Telekom goes 5G

AO Creative was thrilled to once again collaborate with the dynamic German DO IT! agency in June 2020 to conceptualise, design and realise an eye-catching light show across the Düsseldorf skyline to celebrate the launch of Deutsche Telekom’s extended 5G network.

The city’s famous 240m-tall Rheinturm tower provided the centrepiece for the project. Multiple towers in cities across Germany were considered for the light show, but due to restrictions and a short project lead-time, the Rheinturm was chosen as the best possible site.

AO Creative has a long history of realising projects in Düsseldorf and working with the DO IT! agency and we brought together a leading team of designers and technical experts from our extended AO Creative family to deliver the project.
Deutsche Telekom first approached DO IT! in early summer 2020 with a brief to create an event that would symbolise its 5G network technology and be visible far across the city of Düsseldorf. DO IT! commissioned AO Creative to help conceptualise and deliver the show.

REALIZATION

AO Creative’s visionary lighting designer, Jerry Appelt, responded to the brief by creating a detailed scheme to light the concrete Rheinturm in a beautiful wash of magenta – Deutsche Telekom’s brand colour. Alongside, Laserfabrik facilitated laser-projected branding on the ‘trunk’ of the tower.

Atop the circular crown of the building, AO Lighting’s high-performance FALCON searchlights were positioned in concentric rings to spread bright, controlled beams of white light out across Düsseldorf, symbolising the transmission of the 5G signal and visible from far across the city. The FALCONs were positioned with twelve on the inner ring, and twenty-four on the outer ring.

Alongside the FALCON fixtures, luminaires from SGM and Elation provided additional beam effects for viewers closer to the tower.

The entire project was overseen by AO Creative’s Marco Niedermeier, in collaboration with JALD Jerry Appelt Lichtdesign and Beacon GmbH.

“We were thrilled to be a part of this impressive event that lit up Düsseldorf’s night sky,” says Niedermeier. “AO Creative has a long history of working with the DO IT! agency and long experience of creating shows in the city of Düsseldorf – but this was one of the most eye-catching projects to date.

“We were proud to bring together our industry-leading lighting technology with a team of experts who really deliver – it was one big family, with everyone working together to execute this event.”

WORKING UNDER COVID-19 MEASURES

The entire project was planned during the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that the majority of meetings were achieved via video conferencing, arranging everything from logistics and lasers, to planning and permissions. One of the main challenges was limited access to the tower using the elevators, adhering to social distancing while sharing it with other suppliers and services. In addition to this, rigging at such a height presented its own tests, especially with unpredictable weather.

“We’re all working in a new manner, which can be challenging, but I’m proud that our team managed to adapt accordingly and prove events can still happen despite the restrictions,” says Niedermeier. “The success of this project was in no small part due to the meticulous planning undertaken by our team, the knowledge of the site and our experience of working on large-scale projects with one another.”

Lighting designer Jerry Appelt controlled the lighting from a FOH position 100m from the base of the tower, using Timecode to sync the show. He comments: “This was a fantastic project to work on, from DO IT’s initial brief to creating the lighting design and ensuring the show would be visible from even 10km away. The FALCON searchlights provide brilliant output and it felt great to see the effect on the night, and the client was very happy with the results.”

DO IT and AO provided a drone solution for aerial photography, including a behind the scenes of the light show, which was shared widely on social media.

Deutsche Telekom says it now has 12,000 5G antennas live, with 40,000 expected to be switched on by the end of 2020.