high rigid steel frame with custom steel-flanged castors that weighed 1.7 tonnes. It was designed to hold 15 tonnes of water, brining the total weight of the fountain extremely close to the 17-tonne limit imposed by the loading data for the stage perimeter. Despite the weight, the fountain was still manually moveable via two 30m steel track beams.
The Tree of Life was designed in eight sections, split horizontally and divided again into 12 frames that simplified construction on site. The tree’s crown had a diameter of 18m and was filled in with leaves provided by Stage One while the base had a 12m diameter. The entire structure weighed 25 tonnes and required 22 tonnes of ballast to keep it stable.
‘As a company, WIcreations was extremely proud to be part of these two world class events, which united some of the best and most creative international technical talents available,’ said Yves Vervloet, project manager at WIcreations.