How tech is transforming touring entertainment

Many of the ground-breaking advancements in touring entertainment come from the integration of technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) into touring experiences.

Traditionally the realm of museum exhibitions designed to bring historical artefacts to life and encourage engagement, AR has also transformed theatre shows and immersive experiences by adding layers of visual effects and interactive elements. Devices such as smartphones and tablets or specialised AR glasses are instrumental in enhancing the visitor experience, in which users can also see virtual characters and scenarios playing out in the real-world stage.

Since its inception in 2001, immersive environment specialists Moment Factory has created over 550 unique shows worldwide. Some of its projects include illuminating outdoor Lumina Night Walks (across North America, Asia, and France), the AURA series (combining light, orchestral music, and video mapping to offer new POVs of iconic landmarks such as Paris’s Dôme des Invalides and Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica), and stage visuals for tours and concerts by Billie Eilish, Childish Gambino, Nine Inch Nails, Halsey, Muse, and The Killers.

The company’s executive director of ticketed experiences, Jonathan St-Onge, cited the Casino de Montreal’s ARcade as a prime example of how AR and gamification combine to meet audiences’ fascination with taking part in immersive entertainment. “It’s a 500ft2 floor with projectors, sensors, and a library of games, and the human body is the controller,” he says. “You can compete against yourself or against two to seven other players with a scoreboard to keep track, as well as avatars that record future sessions as well.”

At the time of writing, Moment Factory was preparing to launch The Messi Experience in Miami before it embarks on a world tour. Co-produced by Primo Entertainment, The Messi Experience will be a 75-minute interactive multimedia showcase that promises to take fans on a unique journey through the famous footballer’s life and career – including the chance to take selfies and have a conversation with the star of the show using advanced AI.

“Visitors won’t just enjoy the original music scores in the background but will also take part in augmented reality games”

“It’s an immersive experience that begins from his early years in Argentina through to his time at Barcelona and Paris Saint- Germain, all the way to winning the World Cup in 2022,” St-Onge explains. “It’s going be special because it’s not about showing pics and footage but recreating his bedroom when he was a kid in Buenos Aires to the playground where he started to play football in his own neighbourhood to moving to Spain and becoming a global superstar from there. Visitors won’t just enjoy the original music scores in the background but will also take part in augmented reality games that allow them to replay some of Messi’s greatest career highlights.”

With mixed reality also representing another innovative landmark in immersive entertainment, The Messi Experience is set to be a prime example of how the seamless integration of physical and digital worlds offers unparalleled interaction and immersion. The integration of AR, VR, and MR into touring entertainment has not only transformed the visitor experience but has also opened up new avenues for artistic expression and creativity. Producers and creators now have the ability to craft immersive narratives, transport audiences to distant realms, and blur the lines between fiction and reality like never before.

Following a triumphant world premiere in Germany last winter, which saw over 138,000 tickets being sold before its grand opening, NEON and Warner Bros. Discovery teamed up to take their immersive spectacular Harry Potter: Visions of Magic to Southeast Asia in 2024.

Scheduled to open in Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa in the fourth quarter of this year, the interactive art experience invites visitors to explore the most mysterious corners of the Wizarding World, such as the Ministry of Magic, the Room of Requirement, and many other iconic spots in the Potterverse. Having already captivated audiences using responsive video content, quirky soundscapes, and the striking architecture we’ve grown accustomed to via the books and movies, Harry Potter: Visions of Magic places huge emphasis on interactive technology to “illuminate the invisible” and bring the beloved franchise to life.

Another major IP that’s been doing the rounds since last year is Semmel Exhibitions’ Disney100: The Exhibition. The commemorative walk-through exhibit, which debuted last year in Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute to celebrate a century of the pop culture phenomenon’s imprint on the world, has already stopped over at Munich, London, and Chicago, and will be touring the globe until 2028.

“We didn’t want you to just read things on the wall, we wanted you to see and look at the really beautiful things that we’re sharing”

Made up of ten imaginatively themed galleries, from 1937’s Snow White all the way to Encanto via Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel, the Walt Disney Archives and Semmel Exhibitions co-produced installation summons visitors on a quest throughout the 15,000ft2 space to uncover over 250 rare props and pieces of memorabilia, “experience” a stroll down Disneyland’s Main Street USA and be welcomed by a life-size statue of Walt Disney himself – powered by super-resolution AI.

Despite the evergreen appeal that big-brand IPs like Disney have over audiences of all ages, Disney100: The Exhibition stands out due to its unwavering commitment to including interactive elements that make it more than just another museum exhibition. “We wanted to take that extra step above and beyond by taking Disney100 to cities where people may not have been to one of our theme parks,” Becky Cline, director of the Walt Disney Archives, told Variety. “We didn’t want you to just read things on the wall, we wanted you to see and look at the really beautiful things that we’re sharing. You could spend the whole day in that exhibition
because there’s so much to do and see.”

After a successful March opening in Melbourne, Grande Experiences’ Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius is another immersive experience set to go on a world tour this year. Having partnered with Rome’s Museo Leonardo da Vinci on the project, it will not only allow visitors to see pages from his Codex Atlanticus (Da Vinci’s original writings) but also interact with the Italian polymath’s myriad concepts and inventions.

Advertised as a unique glimpse into the mind of one of history’s great innovators and inventors, the travelling exhibition uses state-of-the-art audio-visual technology to engage audiences in multisensory methods. Audiences will have the chance to spot previously unseen details in the Mona Lisa or fly over Florence on Da Vinci’s famed ornithopter via VR simulations.

“A good immersive experience should be akin to being around a campfire while telling stories”

However, what truly makes Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius unique is an admirable dedication to authenticity and storytelling. “To deepen the connection between curious visitors and this particular subject matter, we’re blending a digital experience with physical artefacts,” Gary Moynihan, head of creative design at Grande Experiences, told Blooloop. “There isn’t any evidence to suggest he ever built these machines, but his ideas and inventions are all sketched out in his notebooks,” adding that the inventions being showcased were crafted by Italian artisans using the same materials that would’ve been available to Da Vinci at the time.

With the rise of touring content producers placing a bigger emphasis on implementing more interactivity in shows and exhibits powered by cutting-edge tech, expect more immersive experiences to continue astounding people in the years to come. However, it’s widely accepted that these revolutionary showcases must be driven by dynamic storytelling in order to truly captivate audiences and encourage them to take part.

“A good immersive experience should be akin to being around a campfire while telling stories,” St-Onge says. “Immersive experiences haven’t just been a recent trend – I think they’ve existed for thousands of years. Back then, there weren’t any screens to amplify the stories they were trying to tell and express. Nowadays, people are more curious and more knowledgeable at the same time, and a lot of them want to do more than just sit in a space next to hundreds of people. They want to take part, and producers have caught on to this amazing shift in audience demand. I think this tech-powered trend of storytelling will continue to grow, and we’re set for some exciting experiences ahead.”

The latest edition of the Touring Entertainment Report is available exclusively to IQ subscribers in print or as a digital magazine. Subscribe now and view the full report.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.