World Athletics Championships | Tokyo

Creative Technology (CT) is redefining how sports graphics are seen at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, with a broadcast-style system adapted for giant in-stadium LED screens.

For years, TV graphics have been built for home viewing, often impossible to see clearly inside the stadium. CT has been working with World Athletics to change that, creating a solution that can handle the complexity of athletics, with multiple disciplines, athlete data, race information and bespoke details for each event.

Working alongside Visual Edge’s Creative Director Rob Currie, CT’s UK team collaborated with colleagues in Australia to deliver Mercury Sport, CT’s end-to-end solution for data processing, translation, and bespoke control. Built around the athletics workflow, the system provided operators with an intuitive control interface and, using Xpression as the render engine, powered a new multilingual graphics package, including enhanced athlete introductions with videos and photos.

Designing a scoring renderer system that could operate seamlessly in two languages on large-format screens was no easy task. The team from CT Australia, rose to the challenge, applying conditional logic and making thoughtful structural design changes. Their work ensured that the fan experience remained both informative and reactive—capturing the energy and excitement of a world championship event.

But the graphics are only part of the story. CT is also supplying lighting, sound and video for the main stadium and the medal plaza. After the success of the Tokyo Olympics, there was huge demand for another world-class athletics event in front of fans, and CT has been right at the centre of making it happen.

This project has spanned the globe, drawing on expertise and kit from CT teams in Australia, China, the UK and Japan. Support has also come from partners such as NEP UK, who provided RF expertise, and NEP Japan, who supplied camera hardware.

Through innovative graphics and global collaboration, CT’s delivery in Tokyo is redefining how live athletics is experienced by fans in the stands and audiences around the world.