Lisbon, Portugal, 1998

The magic show
The Utopia pavilion was one of the most noticed of the five theme pavilions at Portugal's World Exhibition in Lisbon. For the first time at a World or Universal Exhibition, a show was staged for over 3 million spectators.
In a specially-built, covered stadium, the show was performed 520 times for an average audience of 6500, four times a day, 130 days running.
It took co-author and artistic director François Confino three years during which he worked with American, Canadian, French and Portuguese staff to see this incredible challenge through.
Soaring effects and gigantic special effects were specially designed, and extremely complex mechanical systems bred movement into flexible materials and stage sets at an unusually large scale. Through close collaboration with Philippe Genty, the director, Oceans & Utopias enticed the audience on a fascinating journey through mythology, conquest and the anguish of those at sea known to everyone faced with the boundlessness of the ocean.