Cardiff Bay was illuminated over the weekend by some familiar faces as a light show led audiences through the iconic adventures of Doctor Who.
Doctor Who fans were treated to an impressive light show celebrating 60 years of Doctor Who over the weekend at Cardiff Bay.
Daleks, Davros and David Tennant lit up the sky in a dedication to the sci-fi series huge contribution to the Welsh economy and creative industries.
The production was brought to life by Rich Parry, Chief Executive of Coleridge Cymru, who organised the BBC Wales project said, “The decision to create Doctor Who in Cardiff has meant that other television programmes have taken interest in Cardiff and invested in Cardiff, and the growth of the television and film industry in Cardiff is a major success story for Wales and the Welsh government. Doctor Who has been an icon of that success.”
The BBC released an economic impact report which stated that since Doctor Who’s 2005 revival the show has generated over £130m for the Welsh economy. The report said for every £1 spent on the show, a further £0.96 is generated in Wales.
Dozens attended the show at Roath Basin where audiences saw the legendary heroes and villains of the renowned series hit the big screen. Parry said, “You will see the different Doctor Who’s, the logos from 60 years of Doctor Who and some of the baddies and some of the opposition to Doctor Who in a six-minute water screen projection.”
Speaking to some of the Whovians, (fans of Doctor Who), that attended the event, Gareth Adams said, “What a spectacle. It was nostalgic to reminisce the adventures of the Time Lord. The songs and colours were just brilliant, I didn’t know you could get something like that just from water and light.”
The water screen projections were provided by LCI Productions, Parry said, “This is a particularly lovely way to celebrate something like Doctor Who because water is thrown up into the air in a wonderful fan and then projected onto it and it gives a lovely quality of projection. People say it’s like a hologram… and it gives it this beautiful, dynamic and intriguing appearance so the content then comes to life in a visual way.”
Another Whovian, Samuel Murray, said “It was great. Me, my dad and grandad have had smiles the whole night. We have always watched it together since I was a kid.”
The fourteenth series is set to air this Christmas and was filmed in Cardiff. Doctor Who will continue to contribute to the Welsh economy for hopefully decades to come.