In 2019, Coldplay said they would not tour again until they could do so sustainably. Now the band is touring with giant LED spheres. Frederic Opsomer explains.
I have worked with PRG (Production Resource Group) and its PRG Projects division for over 30 years and am incredibly proud of what we’ve continued to build – an innovative live events company that turns creative dreams into technical realities.
Our team is responsible for ideating and building solutions for productions all over the world – from the Super Bowl to Broadway – in order to make the experience for audiences as show-stopping and memorable as possible.
I personally have a long history of building custom LED structures for touring artists, and most recently helped power the lighting, video, and engineering for Coldplay’s ongoing Music of the Spheres tour with PRG Projects.
When it came to the production for this tour, Coldplay was determined to leave a more eco-friendly footprint. The band members have been long-time environmental champions, so our mission was to stay sustainably minded while not losing any of the eye-popping, interactive magic fans have come to expect at a Coldplay show.
PRG worked closely with Misty Buckley, Coldplay’s longtime production designer, to bring this to life. Senior vice president John Wiseman was a key partner on the PRG side.
As a company, PRG is constantly working towards making our industry more sustainable as well, so this tour has been a continuation of our work in that space. In 2017 we developed PRG SpaceFrame, a touring frame design that seamlessly integrates LED panels for efficiency and maximum creative possibility. The ultra-light carbon fibre construction and collapsibility reduces truck space by approximately 35% which means less trucks and a lower carbon footprint.
To help accomplish Coldplay’s sustainability goals we made it a point to reduce the transportation size of the show’s main visual element – four phenomenal LED spheres floating high above the stage.
To minimize CO2 emissions, the engineers at PRG had the idea to make the three dimensional spheres inflatable so they would be able to travel in a collapsed state and take up less truck space. When fully inflated, two spheres are 10′ in diameter, weighing 900lb, and two spheres are 15′ in diameter, weighing 1,200lb – so this was no easy feat. Using complex engineering and fabrication we were able to reduce them enough in size to be transported in only ¾ of a truck. With traditional construction techniques the four spheres would have needed six trucks for transport.
Something like this had never been done before and required a lot of research and testing to get it right. Each sphere’s LED capabilities were also built into the skin, which has dramatically reduced the necessary space needed to store and transport the giant spheres. We made the framing and rigging for the LED spheres efficient to dismantle and pack as well.
PRG’s production technology and sustainability innovation will carry on beyond the Coldplay tour. We’re developing a new platform in the years to come, which will lead to a reduced carbon footprint, and especially focus on waste. Ultimately we are aiming for zero waste, and we will continue working hard to meet that goal.
Reference : AVinteractive
