Over the course of the European Athletics Championships, the City Festival on Sechselí¤utenplatz (9 to 17 August) will offer numerous events and activities, including an art project involving three-dimensional video projections on the facade of the Zurich Opera House.
The championships will take place both at Letzigrund Stadium and the Zurich city centre. Owing to the Canton of Zurich, residents and visitors will have the opportunity to experience an extraordinary art project on Sechselí¤utenplatz, the city’s most famous square.
The governing council of the canton has approved a financial contribution from its lottery fund in order to provide the means for three-dimensional displays to be projected on to the front facade of the Zurich Opera House (two shows per evening, 10pm and 11.15pm).
12 creative agencies all over Europe had been invited to create concepts for the art project. Seven of them submitted their projects to a jury, which included Zurich Opera House Artistic Director Andreas Homoki and European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014 CEO Patrick K. Magyar, among others.
The jury selected two winners, the Zurich agency Projektil and the Vienna light art team Lichttapete (in cooperation with the projection specialists of Pani Projection and Lighting), who will present their work in 17 projection shows.
“The two winning teams presented impressive visions, ingeniously combining athletics and art. Residents of the Zurich area and championship visitors will be enthralled by their truly spectacular and innovative shows. The projection shows, House of Switzerland, and many activities and events will create a wonderful summer festival on Sechselí¤utenplatz,” explained Magyar at a press conference held last Friday in Letzigrund Stadium.
With less than three months until the start of the championships, Magyar is very pleased with how preparations are progressing.
“There is still a lot to be done, of course. One of our tasks for the weeks to come will be to finalise the authorisation procedures for all our activities. But we are working closely with our partners and with authorities. Therefore, we are on course with all our preparations, and we will be ready to stage a wonderful championships,” he said.
The Zürich 2014 promoters are particularly pleased with ticket sales so far, with 45 per cent of tickets having already been sold, and more than a third of all tickets purchased by international fans.
“The huge demand for tickets shows that our ticket packages, which include public transport fares, are attractive for championship visitors,” Magyar explained.