Barco supplies LED Display Solutions to Shanghai's Tennis Masters Cup 2005-2007

The Tennis Masters Cup 2005-2007 Shanghai will be staged at the new, architecturally unique Qi Zhong (pronounced Chee-Jong) Tennis Center. The Barco LED solution for Qi Zhong Tennis Center consists of multiple SLite 14 outdoor LED displays. The Barco LED walls will be supplied in a rental configuration, which will allow the customer to re-locate its LED displays fast and efficiently to other venues within Shanghai. With its ultra-high light output, the SLite 14 displays offer unequalled brightness and contrast levels, making them ideal for use in very bright outdoor locations - even in direct sunlight. Barco LED display walls also guarantee optimal viewing conditions for all spectators in the tennis center.

Due for completion in August 2005, the Qi Zhong Center will become the largest tennis facility in Asia. Covering over 80 acres and featuring a total of 40 indoor and outdoor courts, the Qi Zhong center will incorporate state-of-the-art technology throughout to create the ultimate sporting destination venue in Asia today. The stadium’s main attention-grabber will no doubt be the 30 000 square meter dual-purpose indoor/outdoor center court which boasts a seating capacity of 15 000. The center court will also feature a retractable roof in the shape of an eight-piece Magnolia, which can be opened or closed to accommodate changing weather conditions within less than eight minutes.

The 2002 Tennis Masters Cup held in Shanghai was one of the biggest professional sporting events China ever hosted and brought the thrill of professional tennis championships to enthusiastic sell-out crowds and television viewers worldwide. The Tennis Masters Cup 2005-2007 Shanghai will definitely attract millions of people, who will see Barco’s LED displays larger-than-life on site, on TV, or in their newspapers.

Qi Zhong Tennis Center opted for a rental application because they intend to use their LED screens in a variety of applications and locations, which will allow them to maximize their return on investment. Barco LED rental solutions are used by leading performance artists and event organizers across the world and are recognized to offer the best value for such highly demanding applications.

Mr. Hu, Chairman of Qi Zhong Tennis Center stated that the reasons for choosing Barco were that they “favor Barco due to its high quality, stability and commitment on responsive service support.”

Frank Christiaens, Managing Director of Barco in China, commented: ” Barco was once more chosen for a high profile sports application in China because again the customer was determined to offer its viewers the highest level in LED display technology available in the world today. Barco is proud to be associated with this world class event.”

Barco today plays a prominent role in the China sports and rental markets and supplies LED solutions to both the fixed and rental markets directly from the new Barco factory in Beijing. Barco’s expansion in China, with industrial and development presence in Beijing, further strengthens Barco’s position to compete for the upcoming opportunities of the 2008 Olympics and 2010 Expo.

Barco Media & Entertainment, a division of Barco, provides specialized visualization solutions targeted at the needs of the Media & Entertainment industries. It counts names such as U2, Ferrari, Louis Vuitton, Madonna and Daimler Chrysler, Clearchannel Spectacolor, as well as installations for Merrill Lynch, Kinepolis, China Film Group, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Reliant Park Stadium (USA) and Miami Heat NBA amongst some of its key references.


About Barco
Barco, an international company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, provides visualization and display solutions for professional markets. Barco designs and develops solutions for large screen visualization, display solutions for life-critical applications, and systems for visual inspection. Barco is active worldwide and has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco is quoted on Euronext Brussels and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company (Euronext: BAR; Reuters: BARBt.BR; Bloomberg: BAR BB).

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JP Tanghe
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Barco nv

Telephone +32 56/26 23 22
jp.tanghe@barco.com

Inge Govaerts
Public Relations Manager
Barco - Media & Entertainment

Telephone +32 56 36 8052
inge.govaerts@barco.com