2023 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS

Dublin, Ireland

Images: Absen, Getty Images

In a top-level sporting tournament, everything needs to be at the top of its game – players, coaches, match officials, fans – and technology. At the 2023 Guinness Six Nations, Catalyst Event Production Services had just seven minutes to set up the onpitch trophy presentation podium LED backdrop and footer –so turned to Absen, an LED brand they knew they could trust to perform.

The 2023 Guinness Six Nations Championship saw Ireland take the ‘Grand Slam’ champions title once again. Absen, one of the world’s leading LED display brands, brought 8.3 million viewers onto the side-line to watch the Championship Trophy Presentation at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Spanning six weeks, the 2023 Six Nations Championship was the 24th annual international men’s rugby union competition, contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. UK-based events production company, Catalyst Event Production Services was enlisted to deliver outstanding results for the trophy presentation ceremony, working alongside its client, live events agency, EVENT360 who specialise in the design and delivery of global sport events.

The deciding games, played on the same day, meant that Catalyst’s teams needed to be on site at both Stade de France, Paris and Aviva Stadium, Dublin, ready to install the trophy presentation screens at the winning game’s stadium – and it could have been at either venue. Once the final whistle had blown, there was just a brief window of seven minutes for the crew to assemble the screens - and it was at the Aviva Stadium, where Ireland won 29 – 16 to England. Due to the time constraints, the screen installation needed to be quick and simple, allowing the team to assemble efficiently and in time for over 51,700 stadium spectators and over 8 million broadcast viewers to watch the trophy presentation.

The ceremony set up consisted of a large curved front footer LED, as well as LED banners left and right behind the winning team, to clearly display the Guinness Six Nations branding and name of the winning team. Under these intense conditions, the Catalyst team not only needed a familiar product, but one that was reliable, easy and fast to assemble, ensuring the presentation stage was set within the allotted time. Because of this, the Absen PL 3.9 PRO outdoor screen was specified. Catalyst was an early adopter of this unique product, purchasing the first batch in 2018. Catalyst is now the main UK rental house stocking PL3.9 Pro with over 75sqm.

A total of 28 LED panels were pre-assembled in three separate sections, attached and carried onto the pitch on a bespoke frame, 7.5 metres wide. The client’s design included a 7degree curve in the front footer, another function of this product.

The Absen PL3.9 Pro was one of the first of Absen’s PL series. This series has developed into a diverse product range with both indoor and outdoor products, with a thin, lightweight chassis design. Available in multiple pixel pitches ranging from 1.9mm to 4.8mm, it supports a range of applications including HDR (High Dynamic Range) display, capable of producing more realistic and colourful high-resolution images with a grayscale up to 16bit. The award-winning

PL series is a high-performance, broadcast grade, highdefinition display, with high-grade electronics and advanced mechanical design, recommended for all live events.

“Our teams were really up against the clock, faced with the challenge of needing to provide a high-quality and reliable product in one of two locations. The short installation time made a fairly standard installation massively challenging. Needing a durable, decent pitch and curved LED product, there was nothing else on the market that quite fits the bill like the Absen PL3.9. So much so, Catalyst now has the largest outdoor stock of this product, totally at over 280 panels.” commented Ronnie MacLennan, Catalyst Event Production Services Managing Director.

The video content for the panels was supplied directly by the client, boldly displaying the Guinness Six Nations branding, winning team’s showreels and the winning team ‘stings’. With the install and display working seamlessly, the trophy presentation ceremony was a resounding success.

“The Absen PL3.9 screens are perfectly designed for live events, particularly within a large stadium environment. The excellent pixel pitch, simple installation and product flexibility means customers can rely on Absen to deliver outstanding results time and time again.” explained Jessica Golding, European Brand and Marketing Director at Absen.