This January Moscow hosted FONBET All-Star Week KHL 2020. The main theme of the Week was “Time”. Everyone who lives in Moscow, knows that time in this city is an important and very valuable resource. It’s obvious that in real life time goes forward. But in an ice hockey match it goes backwards.
The event began on Friday with the Player Presentation Ceremony, where each of the four divisions had a special place reserved for one of the best players from the JHL Challenge Cup. Head coaches selected their final players blindly, listening only to facts about how they spent their time.
On Saturday, the Master Show 2020 took place, an informal and lighthearted event that reflected the strength, energy, and spirit of hockey. The pre-show was filled with professional young hockey players from the Armada sports school, as well as amateur participants. After 32 hours of rehearsals, a 5-minute performance was put on for the audience. The presence of amateur performers represented the mass appeal of hockey in Russia, with 24 participants representing each of the 24 KHL clubs. For the first time in the history of the Hockey All-Star Week, the mascots from all 24 teams were full participants in the opening show.
The opening ceremony of the KHL All-Star Game highlighted the use of the latest show technologies. The pre-game action unfolded on the ice, video cube, stands, and even the ceiling, with 9,500 LED devices transforming the VTB Arena into a massive 1000 m² HD screen. Spectators were immersed in a multi-dimensional projection, feeling like they were part of the show.
The collaboration with KHL partners has reached a fundamentally new level. In addition to traditional advertising blocks on the video cube, partner activities were integrated into the main show and the All-Star game itself. FONBET and MasterCard held flash mobs during breaks, and ice projections were shown during the presentation of the Haier competition - all of which were broadcast live on Match TV.
With high attendance, the involvement of new partners, and an increase in sponsor activities, the Hockey All-Star Week has once again reached a new level, as has the standard of sports presentations in Russia overall.