Barco creates a giant 360° LED screen for U2

Barco has created the first transformable LED screen designed for U2's world tour. With its 360° shape, the LED screen will surround the group during the performance and can change shape in all directions during the concert.

For the third time in this new millennium, the collaboration between Barco and U2 has given rise to a revolutionary video proposal. This time it reaches a total of more than 500,000 video pixels, thus achieving the largest LED screen ever used on a concert tour. U2's world tour kicks off tonight at the Camp Nou in Barcelona on June 30 with all tickets sold out.

Tonight, all eyes will be on Barcelona for the premiere of U2's new 360° tour. The stage and show are the work of Willie Williams and Mark Fisher, long-time designers of U2's tours. With the help of Chuck Hoberman and Barco, their vision of a 360° mobile video display became a reality. Barco provided more than half a million pixels of transformable LEDs (FLX), which are integrated into a transformable structure designed by Barco's Innovative Designs based on an invention by Hoberman. The resulting giant LED screen has a diameter of 24 x 16 meters and changes shape in all directions, making U2 the first band to tour with a transformable LED screen with a total diameter of 24 x 16 meters.

In addition to the giant LED screen, Barco will integrate a total of 1,200 FLX-60 pixel modules that surround the ends of the two stages, A and B, and the bridges. The LEDs on the stage offer an additional dimension to the graphic spectacle projected on the screen. Nearly a thousand custom-made lights, designed especially for this tour and manufactured at Barco's facilities, will illuminate the stage for an even more memorable show.

Willie Williams, the designer of U2's show, has commented that "video is the most powerful tool you can have on stage. But now that video has become an omnipresent element on rock stages, we needed a very radical change of stage in order to be heard. The transformable LEDs gave us the opportunity to create a transparent 360° mobile video element never seen before in this sector. It is the icing on the cake of this design."

Chuck Hoberman added that "it is impressive to see the work I have been doing with transformable structures materialized in a completely new way. The screen is like a living being, it continually changes shape and the video acts as a real skin over it. Right now, it is one of the most fascinating things in the world."

Mark Fisher says, "We wanted to create something that was bigger than a conventional stage. This tour was going to be big enough to make a specific structure for it," says U2 stage designer. I wanted to create a transparent stage and I really needed a video screen that would fit into that environment, a circular screen that wouldn't block the audience's view. Barco's FLX gave us the opportunity to make it happen. We were delighted to work with Barco again. They helped us a lot in the last few collaborations and have provided a extraordinary product for this show.”

Carl Rijsbrack, vice president of product management, highlights that "this is the third time we have collaborated with U2 in this new millennium and, in response to the market's demand for excessive creativity, we have created the FLX individual pixel platform. FLX LED pixel modules can be mounted on any existing structure, generating the shape that designers desire."

For his part, Frederic Opsomer, vice president of Innovative Designs at Barco, commented that "there have been many advances in the market for LED video screens for concert tours, from fixed IMAG screens to mobile screens and current transformable screens. This is the fifth time I have worked with U2 and again it is a great honor to participate. The world of entertainment constantly requires new and innovative products, even in the difficult times we live in. The 360° tour of U2 is a perfect example.”