Joanna James
If there was anything symbolic of Hong Kong's spirit, it would be the light and sound feature that is the Symphony of Lights. Located near Victoria Harbour, it represents the city's virtues of energy, spirit, and diversity shine through!
For an installation that revolves around lights and colour, the Symphony of Lights is truly an impressive sight. However, what many do not realise is that it may be considered quite unique. In fact, the Symphony of Lights was presented with a Guinness World Record for the world's largest permanent light and sound show in 2005!
What makes it even more remarkable is that during the review process for this award, more than 2000 light fixtures were used. This fixture collection consisted of spotlights, lasers, searchlights, special effects lights and a plethora of other fittings.
While this may rack up a staggering electricity bill for the city, the splendour it brings to the area is indeed worth it!
For the initial unveiling of the Symphony of Lights to take place grandly, they called in the assistance of 20 prominent buildings in the vicinity to be a part of their show. According to the latest iteration of this programme, it is believed that there is now close to 40 skyscrapers involved from both Hong Kong Island as well as Kowloon. All the buildings in the show are individually introduced at the very beginning of the show!
There is a requirement for some additional flair in certain instances, which is when the pyrotechnics come into play! While most of the time, the installation sticks to its expertise of a light show, the days when the night sky is filled with fireworks and exploding lights is an awe-inspiring sight.
These occasions are generally during special days such as Christmas Day as well as New Year's Eve. If you are staying at any of the 4 star hotels in Hong Kong, such as the Park Hotel Hong Kong, you will undoubtedly be in for a treat as the displays are visible from certain rooms in the hotel.
At the initial stages of the project, the outline for the Symphony of Lights was a pitch by the Hong Kong Tourism Commission. It was then fully conceptualised by the Australian based multimedia company called Laservision, which also ultimately handled the installation process as well.
The company then went onto handle several prominent installations, such as Singapore's Wonder Full at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, which consists of 250,000 LEDs.
In a turn of coincidence, the years 20122 and 2013 marked the set up of a light festival under the name of 'Symphony of Light' in Tokyo to mark the inauguration of the Tokyo SKY Tree, which is the world's tallest broadcast tower.
Similar to the installation in Hong Kong, there were roughly 200 light fixtures used in the Tokyo exhibit!
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
