Final Four pregame shows win BEA World top prize

Euroleague Basketball and Filmmaster Events have been awarded first- and third-place prizes at BEA World – The International Festival of Events and Live Communication – for their co-production of the spectacular pregame shows that lit up the 2021 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four last spring in Cologne, Germany.

BEA World, which promotes excellence in events and live communication, judged the pregame shows to be the best global entry in the category of “Digital Transformation” and the third-best in the “Use of Technology” category.

In the Digital Transformation category, the Final Four entry competed with nine other short-listed finalists from seven countries of similar presentations for companies such as Bayer and eBay.

And in the Use of Technology, the competition was even stiffer, with 11 creative agencies from eight countries working for such companies as Vodafone, BMW and Google.

Delivering fans a transformational viewing experience of an event they could not attend was made all the more challenging last spring in light of the Final Four’s hard-won reputation as one of the most electric live experiences in the world of sports.

The shows, produced by Filmmaster Events, captured the ultra-vibrant identity of the Final Four and put fans in the heat of the pregame moment through a combination of visually dazzling augmented-reality content paired with live dance acts and an in-venue DJ set that rocked the house at Lanxess Arena in Cologne.

“Fans have been Euroleague Basketball’s primary focus since its founding. Especially when we could not throw them an in-person basketball party at the Final Four, we are thrilled to be recognized for giving them this prize-winning experience,” Roser Queralto, Euroleague Basketball Chief Business Officer, said. “The pregame shows were inspired by the passion and devotion that fans give to our games season after season.”

The pregame presentation marked the first time in Europe or at any basketball event that such a show used augmented reality live.

Three of the four pregame shows were designed as tributes to the host city and included 3D renditions of Cologne’s most iconic landmarks amid live entertainment featuring hip-hop dancers who matched the urban vibe of the sport and the moment.

Ultimately, a three-minute pre-championship game show brought fans and TV viewers into the “F4th Dimension” with a pulse-boosting countdown that called up all the emotion and passion of elite European basketball while raising the excitement volume right before the deciding game of the season.

The memorable showcase brought fans from far and wide right to center court to live the buzz of that championship moment as if they were in the arena themselves.

The BEA World distinctions mark the second time that Euroleague Basketball and Filmmaster have collaborated on award-winning Final Four pre-game shows after their efforts won the third-place honor at the 2019 ceremony in the category of “Best Sports Events”.