The company, Winkler
Multi Media Events, in Canton Aargau is one of the leading Swiss event
solution providers for multimedia and three-dimensional live communication.
They were recently entrusted with providing the equipment for the opening
ceremony of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.
With a construction period of almost 17 years, and extending to 57
kilometers in length, the world\’s longest tunnel is regarded as the “Swiss
project of the century”, and has attracted many superlatives.
The construction, which is seven kilometers longer than the Eurotunnel,
is the heart of the new Railway Link through the Alps and connects the cantons
of Uri in the north portal Erstfeld in central Switzerland to the south portal
in Bodio (Canton Ticino). As a result, the travel time from Zurich to Milan has
been reduced by one hour to about 2 hours 40 minutes. For freight transport,
the new Gotthard tunnel brings greater capacity, faster connections and
improved reliability. The new rail tunnel is recognized as an outstanding
technical and organizational feat worldwide.
At the opening
ceremony of this “building of the century” more than 1,000 guests from the
world of politics and local dignitaries, including distinguished guests from neighboring
countries, arrived on June 1st at the foot of the Gotthard.
Theatre director,
Volker Hesse staged a spectacle with 600 performers to commemorate this
ultra-modern new tunnel, featuring various musicians such as Alphornbläser, das Armeespiel and local choirs. International artists came from
Chile, Spain, France and Germany and worked hand in hand with the
non-professional actors from the Gotthard region.
Lighting designer
Rolf Derrer, for his part, set the staging with 140 GLP impression X4 Bars and was impressed by the capabilities of the flexible
LED Strips from the Karlsbad manufacturer. The impression X4 Bars were placed
above the bleachers and served as street lights and striplights for the catwalk.
There was one situated behind the grandstand so that the celebrities on the
podium could be seen in the right light by the spectators.
“Rather than use
fixed LED Strip Lights with no zoom, we proposed the X4 Bars due to the extra
zoom and tilt function. These functioned very well and were immediately
integrated into the setup,\” stated Winkler technical project manager, Roni
Huber. “The X4 Bars were a real added value for the staging.\”
