AVENIR

Holograms: the new ‘it’ technology bringing back our favourite pop stars. First Tupac at Coachella in 2012 and now Whitney Houston's An Evening With Whitney Hologram Tour this year. 

 

Theatre-Circus Roncalli was the first circus in the world to introduce holographic animals. In 2019, the circus premiered their show Storyteller, becoming a sensation overnight. Bernhard Paul, the founder and director of Roncalli Circus says the idea came from Prince’s performance at the Super Bowl. 

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“I was so impressed by the holographic technology. So I wanted to have it,” says Paul. He trusted his gut to “show the audience something new” and it worked: more than 600,000 visitors viewed the show.

 

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Now, holograms in the music industry are on the rise. The Whitney Houston tour kicked off on 23 January in Mexico and will wrap up in April.

 

The tour was organised by BASE Hologram in partnership with the late singer’s estate. The company is no amateur in this field, with previous holographic productions of Roy Orbison & Buddy Holly, and Maria Callas.

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However, creating a hologram is tricky. Birger Wunderlich, chief executive of Blue Box and the creator of holograms for Roncalli, explains the process. They use a material that's "nearly invisible but it reacts to laser light. So projecting a laser beamer on it will make the pictures visible on the thin fabric” says Wunderlich. 

 

The tour features the singer’s most famous hits, including I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) and I Will Always Love You.

 

Many have raised ethical concerns of reviving deceased pop stars in this way. But as technology progresses, it's likely we will be seeing even more long-gone artists taking to the stage once again.