GWANGJU – The 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju was opened with a spectacular show at Gwangju Universiade Main Stadium on Friday night, 3 July. As part of the EPIC vision, Korea’s leading IT technologies were an important aspect of the opening ceremony illustrated in many creative ways.
Inside the stadium spectators were included into the action with led lighting on every seat of the facing stand to the grandstand which added to an already spectacular stage setting. The interior of the arena displayed the Taeguk, the national symbol of Korea. In the centre of the stage the organisers created an area shaped in a hexagonal design expanding to a whole geometrical shape. By this the creators wanted to express images of infinite potential and expansions through various changes in its module.
To begin the ceremony eight Korean fighter jets passed over the stadium to get the crowd going. After the first cultural performance of the show on light and the birth of youth, the athletes of the participating countries entered the stadium in the march pass. They were accompanied by two DJs and their countries lettering in LED projected on the stands. In total 1.7 times the number of lights were used compared to the already light-heavy opening of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
With the sun setting and the sky getting darker the lighting became an ever more important part of the opening ceremony. Six times fireworks in the colours of the Gwangju 2015 logo, red, orange, yellow, and blue, enlightened the sky. Together with the LEDs they led to the lighting of the Universiade flame.
“More than 70 countries broadcasted the opening ceremony“, says FISU Media and Communication Director Dejan Susovic. There are other impressive numbers. In total 1,100 technicians were working at the show. 24 cameras operated by the Korean Broadcasting System were producing TV pictures of the whole ceremony. Inside the stadium about 500 security guards were supervising the scenery.
Jiang Kaixiao (CHN) and Max Länge (GER), FISU Young Reporters