Delivered by Avant Scene in collaboration with Balich Wonder Studio, the Opening Ceremony for the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations combined large-scale LED infrastructure, integrated lighting systems, and audience-responsive technology, punctuated by headline performances from the likes of Davido, French Montana and RedOne, to create a tribute to the unity, identity and resilience of African football.
The stage design for the Opening Ceremony was a fusion of tradition and technology. Inspired by Moroccan zellij tilework and the official tournament logo, the field of play became a living canvas, transformed by a black-and-white graphic field cloth and a central LED-embedded stage, which radiated out into a sea of LED bracelet-wearing spectators.
The production put the concept of light front and centre, starting with a minimalist black-and-white cinematic countdown that traced a glowing beam of light to reveal the ceremony’s protagonists, who took spectators on a journey through the tournament’s six host cities, forming glowing hexagons that connected the country before eventually exploding and illuminating the field of play.
Rather than relying solely on fixed scenic structures or large-format LED screens, the production introduced wearable visuals as part of the choreography, turning performers into moving pixels across the stadium floor.
To deliver this vision, PRG Projects deployed the second generation of its Hex Panels system, deploying 160 Hex Panel Gen Two tiles, each behaving as part of a unified visual sequence while performers moved continuously across the performance space.
To power the wearable system at scale, PRG Projects partnered with HIVE, deploying 160 HIVE Beeblade Minima media engines, each integrated into a custom performer belt pack. This decentralised approach placed media playback directly at the endpoint. Rather than relying on a small number of central servers and complex distribution infrastructure, each tile had its own dedicated playback device running content locally at the point of display.
PRG delivered content as a single master 4K video canvas, with each Beeblade assigned a specific sampling region. This allowed PRG to deploy and manage visual sequences as one unified piece of content, while still delivering unique playback output to each wearable tile, reducing asset management complexity and supporting fast updates and validation during the production period.
For Frederic Opsomer, CEO at PRG Projects, HIVE was the natural solution for the project. “With 160 media servers, wireless, synchronised like a philharmonic orchestra – who else to charge with the task than the HIVE team?” he posed. “Thanks again for another Mission Impossible perfectly executed.”
Mark Calvert, CEO, HIVE, added: “PRG Projects set the bar extremely high for this project. Driving 160 wearable LED tiles in a live stadium environment demands a playback platform that’s reliable, scalable and operationally simple for the crew on the ground. The team delivered an outstanding opening ceremony in Morocco, and we’re proud HIVE could support the deployment with 160 Beeblade Minima engines and wireless timecode synchronisation.”
As the Opening Ceremony came to a close, the LED panels that had been moving independently were brought together and locked into their final formation, showing the national flags of the 24 nations competing into the tournament glowing across the field, before transitioning into to the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025 logo and motifs, while above the sky was filled with pyrotechnics for a powerful finale befitting the celebration.
Photos: Avant Scene
