‘Wheel of Energy’ Expo Kazakhstan

Client: Kunsberg and Adunic on behalf of Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Audience: 600 live shows, 30,000 people

Narrative: The power of kinetic energy

The brief:

Expo 2017 had the theme ‘Future Energy’. We were approached to design, build and create a performance on a unique moving structure celebrating kinetic energy with world class circus performance. The structure needed to be engaging as an installation in its own right.

We designed and built a 20m revolving custom set based on a traditional circus ‘Wheel of Death’, with lights and moving cogs and chains. 600 daredevil shows were performed off this bespoke sculpture over 4 months, with a cast of performers from around the world.

Designed and built in the UK with a very short lead time, the sculpture was trucked to Kazakhstan and assembled on the 8th floor of purpose built Nur Alem museum in their capital, Astana. With a heavy performance timetable, the creation saw a lot of use and required regular maintenance from our onsite team. This was a hugely logistical project and we learnt a lot in terms of engineering large circus structures as well as working at scale internationally.