Every year, the opening event of the Tour de France captivates hundreds of thousands of sports enthusiasts. The premiere of the Grand Départ in Düsseldorf was awaited with particular excitement by organisers, residents and fans. More than one million spectators finally came to the metropolis to witness the start of the important cycling race. We made sure that the live experience got under the skin of all visitors. In order to be technically prepared for a high volume of visitors, we analysed the need for sound reinforcement and LED screen inserts for the hotspots in advance with the technical and logistical manager Rainer Schüler and his colleague Thomas Krämer from the city of Düsseldorf.

Our team of twenty experts for LED, sound, direction and signal ensured that every fan was reached both visually and acoustically at the seven locations in the city district. Seven mobile LED systems between 15 and 50 m² were used. The core of the project was the central video direction and playout of all video walls. This was done via an internal and encrypted DVB-T network directly from the TV compound at Messe Düsseldorf. A 50-metre high riser with a central directional antenna was used. Each video wall was equipped with a DVB-T receiver plus a backup, so that each wall could be supplied with the live image of RT1, ARD and Saarländischer Rundfunk. In addition, general information about the event as well as safety instructions were broadcast centrally or, if necessary, sent individually only to the corresponding location.