In 2010, the ancient city of Diriyah was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An extensive archeological restoration began, meticulously bringing the original mud-city back to its former glory. The project is the cornerstone of a mission to transform the area into a global tourist destination.
In 2010, the ancient city of Diriyah was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An extensive archeological restoration began, meticulously bringing the original mud-city back to its former glory. The project is the cornerstone of a mission to transform the area into a global tourist destination. In 2019, with the restoration completed, His Majesty King Salman and HRH Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman Al Saud called for a royal inauguration announcing the rebirth of Diriyah to the world.
An epic, one-night Opening Ceremony became the focal point…and fulfillment of the dream would require a complex, multi-fold initiative involving the highest levels of talent in creative development, technical engineering and mega-scale project leadership. Lightswitch was proud to be Visual Creative Directors and Lighting Designers for the event. Like all of the show elements, the lighting design process was highly collaborative, fueling the holistic approach. A unique function of lighting was to provide scale, context and depth to the vista, visually reminding the audience that this is a living, breathing town, not just a two dimensional piece of scenery. To accomplish that goal, the design wove lighting into the fabric of the ancient site itself, filling the roads, alleys and buildings with illumination, bringing the town to life with light. Fixtures meandered through the architecture of Diriyah, allowing the creative team to guide the audience’s attention through the vast space. Lighting extended the reach of the spectacle into the sky above the town, as brilliant, vivid beams punched columns of color into the night. Dynamic lighting enhanced the spectacle of the cast, highlighting everything from the beloved Ardah dance… to the Bedouins (and camels!) as they entered Diriyah. The magnificent orchestra was carefully woven into the vista too, ensuring not only guests at the event but also the millions watching at home could enjoy the musical virtuosity that accompanied the production.
There were three key elements to executing the lighting design – planning, planning, and more planning! We took the responsibility of integrating the lighting fixtures and miles of cable into the UNESCO World Heritage site very seriously. Working diligently with local authorities, the team made sure the 4,000+ fixtures, some of them the size of a small automobile, were installed with great sympathy and care for the site, while ensuring that the audience saw light, not lights! Extensive use of cutting-edge previsualization both in the US and on site in Saudi Arabia allowed the lighting team to program the extremely complex show to the millisecond ‘off line’, and provide visual ‘proof of concept’ for the EVI team and the clients at Diriyah Gate Development Authority. The result? The enormously complex project will go down as a landmark event for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the realization of its Vision 2030 initiative. For the extensive team of collaborators, the creative, technical and project management accomplishments have pushed the boundaries of international experiential production, and we are so proud to have been part of such an incredible project.
