We experience the world through a multidimensional lens. The ways we interact with each other, conduct business and entertain ourselves are in a constant state of evolution. At the forefront of this transformation is technology: birthing new realities, expanding perception and shaping societal change.

Global connectivity is bringing communities closer together. We no longer need to transport ourselves across the globe to share ideas, laugh and dance together. Hybrid events take the real-world experience to the next level by tapping into our multiple senses; incorporating physical surroundings, while satisfying our urge to move from one platform to the next and digest fast-moving multimedia content. This creative approach is adaptive to developing human behaviour, and encourages users to experience multiple points of interest.

When blending two worlds to orchestrate a hybrid event experience, it’s important to add context, and create a vibe for audiences across both physical and digital spaces to share. Seeing people have fun in a physical environment is contagious. When you compare this to watching performances in stadiums with empty seats, the atmosphere just isn’t the same. The key is being able to pull these elements together, to create an experience that is equally enjoyed by both the physical and virtual audience in equal measure.

Creatively blending points of interaction

The best hybrid events will not only capture all the live-action for audiences at home, but will also incorporate them into the experience. Adding screens into physical event locations will give both types of event audiences a portal into each other’s experience, and allow them to digitally crossover through points of engagement. Audience members can all enjoy the same multimedia content and compete against each other in digital games. Interactive elements like food delivery enable people to dine together, and photo booths will capture friends having fun across multiple locations.

Transforming the Eurovision Song Contest into a virtual world

The Eurovision Song Contest is the largest international televised music competition, having run annually (with the exception of 2020) for 65 years. Eurovision has been a launchpad for music superstars like ABBA, Céline Dion and Lordi, and it keeps growing in popularity each year. A total of 52 countries have participated at least once in the song contest, 20,000 people attend in person and an additional 182 million tune in across the globe to watch the broadcast. 

The Eurovision Village is what makes the event extraordinary: this is the place where fans meet up to enjoy the music, socialise and embrace the good vibes. This year Dept has collaborated with Rotterdam Festivals and entertainment agency Tribe Company to create a groundbreaking virtual experience; the first of its kind in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. The unique 3D world was designed for an international audience to enjoy the festival’s electric atmosphere and virtually cruise through iconic places in Rotterdam.

Renske Satijn, Director of Rotterdam Festivals, explains:  “We are extremely proud of the very first online Eurovision Village and the versatile programme. Everyone is welcome, and we are open 24/7, free of charge. I am happy that with the help of a next-level event experience it is also possible to give visitors a festival feeling through a mix of performances, tours and content that you won’t want to miss. It is a special project, and one that we were able to accomplish at a rapid pace together with the Dept and Tribe Company team.”

Designing an experience for everyone

The move to digital opens the Eurovision Village up to millions of visitors around the world. Creating a 3D experience entices discovery, encouraging people to lose themselves in the live-action in the Ahoy arena, where the Eurovision Song Contest is held, as well as explore a number of historic Rotterdam buildings. The inclusiveness and welcome feeling that Eurovision gives its fans is also reflected in the fully accessible digital platform. By adding semantic elements over the 3D canvas, the website can be used with screen-readers and without a pointer device. The contrast between the colours is also large enough for people with colorblindness to access.

To ensure everyone around the world can enjoy the experience, and to handle the large volume of traffic expected, the platform is hosted in multiple regions, and is supported by a cloud-based fallback infrastructure.

Continuing to push creative boundaries

The future of events is more complex than just being hybrid. Increasingly we will see more blurring of the physical and digital worlds; for example combining a physical stage with an interactive digital world. The rapid acceleration of technology and changing human behaviour is leading to extended and mixed reality. Combining environments such as augmented reality, augmented virtuality, virtual reality, and mixed reality, as well as reality itself, will make it possible to immerse ourselves in a different world. Imagine having the ability to instantly manipulate the world around you into whatever you want, without the limitations of space or unseen objects.

Suddenly, it won’t matter where people are in the physical sense, because they can meet and interact in an entirely new surrounding: the metaverse. The concept of living in a virtual world started in gaming and is on its way to becoming mainstream with social platforms developing these universes to be more accessible.

The possibilities within the metaverse are hugely exciting. From the moment you wake up and put on your smart glasses, you can instantly see notifications and organise your day based on diary notifications, traffic or the weather. You can go on to command your morning coffee via a voice assistant or jump on your spin bike and tour the French Alps.

This may seem futuristic, but all of the technology is presented in front of us. As creative leaders, we have the opportunity to unleash this new realm and pave new pathways for brands and mass event organisers to take experiences to the next level.