On Thursday night (February 15), the O2 in Greenwich was transformed into a spectacular canvas for the world's largest ever light projection. In honour of the upcoming Rugby World Cup, O2; the England Rugby teams official partners, created a series of 3D projection mapping light shows, which were designed to inspire rugby fans across the world to tweet their messages of support. Alongside the ambitious, wide-reaching Wear The Rose campaign from VCCP, it's yet another example of O2 using the occasion of the upcoming tournament (the biggest sporting event to take place in the UK since the 2012 Olympics), to increase brand awareness whilst also giving the game of rugby a shot in the arm.
To mark the occasion on Tuesday night, million album selling soprano and England Rugby's official singer Laura Wright, launched the projection with a stirring rendition of “Jerusalem” from the roof of the iconic venue. She was surrounded by the patriotic light show, which matched each lyric and verse, culminating in the singer being engulfed by a gigantic red rose. Now however, the show has been officially handed over to the fans, who, in a world first, are now able to have their tweets of support displayed on the roof of The O2.
The O2 in Greenwich was transformed into a spectacular canvas for the world's largest ever light projection to celebrate the start of the 2015 Rugby World Cup
Jonny Wilkinson, Victoria Pendleton and James Anderson were amongst the first people to have their tweets projected, and fans from across the world can continue to tweet their messages of support for the England Rugby team through the tournament using the #WearTheRose hashtag. Over the next seven weeks, thousands of tweets will appear on top of The O2, with those lucky enough to be displayed receiving an exclusive image and gif of their own personal message.
Visible from the River Thames, from air and even from space, a total of 68 projectors and over 144 moving head light fixtures are attached to the interior and exterior of the masts on The O2 to make the projection possible. The projectors and lights cover a surface area equivalent to ten rugby pitches and the entire show is synced with the LED screens that surround The O2 to create a full 360 experience. The large scale light show which illuminated an area of over 10,000 square meters took 14,120 man hours to produce, with riggers climbing on average 2,800 feet per day. The 1.42 million lumen projection will last for the duration of the tournament and will illuminate The O2 each night from sunset to midnight. And each time the England Rugby team play, The O2 will come alive again, and there will be even more unique surprises throughout September and October.
England Rugby's official singer Laura Wright, launched the projection with a stirring rendition of “Jerusalem” from the roof of the iconic venue
Nina Bibby, marketing and consumer director at O2 said: “This is the pinnacle of our 20-year partnership with the England Rugby and is the ultimate demonstration of O2’s support for the team. We’re calling on the entire country to show their support and now we are handing over the incredible opportunity for fans to tweet their messages on The O2 to make the team feel like giants and inspire them onto victory.” To get involve fans can tweet their messages of support using #WearTheRose, for more information visit the official O2 Wear the Rose home page.
