May 4 Star Wars Day celebrated with giant projection on Orwell Bridge in Ipswich

  • The stunning Star Wars display on Ipswich's Orwell Bridge

Motorists on a busy commuter bridge got a surprise after being greeted by a giant dancing Stormtrooper.

The large 42-metre high 3D graphic was beamed on to the Orwell Bridge in Ipswich as well as seven colourful lightsabers by Ipswich-based Motion Mapping for two hours on Wednesday night, the eve of celebrate Star Wars Day on 4 May.

It took two hours to create and was beamed from a box 500 metres away from the bridge by the video projection firm.

Stuart Harris, the firm's creative director, said: "We do a lot of guerrilla pop-up projects and installations in London and around the world.

"We always try to do something local though and we are all Star Wars fans and with 4 May coming up, we couldn't let that go.

"I go over the Orwell Bridge twice a day and it lends itself to lightsabers.

The 41-year-old added: "The reaction has been amazing. We didn't expect it. When I woke up the morning after I had 40 messages on my phone from people commenting on it and saying 'wow'."

The Stormtrooper and lightsabers under the Orwell Bridge on 3 May 2023 Credit: Motion Mapping

Motion Mapping, which was founded around 2019, has created projections big and small for landmarks including the Houses of Parliament in London and Stonehenge in Wiltshire.

It also beamed the NHS Heroes logo on to Ipswich Hospital as a thanks to staff during the Covid pandemic.

People who missed the Orwell Bridge display will be able to see a similar Star Wars-themed projection on the Martlesham BT Tower from 9.15pm-11pm on Thursday.

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