BT has installed a giant electronic information band at the top of the iconic BT Tower in London. The 360 degree LED array – which is believed to be the highest of its kind in Europe and the Americas – was switched on for the first time on October 31st with a pyrotechnic and light display.
The information band is wrapped around the Tower’s 36 and 37th floors, at a height of 167 meters above street level. Made up of 177 separate panels and 529,750 LEDs, it is over 280 square metres – the equivalent to half the length of a football pitch, and has a circumference of 59 metres.
Continuing their long relationship with production company Imagination, PRG Lighting project manager Peter Marshall worked with Production Manager Andrew Lancaster, Lighting Designer Mike Sobotnicki and lighting Crew Chief, Martin Scott to light Saturday nights televised launch on BBC 1.
Situated at the base of the tower, 18 x Syncrolite SXB 7/3D and SXB 5/3D searchlights created an iconic beam effect that could be seen for miles around. Palco 3 LED floods placed on various levels and 200 x Egg strobes extended effects up the tower and at restaurant level, 48 x Par 64's shone beams of light through 360 degrees of windows to dramatic effect.
Reducing time onsite and the production team took advantage of PRG’s WYSIWYG studio to prepare for the live event. PRG's Miguel Ribeiro worked with Mike Sobotnicki to recreate the BT Tower, allowing them to visualise the lighting sequences prior to the show and to be preprogrammed in WYSIWYG with a Whole Hog III console by the shows programmer Gerry Mott.
Suzi Williams, BT Group marketing and brand director, said: “The BT Tower is a brand icon symbolising BT’s place at the heart of the nation and it’s fantastic that we’re returning it to its original role – as an information tower”
Additional photos by William Gallegos
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