Lighting design for German TVs “ARD Olympiagala”

In June 2004, COLD, commissioned by mo2 design, produced the “Grosse ARD Olympiagala”—a live show lasting several hours broadcast from the “Temple of Zeus” in Athens in the run-up to the Olympic Games.

The show was broadcast live from Athens from an open-air venue situated near the temple ruins in the heart of the city. In addition to lighting the venue, including the temple ruins as a backdrop, the Acropolis was also illuminated from a distance of 2 km. Alongside various talk segments on different stages, approximately 40 performance acts were staged. A particular challenge was that the show began during the transition from day to night, and due to the short summer nights, there was very little preparation time available for lighting setup and programming.