Breathtaking pyroshow for MSC Magnificas’ maiden voyage

With an ultimate pyroshow on the 6^th of March 2010 lunatX put the christening of the MSC Magnifica into a fitting limelight. The Magnifica, the latest vessel of the Italian MSC cruise liner fleet, specially came into port in Hamburg for its official naming. The ships Godmother was no less than Sophia Loren, who with further celebrities and around 20,000 spectators awaited the MSC Magnifica for the christening ceremony. The Eros Ramazotti concert and the gigantic fireworks display timed exactly to music from Rossini created a unique atmosphere in the port city.

lunatX managing director Frank Lohse designed a pyroshow in to date unique dimensions and analogous to the dynamics and innovation of the MSC Magnifica. Over 4,300 effects, partially uniquely manufactured for the christening, drew absolute music synchronously and in dynamic rapid chases breathtaking geometrical patterns in front of the vessel over a 160 m pontoon front (53 pyro positions and three fans).

At the same time display shells fired from a pontoon behind the MSC Magnifica climbed into the Hamburg night sky in order to unfold their majestic bouquets. Floating fireworks transformed the Elbe into a sea of red and coloured lights and then subsequently as if by magic to rise from the water into the sky. The pyroshow in cooperation with the lights was music synchronously choreographed to “the thieving magpie” from Rossini. The whole composition staged an appropriate glamorous setting for the christening ceremony.

The exceptional challenge for this project was the strong current of the Elbe in front of the “Landungsbrücken”. The pontoons stretching over a length of 160 m meters had to be held in position by 6 barges and parallel to that the display shells pontoon behind the ship had two barges keeping it in place.

At the same time the lunatX- Team had only 120 m between the ship and the “Landungsbrücken” for positioning the pontoons to their disposal. Beforehand the effects specialist, under the direction of Felix Priebe Senior Project Manager, had gone through a very tedious approvals procedure with local port authorities, as the Elbe channel was completed closed for 3 hours for the first time ever.

The customer MSC was accordingly more than excited and praised the result with the words that this was the best christening he had ever seen up to date.