Olympics opening ceremony reaches new mapping heights

The event – 2018 Youth Olympic Games Opening ceremony, Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 6 - 18, 2018

The venue – Obelisco de Buenos Aires, a 67.5 m high landmark in the heart of the Argentinian capital. 

The Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony was the first in modern Olympic history to be held in a public location – downtown Buenos Aires – and not inside a stadium. At the heart of this milestone event was the obelisk, brought to life with mind-blowing projection mapping and stunt actors. The team behind the event used Dataton WATCHOUT mapping software teamed with sixteen 20,000 ANSI lumen projectors to create the stunning show. 

“The location meant that we needed to install the 16 projectors on top of two buildings in order to map the Obelisk,” explains Peter Lindquist, KJPL, who provided the WATCHOUT system. “The projectors were positioned at a distance of 130 meters from the Obelisk on one side and 170 meters on the other side. The alignment was the biggest challenge with each projector working two sides of the Obelisk. With as many as eight projectors overlapping on some parts of the Obelisk, geometry correction and blending was demanding."

A large portion of the ceremony was synchronized using time code, coordinating with the other elements in the performance. In one of the most spectacular parts of the ceremony, stunt actors moved up and down the Obelisk on cables to simulate different Olympic sports while interacting with the projections.

"We were all really proud to be involved in such a fantastic event. The opening ceremony was a huge street party with an estimated 200,000 spectators and a fantastic welcome to the all the young athletes."