A spectacular community event with fireworks and a lighting display on the British Airways i360 tower will launch the attraction on the evening of August 4, the day the venue opens to the public.
The colourful display, lasting approximately 15 minutes, will take place at 10pm and can be viewed from Brighton beach.
Tickets will also be on sale for people to watch from British Airways i360 boarding deck overlooking the beach, offering a close up view of the display, with tickets costing just £5.
At the end of the display, compered by Danny Pike from BBC Sussex, the tower’s ‘breathing’ lighting will be switched on.
David Marks from Marks Barfield Architects who conceived and designed British Airways i360, said, “The concept for the lighting at the top of the tower is that it ‘breathes’, gently brightening and fading at the average rate of a human breathing at rest.”
The overall effect of the lighting on the tower and viewing pod together will emulate British Airways colours of red, white and blue.
Lynne Embleton, British Airways’ Director of Strategy and Managing Director at Gatwick, said, “The tower will be a beacon for the city, and it will be fantastic to see it lit with the British Airways colours. We look forward to welcoming visitors from around the world, both on our flights and in beautiful Brighton.”
The lighting is concentrated at the top of the tower, fading as it descends to the level of other buildings. Four white lights shine from the top down, accentuating the vertical slots in the tower’s cladding. Twenty four coloured LED lights sit between the steel structure and its cladding, providing a subtle glow coming through it.
The tower lights can be programmed to display a range of options for matching colours and patterns of light to support important city and global events, from festivals and launches to memorials and charity days.
Continued David Marks, “The lighting is designed to be flexible so that colours and effects can change to reflect events and moments that are important to local people.”
The first will be Brighton Pride, when the attraction will be lit in slowly revolving rainbow colours to celebrate the occasion.
The lighting is designed by Do-Architecture and the fireworks display is by Frontier Fireworks, who performed the display that launched Brighton Fringe Festival earlier this year, with sound from Avensys in Crawley.
More information can be found at BritishAirwaysi360.com/fireworks
