The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the site of the Float at Marina Bay, the world’s largest floating stage located in the heart of Singapore. A live audience of 27,000 plus the 3,500 athletes and an estimated 2 billion television viewers watched a spectacular light, video, laser and fireworks display with the Singapore skyline serving as a backdrop.
The floating stage was surrounded by a ring of shipping containers, a reference to Singapore’s prominence as South East Asia’s largest harbour. In front of the containers a 5000 m2 floating ‘lake’ was created; at the rear a 32-metre high lighthouse, which held the cauldron for the Olympic flame. Lighting and video were positioned around the ring to create a stunning performance space. Behind it all lay the Singapore skyline, which was implemented in the scenography with the addition of lighting effects, skytracers and fireworks on the buildings.
The lighting design for both opening and closing ceremonies was done by Koert Vermeulen, Principal Designer of Belgium-based ACT Lighting Design. PRG supplied technical services, rigging and over 1900 lighting fixtures for the ceremonies. Many of the 600+ moving lights in the rig were Clay Paky Alpha Beam 1500s and Alpha Spot HPE 1500s.
