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Major awards for ECA2 spectaculars Eastern Sunrise and Budapest’s FINA opening ceremony

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Major awards for ECA2 spectaculars Eastern Sunrise and Budapest's FINA opening ceremony

Leading creator and producer of large scale events and multimedia shows, ECA2 has won a raft of major awards for Rizhao’s Eastern Sunrise spectacular and the opening ceremony for Budapest’s 17th FINA World Aquatics Championships.

The French company saw off stiff competition for the accolades which mark the end of an exceptional year.

Eastern Sunrise scooped an IAAPA Brass Ring Award for Live Entertainment Excellence where it was up against ECA2’s own Lake of Illusions for OCT Shanghai Happy Valley and Walt Disneyā€™s Magic Kingdom Park Nighttime Spectacular.

Designed to enhance Rizhao’s tourist appeal, the show also won a Gold Award from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

The opening ceremony for the 17th FINA World Aquatics Championships was honoured with two Best Event Awards. The one-off event transformed the city of Budapest and the Danube River into a spectacular theatre.

Created in partnership with MĆ¼pa Budapest, the show won a Gold Elefant Trophy for Best Live Entertainment and a Silver Elefant Trophy for Best Opening/Celebration/Festivity Event, coming a close second to the 2016 Rio Olympics opening ceremony.

Budapest transformed into massive multimedia theatre

ā€œWe had to imagine a show on an Olympic scale,” explains ECA2ā€™s CEO and Ceremony Producer, Jean-Christophe Canizares. “So we used the iconic landmarks of Budapest to transform the historic city centre into a massive multimedia urban theatre.ā€

The Chief Director of the Opening Ceremony and head of MĆ¼pa, Csaba KĆ”el, underlined
the challenge of creating ā€œa multidisciplinary live spectacleĀ inspired by the unique connection between the cultural heritageĀ of Hungary and sports.ā€

He said the success was down to great teamwork and a ā€œdeep commitment to makingĀ something spectacular, unforgettable and meaningful not just for theĀ Hungarian audience, but the millions of people all over the worldĀ watching the opening ceremony live, online and broadcasted.ā€

Major awards for ECA2 spectaculars Eastern Sunrise and Budapest's FINA opening ceremony

With its headquarters in Hong Kong, ECA2 group now spans several continents with offices in Dubai, Shenzhen and Paris, describing the latter as its ‘creative heart’.

Over the past three decades, the company has successfully performed more than 60 tailor-made spectacles for Olympic ceremonies and sporting events, world expos, theme parks, high-end tourism destinations, mixed-use locations and more.

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Charles Read

Charles is managing director at blooloop. He attends numerous trade shows around the world and frequently speaks about trends and social media for the attractions industry at conferences. Outside of blooloop, his passions are diving, trees and cricket.

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