Asian Culture Carnival breaks world record with LED light matrix

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The Asian Culture Carnival's 3D LED ball curtain set a new Guinness World Record at Beijing's "Bird's Nest" on Wednesday night.

During the stage performance, the LED light matrix and stereo imaging system were used for the first time, presenting 360-degree stereo images to the audience above the stage.

The effect of the 3D LED ball curtain. /CCTV Photo

The ball curtain, which measures 74.53 meters long, 19.289 meters wide and 15.224 meters tall, consists of 390,000 LED lights. The lights were divided into 52 groups, which can be lifted and moved via digital control.

To hang the 52-ton ball curtain mid-air inside the Bird's Nest required a number of calculations to ensure safety. Also, orchestrating the light groups into seamless movements presented a challenge.

The 3D LED ball curtain used in the Asian Culture Carnival set a Guinness World Record. /CCTV Photo

There were some other technical highlights that made the carnival fantastic.

Lighting design

The stage was designed to be an invitation to the world.

The lighting design fused with the stage design to make "flying wings." /VCG Photo

The lighting design fused with the structure of the stage design to make colorful "flying wings."

Visual design

To ensure the uniformity of brightness and color as well as high image quality, customized screens covering a total area of 9,200 square meters were installed.

Workers install screens on the stage. /CCTV Photo

A layer of black, transparent, double-sided glass was added to a 2,500-square-meter floor screen to ensure clear images and produce inverted reflections.

Acoustic design

Sound reinforcement, stage monitoring and TV broadcasts also posed challenges in such a large venue.

Speakers sit on the ground inside the Bird's Nest. /CCTV Photo

A distributed sound reinforcement method was used to reduce the distance between the speakers and the audience and cut down on sound reflection.

In addition, eight sets of speakers were placed on the ground, allowing viewers in the front area to receive more direct sound and evenly distributing sound for the rest of the audience. For the audience on the second and third floor, hanging array speakers were used to reinforce the sound.

(Top image: The Asian Culture Carnival opens in Beijing's Bird's Nest on May 15, 2019. /VCG Photo )