STAR WARS LIGHTSABERS SPEAR MADRID’S HOLIDAY SKYLINE

A survey of approximately 2,000 film fans found Star Wars’ lightsaber to be the
most popular weapon in film history. Througout Christmas its gigantic
version can be viewed in Madrid. Ogle now!

A GUIDEPOST Report

Eight gigantic replicas of the Star Wars lightsabers can be seen in strategic locations in Madrid these days, a Disney initiative with which the Madrid city government (Ayuntamiento de Madrid) is collaborating.

Where:

• Luke Skywalker’ lightsaber – Glorieta de Quevedo and Plaza de Alonso Martínez
• Anakin, Luke and Rey’s lightsaber – Plaza de Callao and Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
• Kylo Ren’s lightsaber – Plaza de Castilla and Museo del Prado
• Darth Vader’s lightsaber – Ventas and Intercambiador de Moncloa

—When:

• Sunday through Wednesday, from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM.
• Thursday through Saturday and eve of holidays other than Christmas Eve and Eve of the Three Kings, from 6:00 PM to midnight.
• Christmas Eve and Eve of the Three Kings, from 6:00 PM to 3:00 AM.
• New Year’s Eve, from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM.
• Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Feast of the Three Kings, from 6:00 PM to midnight.

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What’s a lightsaber?

A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured in the Star Wars universe. A typical lightsaber usually consists of a meta hilt (around 11 inches/28 cm in length) that projects a brightly lit energy blade (around 3 feet/ 91 cm in length). The lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi Order and their Sith counterparts, both of whom can use them for close combat, or to deflect blaster bolts. Its distinct appearance was created using rotoscoping for the original films, and with digital effects for the prequel and seque trilogies.

The lightsaber first appeared in the original 1977 film A New Hope and has since appeared in every Star Wars movie. In 2008, a survey of approximately 2,000 film fans found it to be the most popular weapon in film history.

In its most prominent showing, the lightsaber’s energy blade can cut, burn, and melt through most substances with little resistance. It leaves cauterized wounds in flesh, but can be deflected by another lightsaber blade, or by energy shileds. The blade has even been used as a tool to weld metal substances. Other times, the lightsaber has been shown to cause bleeding wounds in the flesh, sometimes accompanied by burns.

Some exotic saber-proof materials have been introduced in the Expanded Universe (a collective term for all Star Wars fictional material produced by Lucasfilm or officially licensed by it). An active lightsaber gives off a distinctive hum, which rises in pitch and volume as the blade is moved rapidly through the air. Bringing the blade into contact with another lightsaber’s blade produces a loud crackle. (Source: Wikipedia)

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Featured image/ANA Starwars flight/Yasuo Kida, CC BY2.0 via Flickr