Ocean Park Hong Kong is thrilling guests with dynamic lighting enhancements courtesy of MPHK Group and Elation Professional. The popular Hong Kong attraction updated the exterior lighting at its iconic main entrance, along with lighting upgrades to its awe-inspiring “Gala of Lights” multimedia shows. The show and park-wide lighting upgrades were designed by award-wining multimedia studio Moment Factory.
Situated in Hong Kong’s Southern District, Ocean Park is a marine park, oceanarium, animal facility and theme park resort all in one. The 44-year-old attraction, which merges entertainment with conservation advocacy and education, is one of the city’s longest-serving recreation parks and tourist attractions.
One of the thrills of any theme park resort visit, and certainly at Ocean Park, is the moment a visitor first sets eyes on the entrance marquee and gets a glimpse of what awaits inside. As part of the lighting upgrade, the main entrance canopy arch at Ocean Park now beckons guests with lighting effects from a line of 10 IP65-rated Proteus Maximus LED moving heads. The 50,000-lumen power luminaires are used to spread colour and pattern across the entrance plaza while powerful beams cut through ambient light to help build excitement and portend the thrills that await.
Much of the entrance area – ticket counters, coral alley, boardwalk and village – is bathed in colour from 157 SixPar Z19 IP luminaires, IP65-rated 6-color PAR wash lights with zoom. Headquartered in Hong Kong, entertainment technology specialists MPHK Group Ltd (www.mphkg.com.hk) supplied the Elation lights to contractor BYME Engineering Ltd. for the main entrance portion of the lighting upgrade.
The Grand Aquarium, one of Ocean Park’s most iconic attractions, and the Aqua City Lagoon situated right next to it, are home to the park’s nighttime special “Gala of Lights,” where 360-degree water-based multimedia shows thrill guests in an immersive multi-sensory experience.
“We sought to enhance the existing architecture at Aqua City by illuminating areas around the Lagoon and engaging with guests to encourage them to stay and experience the new nighttime offerings,” said Timothy Ng, Executive Director, Operations & Entertainment at Ocean Park Hong Kong.
“Gala of Lights” boasts two immersive multimedia shows – “Soul of the Ocean,” a one-of-a-kind spectacle celebrating nature in all its wonder, and “Visions of Hong Kong”, a dazzling multimedia fountain show that takes the audience on an inspirational journey through the city and beyond.
MPHK supplied Elation lighting along with lighting from Elation sister-company Acclaim to contractor ArcSource Ltd. for the Lagoon area install. Some 48 Proteus Hybrid beam/spot/wash moving heads mounted on light poles around the Lagoon area serve both aesthetic and functional purposes while 8 custom-painted Proteus Hybrid fixtures work from the Aquarium roof. Acclaim products include 56 Aqua Graze linear LED fixtures and 8 Acclaim Aqua Drum HO wash fixtures mounted on the performance stage. Some 140 meters of Acclaim Flex Tape trace an outline of colour from around the edge of the stage.
The lighting covers a large surface area and from its rooftop and pole positions provides multiple grand gestures with sweeping beams. “It was necessary to integrate the technology into the architecture as seamlessly as possible,” commented Ng.
With their ability to position at will and project in virtually any direction, the Proteus Hybrids can be used as attention-gathering beams one minute and show lights the next. “We wanted the lights to offer a variety of effects to support all show formats, including dynamic show lighting and frontlight for performers,” concluded Ng.
