Saturday 27th January 2007
“I was bowled over, you did us proud” was the reaction from Godfrey Worsdale, Director of the new and prestigious Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (mima), to the opening firework and lighting spectacular.
Blessed with a day of good weather, a cold but clear night attracted thousands to watch “the best display Middlesbrough has ever seen”, as described in the Tyne Tees Television news report.
The display site, or should I say sites, as the show was fired from two locations, posed interesting challenges.
The closest site, right next to the magnificent mima building, is not big by any stretch of the imagination, meaning materials had to be very carefully selected.
With over 20 years of experience firing displays in close proximity to sensitive buildings, including another regional icon, The Sage Gateshead, was put to good use during the planning process and on the night.
The second site, at over 1km away, enabled us to fire the big stuff.
The effect of the split sites, although unusual, worked exceptionally well, as can be seen in the images in our picture and video galleries.
