Classical music with a modern twist: Barco lit up London’s Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms

Barco partner, SFL, created a stunning spectacle at the 2018 BBC Proms—an annual festival that’s been bringing classical music to the widest audience possible since 1895. They transformed the Royal Albert Hall in London—inside—using 20 Barco UDX-4K32 projectors to deliver a mesmerizing light show for a new composition by composer Anna Meredith and 59 Productions: Five Telegrams – Sender & Receiver.

Colors danced inside the hall as the BBC Proms Youth Ensemble performed. The kaleidoscopic wonder continued outside the Royal Albert Hall with the entire building façade serving as a backdrop for beautiful projections. The light show was more than simply spectacular; each projection enhanced the emotion of the piece, which was based on telegrams sent by young soldiers in 1918. 

‘This was a large-scale production that required innovative design—choosing Barco was a no-brainer. The brightness, resolution and color performance of their UDX projectors is unmatched,’ says Craig Lawrence, Video & Projects Director at SFL. ‘We installed 20 projectors for the show—that’s over half a million lumens!’

It was the biggest audio-visual attraction ever attempted at the Proms. The projectors needed to be installed in a short time frame—a capability Barco always builds in. SFL used a full IP network, along with Wi-Fi, to have direct control of all the projectors, ensuring the show went off without a hitch and coordinated perfectly with the live orchestra. 

Audiences inside and outside the hall were amazed by the artistic display. And the event was broadcast live on TV, allowing home viewers to witness the Royal Albert Hall come alive. The light show, made possible by Barco projectors, brought classical music bustling into step with the modern age, fulfilling the aim of the Proms—to make classical music accessible for everybody.