Expo 2008 has finally drawn to a spectacular close in Zaragoza, Spain after a three-month tenure. 105 nations took part in the huge world fair which was dedicated to the topic of “Water and Sustainable Development” and attracted over 6 million visitors. Situated in a meander of the Ebro river, the Expo 2008 site is home to some groundbreaking architecture such as the emblematic Bridge Pavilion designed by Zaha Hadid and the imposing Water Tower designed by Enrique de Teresa. The exposition site also hosted several daily shows including “Iceberg”, a spectacular visual and poetic symphony evoking water and climate change as its central themes. Leading Spanish production company, Focus, was responsible for full show production which included creating the iceberg itself and designing the audio system which was entirely powered by Lab.gruppen amplifiers, including 24 flagship PLM Powered Loudspeaker Management systems.
The central element of the show directed by Calixto Bieito was a huge iceberg situated in the middle of the river with a minute human figure standing before it – mankind being both the main cause of climate change, and its first victim. A dramatic dialogue of images and conflicts takes place between the iceberg, the man and the river Ebro that guides the audience along a route littered by the wrongs that cause climate change, eventually culminating in a message of hope and an entreaty for mankind to create a new balanced relationship with nature. The show, including the music, is entirely original and was created especially for Expo 2008.
From a technical point of view, the system had to be extremely powerful – the show is designed to be accessible to over 20,000 spectators from different parts of the site – and extremely high quality, as this was a classical music event where clarity and fidelity were paramount. Focus therefore opted for a large EAW system powered exclusively by Lab.gruppen amplifiers. Behind the iceberg there were two towers comprising three clusters of eight EAW KF760 cabinets each (48 cabinets in total) which were driven by twenty-four Lab.gruppen PLM systems with integrated Dolby Lake processing. The system was supplemented by twelve EAW SB1000z subs per side, powered by six Lab.gruppen FP 10000Q amplifiers. Inside the iceberg itself Focus installed a L-R system that comprised nine EAW KF750z per side driven by a mix of Lab.gruppen amplification. Additional system processing, where it was required, was all courtesy of Dolby Lake.
According to a spokesman from Focus, the system performed magnificently, and he was especially impressed by the new PLM systems. “We’ve been Lab.gruppen/Dolby Lake users for years, and have always had great results. With PLM, we’ve got the best of both worlds – fantastic-sounding, reliable Lab.gruppen amplification combined with the best signal processing in the world, all in one box! Once the units are programmed and the settings have been fine-tuned to the system, it cuts down on set-up time and takes up less space everywhere from the warehouse to the truck to the show site. It’s a great solution and I’m looking forward to using them on future shows.”