Earlier this year, mobile operator EE announced a partnership with the home of the England national soccer team, Wembley Stadium. The six-year deal includes the installation of "state-of-the-art technologies" at the stadium. Amongst these is an LED lighting system that will illuminate the stadium's arch based on fan sentiment on social media.
At a time when England's disillusionment with its national team has seen attendance at Wembley drop to an all-time low, one can't help but wonder just what a sentiment-powered lighting display will look like and whether or not it will help to brighten up the on-pitch performances.
Nonetheless, the arch features 228 large-scale LED floodlights that, according to EE, are able to create millions of color combinations. As well as reacting to sentiment on social media, the lighting will react to other factors, such as goals being scored and crowd noise.
In addition to the new arch lighting, EE has increased 3G and 4G connectivity at Wembley with the installation of two new mobile antennas and has updated its stadium app. Users of the app can now view a live-stream of the arch, read aggregated social media content and send messages to the big screen. There are also plans to upgrade the stadium to a 300 Mbps network, launch contactless ticketing and payments systems, and trial in-seat ordering for food and drink.
The new arch lighting was unveiled last night at a ceremony to mark the start of the stadium's technology roll-out.
The video below shows the Wembley Stadium arch lighting in action.
Source: EE