EDINBURGH Castle was lit up in a dazzling display of music and colour last night to mark the opening of the International Festival.
The landmark and its rocky surroundings became the canvas for animated projections looking back on 350 million years of the city’s history.
Around 27,000 people gathered to watch the ticketed free event, called Deep Time, as it marked the start of Standard Life’s three year sponsorship of the Edinburgh International Festival.
Scottish band Mogwai provided a specially composed soundtrack for the display, looking at the work of renowned Edinburgh scientist James Hutton, which was developed by 59 Productions with academics from Edinburgh University.
Speaking ahead of the show, Leo Warner, creative director of 59 Productions, said it looked at the city’s volcanic birth and geological formation, its biological evolution and then its human period, including Hutton’s discoveries.
“Then it becomes a very high octane rewind to the origins of the universe. It’s very, very rapid and musically driven,” he said.
The company has done work using architecture and public spaces before, including the Harmonium Project which opened last year’s festival, Mr Warner said, adding: “But what is quite unique for us is this canvas, this organic surface. When we have done projection tests, it trans-formed what we were applying to it in a completely unexpected way. The main player is the castle and the rock.”
A total of 42 high powered projectors beamed images on to the western face of the rock and the castle, with computer-generated 3D animation telling the story of the capital in 18 minutes.
The late-night show went ahead without a full dress rehearsal but delighted crowds as the colour, light and music echoed around the city. Festival director Fergus Linehan said the event was “beyond a spectacular start to the summer festival season”.
The castle already plays a central role in the city’s summer festival season – the military tattoo has been staged there for 66 years and the landmark is the backdrop for the fireworks display that traditionally marks the end of the festival every year.
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