At the opening ceremony of the 15th National Games was grandly held in Guangzhou, the creative team used the "sky and sea trilogy" as their concept, deeply integrating cutting-edge technology with artistic expression to present a breathtaking audio-visual feast for the audience. The ingenious use of a water stage greatly enhanced the stunning presentation of this spectacle.
Adapting to changeable weather
"In the folk culture of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), water is closely linked to prosperity and good fortune," said Lang Kun, the chief director of the opening ceremony. This design was also a wise choice, tailored to local conditions.
"July, August, and September in Guangzhou are rainy months, with intense sun at noon. Traditional mechanical stages struggle to withstand such weather conditions and incur high maintenance costs." The water stage not only aligns with the "water-based" regional characteristic of the GBA but also adapts to changeable weather, ensuring that rehearsals and performances remain unaffected.
"In the concentric circular stage space, this vast expanse of water actually represents our understanding of the continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness, and peacefulness of Chinese civilization," said Qiao Wei, the chief scriptwriter for the opening ceremony. He elaborated that water, continuous and constantly surging forward, ultimately unifies and embraces all things. Therefore, the "water" element runs through the entire opening ceremony performance and the subsequent lighting ceremony, "expressing artists' understanding of Chinese civilization."
Although the water stage was highly creative and offered significant advantages, it also presented numerous challenges for the director team.
"It took us considerable effort to move this water stage into the main stadium; it also involved a particularly large and technologically advanced engineering project," said Wang Li, the special effects director. During the renovation of the athletics field, the team first had to protect the original facilities, like the track and turf, and build the water stage on this foundation. To ensure water cleanliness, besides regular testing, they installed custom water drainage and purification systems. Furthermore, water surface reflections could affect live filming, requiring specialized design solutions.
'Anti-slip shoes' for actors
The properties of water are entirely different from land, making actor safety a pressing issue.
"The surface is slippery, and actors can easily fall. We collaborated with the costume design team to specially develop anti-slip shoes, allowing actors to walk on the water surface as if on solid ground," Lang said. Another issue was reflection; improper design could cause glare in camera shots, affecting the broadcast quality. "Therefore, from the early stages of preparation, we repeatedly calibrated for reflection issues to ensure precise visual presentation." Despite the many challenges, Lang expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
While creating dreamlike visual effects, the water stage also imposed special requirements on the actors' costumes. Yang Donglin, the costume designer for phenomenally successful shows like The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting and now the chief costume and styling designer for the opening ceremony, stated that the highly innovative water stage was the biggest challenge in the creative process.
Lingnan charm coexists with a sense of the future
According to Yang, clothes getting wet affects their color and presentation. During design, thousands of costumes had to consider functionality in water, quick-drying properties, and the comfort of the actors wearing them. Furthermore, for a major sports event like the National Games, the attire should possess a contemporary and futuristic feel. To address this, he came up with an idea: using LED lights on the costumes to create a scene of blooming in the ocean within the water.
Consequently, the fabrics not only needed to be quick-drying, colorfast, and richly colored but also capable of glowing in water without causing electric shocks, all while ensuring actor safety. "After experimenting with various fabrics and their lighting methods, we designed no fewer than 50 costume styles."
Waterproof socks: Breathable but not permeable
The opening ceremony featured approximately 4,000 sets of costumes and styling, which showcased strong Lingnan characteristics while also embodying a contemporary and futuristic sense. Additionally, the costume and styling team provided nearly 3,000 pairs of rehearsal shoes for the actors.
"Normally, actors wear their own shoes during rehearsals, but this time was different. Regular shoes slip in water, posing a risk, and become extremely heavy when wet. The substitute shoes we found are anti-slip, quick-drying, and allow water to drain quickly, preventing accumulation inside the shoe. These nearly 3,000 pairs were used by the actors for over a month of rehearsals, ensuring perfect and precise performances on the water stage."
To enable the torchbearers of the 15th National Games to walk through the waves, waterproof socks were essential. Reportedly, these specialized socks feature a layered structure design, with a key middle functional layer using a high-performance waterproof and breathable membrane, achieving the effect of "breathable but not permeable." This successfully ensured the torchbearers could complete their relay tasks in the water.
Some online influencers tested these socks by putting them on their hands and rinsing them under a tap for a period; their palms remained completely dry, demonstrating the socks' impressive waterproof capability.
(Source: Wen Wei Po; Journalist: Huang Baoyi; English Editor: Darius)
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