People from all over the world usually gather outdoors on December 31st to watch fascinating fireworks shows. But with the growing number of coronavirus cases, Seattle’s Space Needle has decided to make the experience accessible from the inside – and it’s been bigger, trippier and more dazzling than ever.
Instead of the usual Fire Needle show, officials at the iconic landmark chose to create a digital light show experience that displayed striking images of life, science, and illusions that were outside this world.
As mentioned on the Space Needle website, the organizers used sky-mapping technology and video recordings to create the show, which was visible only on the screen. People who have personally visited the landmark have only seen the Space Needle lit in a magenta color.
Twitter users were quick to comment on how epic – and wonderful – New Year’s Eve was.
Many Twitters users compared the event to a hallucinogenic experience.
Others, however, have described the show as the product of an alien collaboration or the work of a science fiction dystopia.
Although not exactly a connection to life outside this world, Terry Morgan, the visionary behind the show, told the Seattle Times that it is the product of a dream he had earlier this year.
“I was semi-conscious in my dream and the sky was just beautiful colors and faces, all floating like clouds in the sky,” Morgan told the Times. “And it was really one of those reference dreams.”
Morgan decided to take the idea to Karen Olson, chief operating officer and marketing director at Space Needle, and, as the Times reported, the concept was developed in just a few months.
“It hasn’t been planned for a year,” Morgan said. “Once Space Needle decided not to physically fireworks due to social restrictions due to COVID, this really came up and became an alternative.”
Maybe it was just an alternative, but for the people who watched the event, it may just be the future.