Mr Motivator in action as he gears up for EP. Credit: Marc O'Sullivan
Remember Mr Motivator, aka Derrick Evans, the fitness guru who gyrated and illuminated our TV screens in his colourful lycra cycling shorts in the Eighties and Nineties? Well, he is coming back to Electric Picnic this year. Mr Motivator will be on a fitness mission to power the picnic with a series of #dancergy sessions on the Electric Ireland sustainable energy dancefloor. And all are welcome to dance along with him (that’s if you are heading to the picnic, of course)!
Last year at Electric Picnic Mr Motivator enthralled the crowds, especially the kiddies, as he stepped it up on the colourful dancefloor. He had a couple of apprentices to get the crowd going. But was Ms Motivator in sight … ?
Well Electric Ireland, aka the ESB, is bringing him back to the picnic for the festival’s 10th anniversary mega gig in the serene forest and farmland surroundings of Stradbally Estate in Co Laois. The festival kicks off on Friday, 30 August.
Kids and adults alike will be able to generate power as the Dancergy dancefloor will apparently work by converting the kinetic energy of dancing people into electricity to power the floor.
LED bands to light up the forests around Stradbally …
And that’s not all … In addition, this year, Electric Ireland has announced that 5,000 festival-goers will be able to light up the picnic at night. Up to 5,000 Dancergy bands will be available from the Electric Ireland tent. It will be first come, first served, it seems.
We actually have one of these bands here in the office to give you a preview (CORRECTION: Electric Ireland sent us a glow stick instead, as these LED bands don’t seem to be ready yet – but the glow stick was still pretty cool to play with!)
Electric Ireland kindly sent Siliconrepublic.com a glow stick this evening. It was fun to crack the stick to light it up with a lovely bluey-purple hue
These Dancergy LED bands have been created by UK company Xylobands.
If you were at one of the concerts during Coldplay’s 2012 Mylo Xyloto world tour, you might have seen or held one of these bands. On Twitter the marketing word about the bands will be communicated via the hashtag #dancergy during the Irish Electric Picnic festival.
Good to be back, says Mr Motivator
Model Holly Carpenter pictured with Mr Motivator. Credit: Marc O’Sullivan
Speaking today, Mr Motivator said he was “thrilled” to be back as part of the Electric Picnic line-up.
“I had so much fun with all the festival goers last year and have some new moves prepared for my trip back this year,” he said.
Dancing sessions
The motivating fitness and health guru will lead daily dance sessions where festival revellers will have the opportunity to take to the floor and generate power by throwing some shapes.
Ken McKervey from Electric Ireland, which is energy partner to the Electric Picnic festival, said that the goal is to show people at the festival how much fun sustainability can be.
“Festival-goers loved Mr Motivator last year so we had to get him back again.”
Clean tech and Electric Picnic ethos
Other measures that Electric Ireland are undertaking in line with the clean-tech and sustainability ethos of the festival include the provision of 6km of what Electric Ireland terms as “energy-efficient festoon lighting” around the campsites.
During the build of the festival, walkways will also be constructed to reach the main arena, with the aim to reduce the festival’s lighting emissions by 80pc.
A bank of 25 solar panels will also feature on the festival grounds to contribute towards the power requirement on site. Will this be used to help with mobile phone charging? This was an often laborious and costly process for festival enthusiasts last year, especially when they ran out of battery power in the campsites.
Getting away from the main show
So, if you feel like having some time-out from the many acts that will be playing Electric Picnic this year – be it Bjork, Arctic Monkeys, Peace, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Hudson Mohawke, Little Green Cars, Two Door Cinema Club, or Lady Lamb the Beekeeper – then maybe you could consider giving Mr Motivator a twirl on the dancefloor, by day or by night!
