Creative Technology & the Open Master Games 2026: One Stage, One Vision, Sixty Million Pixels

When People&Co called on Creative Technology to deliver the Opening Ceremony of the Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi 2026, the brief was simple in ambition and formidable in scale: create something unforgettable.

At the beginning of every grand ceremony, the lights shift, the crowd quiets, and a moment occurs that makes 25,000 people simultaneously feel that they are witnessing something truly special. At the Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi 2026, that moment arrived on cue and stayed throughout the ceremony.

Staged at ADNEC and spanning multiple venues across the UAE capital, Creative Technology delivered the video, projection, networking infrastructure, and lighting, supplying a comprehensive fixture and control package of extraordinary breadth.

The Screen: A Curve That Defined the Show

At the heart of the production sat CT’s centerpiece: a curved LED wall measuring approximately 55.5 meters wide by 16 meters high, constructed from over 1,400 panels at a 3.9 mm pixel pitch and weighing a combined 19 tons. It was, by any measure, a serious piece of engineering, and it demanded serious engineering expertise from the outset.

The scaffold system was purpose-built to follow the screen’s curvature, with CNC-cut templates ensuring accurate panel angles across the entire arc. Rigging teams worked in close coordination to integrate lighting and scenic elements above the wall safely, while dedicated access platforms allowed CT’s crew to install, test, and maintain the screen efficiently within a schedule that left no room for delay.

CT used a synchronized set of ten Disguise VX4+ media servers to run the display. These servers managed almost 60 million pixels across the LED surface and projection mapping elements. The screen management backbone, a double-stacked Barco Encore 3, handled complex cue structures across a heavily content-driven show. That content density shaped every decision. With large media files, super high pixel counts, and a creative vision that demanded reliability above all else, as such the system was compiled for redundancy at every level.

Around 14 kilometers of fiber and video signal distribution connected the various elements across the stadium, a network that also carried roughly 50 screens deployed across operational and public areas, alongside a full CCTV infrastructure for show and site monitoring.

Mapping the Scenic Canvas

Beyond the LED wall, CT provided projection mapping across the ceremony’s scenic elements, deploying fourteen Panasonic PT-RZ31K laser projectors at high brightness. As with the screen, the projectors were subject to detailed pre-production positioning studies, particularly important given that scenic elements arrived later in the schedule, requiring CT’s team to work quickly once the canvas was in place.

Fixutres & Control: A Rig Built for Every Eventuality

The lighting package was one of the most extensive CT has assembled for a single ceremony in the region. The fixture list encompassed a diverse array of beam, profile, and effects units, catering to the requirements of a large stadium environment where visual impact at scale is essential.

Control was delivered via a trio of GrandMA3 full-size consoles supported by a light-size desk for focus work, with an I/O node network and seven PU L units keeping the MA session live and roaming at all times. A pre-viz station ran in session alongside the main rig, which was invaluable for a show of this complexity, where programming decisions needed to be pre-visualized before touching the live system.

The network backbone was handled by Luminex, specifically the Luminex 20T and Luminode 12, with Gigacore 10 switches rounding out the distribution. Atmospherics came courtesy of MDG. The one touring unit is positioned at multiple locations around the stadium, supported by twelve unique hazers. And then there was the following spot system: Follow-Me, running in a main-plus-backup configuration, capable of tracking up to eight targets simultaneously across any combination of fixtures in the rig.

The Arch Challenge: Solving the Problem Nobody Could See

The show’s defining structural element, a large architectural arch, presented one of the production’s most demanding technical challenges. The requirement was to integrate lighting fixtures seamlessly into the structure while maintaining precise alignment and consistent visual output. Working closely with scenic specialists Pitch Black, CT invested significant pre-production time prototyping bracket designs, testing fixture positioning, and verifying movement tolerances before a single unit was installed on site.

Roof access added another dimension to the challenge, resolved through what the production team now refers to, with some affection, as Pitch Black’s “Craning Endeavour” initiative, led by the indispensable Steven Keddy. This type of problem-solving, although rarely showcased in the show reel, is crucial for the success of the show.

Comms & Connectivity: The Infrastructure Behind the Scenes

A fully IP-based network interconnected Zayed Sports City and multiple supporting venues, delivering consistent, end-to-end connectivity across the entire operational footprint. Luminex nodes were strategically deployed to manage sACN and Art-Net distribution, providing reliable, low-latency transport for lighting control and network data.

This was the kind of critical, behind-the-scenes infrastructure that rarely gets noticed, yet ultimately determines whether a production operates seamlessly or struggles under pressure. Remote monitoring and programming stations enabled centralized control, real-time diagnostics, and efficient system management across all sites.

All locations were fully integrated into the core network, operating in sync as a single, resilient ecosystem spanning the full footprint of the Games.

Walk to Mars: The Journey That Began Before the Games

The Open Masters Games didn’t begin on opening night. Long before the ceremony, CT had already been part of the story, delivering the technical infrastructure for Walk to Mars, the UAE’s nationwide activation marking the 100-day countdown to the Games.

Centered on a 12,800-pixel LED display powered by Disguise servers, the Walk to Mars installation invited the country to collectively cover 54 million kilometers, a distance equal to the journey from Earth to Mars and a figure that honors the UAE’s 54th year. Dynamic lighting from Ayrton and Astera set the atmosphere, a layered d&b and L-Acoustics audio design created immersive sound, and a robust Riedel and Motorola communications network ensured that every cue, across every moment of the activation, landed exactly as intended. The result was a platform worthy of a campaign launched by the UAE’s most senior officials and a demonstration, well in advance of opening night, of what CT’s integrated approach to large-scale delivery can achieve.

From Mars to Abu Dhabi: A Future of Innovation and Technology

Productions of this scale tend to be remembered for their headline numbers, the pixel counts, the screen dimensions, and the kit lists. But the people who deliver them tend to remember something else: the moments when the whole thing just works. The Follow-Me system is tracking eight targets without a dropout. The MA session stays live through every position change. The arch is looking exactly right because months earlier, someone spent the time making sure it would.

“Visually very impactful” was the assessment from CT’s crew, and it captures something honest about what was achieved in Abu Dhabi. The scenic integration, the lighting looks, and the precision of every system working in concert: the result was something genuinely unique. And for the athletes, officials, and audiences who experienced it, the Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi 2026 began exactly as a wonderful ceremony should — with a moment they won’t forget.