The Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade, the largest international sports event ever hosted by Taiwan, kicked off with the Opening Ceremony on August 19 at the Taipei Stadium, to the sounds and hues of indigenous music, colorful dancing, an exciting lighting of the cauldron and an unforgettable firework show. This is a collaborative work of students, volunteers, professional performers and the team working behind the scenes for the past 20 months. The astonishing performances became the talk of the town and received only positive feedback from the public. One of the key players is the creative production team, managed by Interplan International Corporation.
“How to present Taiwan had always been our intention and goal from the beginning,” said Michael Tu, the Head Project Leader of the creative production team and the President of Interplan International Corp. “This does not refer only to the performances, but to show the diverse aspects and perspectives of Taiwan to the world through performance arts. This is the best opportunity for the world to get to know Taiwan. Therefore, we are bold in our creative concept development, we gathered best talents from around the world, and we delivered an international-level show that fully represents Taiwan and its culture. Through the Opening Ceremony of the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade, we want the world to hear us say: “Hello, we are Taiwan!””
Creative concept
The creative concept development phase was a memorable process. The creative team consists of experienced directors that are renowned in Taiwan and internationally, working together with upcoming young directors. The experienced directors worked on the script structure that best portrays Taiwan and what it stands for. The young directors filled it with passion and creative ideas through their young imaginative mind and experience from this island country. As a result, a perfect script that the world can understand and enjoy. Very exciting!
Technological and technical challenges
Since the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, the world had seen two mega sporting events, the Summer Olympic Games of 2012 in London, and 2016 in Rio. Holding ourselves to the highest standard, the creative production team faced the challenge to produce a different show experience through technology and techniques. In Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade Opening Ceremony there are a host of new and latest technology and techniques utilized, including hanging wire suspension, lighting, sound systems, lasers, 1,200 square meter LED floor panel, cauldron design and ignition, design of the firework show, performance props, custom content, makeup, music…etc. All in harmony so that the result is a unique show representing Taiwan. The performance also complied with ISO 20121, the Event sustainability management system, to reduce its carbon foot print, as with the Olympics.
Passionate performance
The groups that performed at the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade Opening Ceremony came from different backgrounds, working collaboratively to present the best of Taiwan to the world. The ceremony cast nearly 4,000 people, with 42 troupes from 18 performance arts schools, 5 professional performance organizations, 14 choreographers. All working together with over 100 days of practice and rehearsal under extreme weather for long hours. The performers overcame the hardships with passion and eagerness to perform. In the end, they shone in front of the world for Taiwan.
