It’s not often that Volvo Construction Equipment gets the glamorous jobs, but installing a giant movie screen made entirely of ice for A-listers and movie stars to watch comes pretty close. Volvo wheel loaders have been used to harvest the ice for the construction of the screen, which will be installed in Stockholm next month to celebrate Sweden’s capital’s 20th film festival.
Weighing around 11 tons, the screen will be crafted from ultra-clear ice harvested in slabs from the frozen Torne river in northernmost Sweden, near the Arctic circle. The ice for the screen was carved from the river in March, when the temperature was minus 11.2 degrees Fahrenheit. This will be the first time a feature film is shown on an ice screen.
The screen is being created by a team from Sweden’s famous Ice Hotel. Given the complexity of the project, the Ice Hotel’s sub-contractor called on the expertise of Volvo Construction Equipment. An L70 and an L50 were used to harvest the ice for the 16.4 foot wide and 9.8 foot high screen, which will be set up in an undisclosed location in central Stockholm. A Volvo wheel loader is also expected to be used to hoist the screen on to a podium on November 20 for outdoor film buffs to watch two special anniversary feature films. The screen will then be pulled down after two days of film screenings – hopefully before it starts to melt.