Progicon makes dragon on belfry spit fire again

The Fire-Breathing Dragon Brings Magic Back to the Ghent Festivities

If you are reading this, the 175th edition of the Ghent Festivities is already over. Public attraction last ten days was the fire-breathing dragon on the belfry. Commissioned by the city of Ghent, Progicon, Visual FX and Meirlaen brought the dragon back to life. For ten evenings they treated visitors of the Ghent Festivities to a fire spectacle 15 meters long, 95 meters above the city.

Ghent Alderman for Festivities Christophe Peeters had promised. The Ghent Festivities would be a party edition. And for that, he spared no expense. 199 years after the last time, the iconic dragon on the belfry had to spit fire again. A challenge for which Progicon had already gladly crawled into the towering belfry.

"The biggest challenge was the construction: it was not allowed to hang on to the dragon," says Pieter Van den Bussche of Progicon. "The belfry is cultural heritage, and thus protected. Moreover, the dragon acts as a wind rose and rotates infinitely around its axis."

Together with metal company Meirlaen and the pyrotechnicians of Visual FX, Progicon therefore built a custom construction. Meirlaen developed the metal rod, Visual FX atomized the flammable mixture, Progicon finally programmed the controls and ensured that the rod was always straight in front of the dragon's mouth. Thus, there was always the illusion that the dragon was really spitting fire.

Now that the Ghent Festivities are over, the installation is disappearing. Although it remains the property of the city. "We are saving the parts for the next special occasion," said alderman Peeters.