(BEIJING, July 23) -- Fireworks will be set off during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on August 8 to create a joyous and festive atmosphere, an official said on Wednesday.
Wang Ning, deputy director of the Opening & Closing Ceremonies Department of BOCOG, said fireworks of different shapes will be displayed above the main stadium of the Games, Olympic Forest Park and the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall.
For the first time, the shape of the Olympic Rings will be formed in the sky," said Wang, adding that Olympic symbols and elements will be a part of fireworks' designs with an aim to promote Olympic ideals.
Firing skills will feature compressive air launches, chamber pressure launches and computerized ignition technologies, employed for the first time in the display of fireworks, he told the media attending a press conference in Beijing.
To reflect the "Green Olympics" concept, some of the fireworks will use less smoking powder to minimize smoke and dust pollution, Wang said.
The designers intend to highlight the fireworks' effect both on the ceremony's stadium and larger areas around the facility so that the Olympic central zone will be an extension of the ceremony owing to the splendid fireworks.
Cai Guoqiang, a member of the core creative team in charge of visual & special effects of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, updated the press on the implementation of a comprehensive design and production project.
He said he joined the team in 2005 and it took him 2 to 3 years to do preparatory work. "Gunpowder is one of the inventions of China, but the fireworks this time are not only for the sake of pumping up the atmosphere, but also have a goal to achieve - playing the role of storyteller," he said.
Cai gave an example: Along the dragon-shaped landscape water system of the Olympic Green, the fireworks will be fired up into yellow and red peonies. The computer ignition system will control the fireworks, and within seconds, the fireworks will span 2 to 3 kilometers following the flag raising process.
During the climax of the art performances, the firing squad will display thousands of pictures of smiling faces collected from around the world, according to Cai's design. At that moment, fireworks will mimic 2008 smiling faces in the sky, said Cai.
On July 16, we conducted the first rehearsal of our Opening Ceremony. Overall, the fireworks rehearsal met our expectations. Our work and operation were tested especially. I want to mention that after the rehearsal, the fireworks caused no damage to the steel bone structure of the National Stadium or to the main brain structure, or to the on-site audiences. Today is 16 days away from the Opening Ceremony, and we are still refining our plan. We hope to make our fireworks the most spectacular part of the Opening Ceremony.
From Yongdingmen to the Tian'anmen Square to the Bird's Nest, we have 29 artistic fireworks which will be displayed. That is from Tiananmen to Yongdingmen to the Bird's Nest to the Forest Parks. In those key areas, we will have fireworks which will last for 10 minutes, leading up to the climax of the Opening Ceremony. We have 73 release sites located surrounding the Bird's Nest. From the director's point of view, we want to make the National Stadium extended to the city center so that people in downtown can also experience part of the Opening Ceremony.
The total amount will be 35,000 shells. Obviously it's a big number; however it is not too much. We are trying to use them in all the key points and key locations. For the 10-second display and the dragon-shaped fireworks, the fact is we are not using too much fireworks. But we are trying to achieve the best effects. From the technological point of view, we are using some of the traditional display shells as seen in other events.
In addition, we are also preparing a vast variety of displays to be special and to be different. Also, we are working on the brightness of all the fireworks so that it can be seen really well on the pictures and on the broadcaster's point of view. We have the air compression lauch system and also the gun pressure release system. With this system, we can better adjust the pressure before lauching so that we can control the height of the fireworks, so this is what we have done technically.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment