Opening Ceremony of the Alpine Ski World Championship

The grand opening of the Skiing World Championships at the German city of Garmisch-Partenkirchen was celebrated with an exceptional opening gala that attracted more than 3.5 million television viewers across Germany and was attended live by more than 11,000 spectators, including international stars of the Alpine sporting scene and German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Framed by a light strip and search lights, the town’s famous Olympic ski jump morphed into a stage from where a one-hour show dazzled the viewers with plenty of show, snow, excitement and dance. The slope itself was transformed into a massive video projection surface for which flora&faunavisions conceptualised, created and supplied all video content for the one-hour opening gala, synched all the way to the event’s soundtrack and a live performance by the Bavarian Radio’s Symphony Orchestra.

A perfect synergy of sport and style, technology and nature, the content was projected without distortion or bleeding edges onto the 29 x 130 m surface and in perfect sync with live-tracked performers and skiers. The project was carried out with lead agency, dreinull.

In a playful exploration of regional traditions, people and characteristics, huge enchanting illustrations spirited the collective audience away to Michael Ende’s Momo in a fairy tale landscape. While the arrival of participating teams was accompanied by archival material of 30 current and all-time greats from Alpine sporting history, the subsequent Rose Cavalier interlude saw two seminal skiers – dressed as noble suitors in top hats and tails – shoot down a giant mapped staircase adorned with slowly tumbling rose petals.

A clever blend of traditional, modern, impressive and emotional content, this grand overture threw a fast-paced and dramatic spotlight on seminal ski moments, contemporary live acts, classical orchestral pieces, interactive performances and our own team’s pioneering projections. For this project flora&faunavisions took on the challenge to create a bespoke concept and content that would raise the bar high - or at least, to the peak of the area’s highest mountain, the
alpine Alpspitze.