A solid manufacturing base, efficient social services, among the highest employment level in Europe …..These are some aspects which usually spring to mind when thinking of Germany. But the Germans are also a people who love to enjoy themselves, who never say no to a beer, to parties or to their traditions. Every year Germany offers a great many opportunities for relaxation and there are many more of these during the summer months when classic on air events are organised in parks, enclosed areas or unlimited expanses. We are referring to concerts, musical and choreographed shows, live events with famous performers, happenings, rave parties and festivals of every type and degree.
So-called “Theme Parks” are also among the specialities of German entertainment, huge and super-technological amusement centres each of which is devoted to a particular theme, or multi-function centres which contain structures and events, rides and relaxation areas, all created paying great importance to architecture, setting, lighting and technology.
Let’s take a look at what has been organised in Germany this year, looking back at what took place last summer and what is planned for the next months.
The Zelt-Musik-Festival, Freiburg
The Freiburg Zelt-Musik-Festival is the oldest and largest music festival in Europe. For the last 19 years this city in the Black Forest has become a goal for music fans during the summer. Visitors from every part of the world gather inside an area of 40,000 m2 just outside Freiburg. It is a space intended for leisure inside a park with a slightly hilly landscape which also contains holds a zoo and a nature reserve.
The ZMF, with more than a 100 events in the span of 19 days, is a veritable cultural marathon. The extremely mixed programme cancels generational gaps and embraces the most varied musical styles, with international artistes, famous stars and those making their first appearance transforming the ZMF into a kaleidoscope of sounds and images. Classical meets pop, East meets West, tradition meets innovation in a stimulating display of styles, performers and public.
Lightpower of Paderborn and Tent Event of Freiburg have given their special support to the initiative since the start of this festival, both as regards lighting the pavilions inside the park and supplying and installing light and audio material. Lightpower, in particular, used a large quantity of Clay Paky lighting products, for which it is the German distributor. In the area dedicated to circuses (“Zirkuszelt”) there were the Stage Zoom 1200, Stage Color 1200, Stage Scan, Golden Scan and Shadow QS-ST. The graphic effects created by the Stage Scans and the Golden Scan HPEs dominated the special gastronomy pavilion, with its characteristic star shape. The “Palace”, the historic mirror pavilion with a vast atrium, was enlivened by the Stage Light 300 and Mini Scan HPE, while the Club-Zelt pavilion favoured an “architectural” lighting style, using V.I.P. Display Line projectors and a Shadow QS-ST tracking light.
The Rust Europa-Park
This amusement park, inaugurated in 1975, has received many awards which testify to its pre-eminent position in the German leisure and theme parks sector. Indeed it offers more than 100 international attractions and shows which attract more than 3 million visitors every year to its 62 hectare surface area.
Many television networks have discovered that the Europa-Park, with its variety of entertainment areas, can offer a brilliant and extremely attractive environment for their productions. In fact 180 productions, some live and others recorded, were made here in 2000, reaching almost 200 million TV viewers. The “Feria Español”, a “Saloon Festival” and the “Middle Ages Castle Festivity”, set in the ancient park of Balthasar Castle dating from more than 550 years ago, were also among the events held in the Rust Europa-Park.
The lighting equipment, which is an increasingly important factor for creative lighting and the success of theme parks, was entrusted to Lightpower of Paderborn, which used Clay Paky Golden Scan HPE and Golden Scan 3, together with 200 Par 64.
The Halloween Festival
Lightpower and Tent Event are also the sponsors of the annual Halloween festival, which lasts 10 days and is also very famous outside Germany. Artistes and dancers from every part of the world take part, accompanied by projections of water and breathtaking lighting.
Lightpower has sponsored this event for the last 2 years and in 2001 supplied 12 Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200 and 6 Clay Paky Golden Scan HPE.