Enormous Stadium Show: Dubai World Cup
Trip Start
Mar 29, 2008
1
Trip End
Mar 31, 2008
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
I will never forget the feeling of hearing the audience (approx. 50,000 spectators) collectively all say "oooohhh... wow" as the internally lit flying characters came in thirty meters over their heads on the crane. I was ready in costume and had about four minutes left before going onstage. It was an unmistakeable wave, a wall of tone, that resonated through the entire stadium with all the impact of 50,000 people being taken by wonderous surprise. Perhaps none of them ever consciously heard the sound they made as a whole... For me it was like the rumble of a low earthquake but uplifted and grand, ecstatically inspiring in those moments before our pyrotechnic stiltwalking team's cue.
The entire piece was twelve minutes with Vanessa Mae as the show centerpiece, while our characters exploded and flew, played and cavorted in time with fireworks, music and projections around her. We had firedancers surrounding the trophy itself, pyrotechnic stilt characters that danced and detonated, projection costumes and a range of fantasy characters as well as the flying performers that elevated the show and audience to a state of unforgettable, audio-visual, high-end impact.
The event was a spectacular succes - Vanessa Mae's appearance and the show surrounding her were much celebrated in the press in Dubai and around the world. The American horse, "Curlin", went on to win the World Cup, whilst at the racetrack itself no betting actually took place due to strict gambling laws within the Emirates. Despite this the feeling in the crowd was at fever pitch the whole day. We managed the whole thing from a tiny backstage pavilion totally crammed between the press and the throng of racegoers.
