Director’s Toolkit of Modern Sports and Stadium Performances

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify the features of the production of sports and stadium mass theatrical performances at the current stage of development of the socio-cultural space and to outline the leading trends in the holding of sports mega-event ceremonies in the context of the specifics of the problems of expanding the director’s tools. Research methodology. The systematic and typological method, the method of analysis and synthesis, the method of art history and comparative analysis were applied. Scientific novelty. The problems of updating approaches to the production of sports and stadium spectacles are considered using the example of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games (director Th. Jolly) and the ceremony of transferring the Olympic flag between the Olympic Games in Beijing and the Olympics in Milan-Cortina 2026 (director M. Balich); the concept of the ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina 2026 by director M. Balich is analysed; the leading trends in modern directing of sports and stadium mass theatrical spectacles are identified. Conclusions. The study revealed that at the current stage of development of the socio-cultural space, the main sources of directorial concepts for sports and stadium mass theatrical performances are the audience’s requests for dynamic, bright, inclusive productions full of new unexpected solutions and the use of innovative digital technologies. Based on the analysis of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris (director Th. Jolly), the Olympic flag handover ceremony between the Beijing Olympic Games and the 2026 Milan-Cortinia Olympics (director M. Balich) and the concept of mass theatrical spectacles of the 2026 Milan-Cortinia Olympic Games, it was found that the main emphasis of the directors was on innovative approaches to the visualisation of the main postulates of the Games, a careful attitude to traditions, the representation of the national identity of the host country, the popularisation of sustainable development, diversity and inclusion. The expansion of the director’s tools is due to the integration of innovative digital technologies that make it possible to create unique immersive environments, enhance the sense of participation, convey the emotions of athletes. Among the characteristic techniques: changing traditional places and forms of holding ceremonies; the use of urban space as a key scenographic background of theatrical spectacle, which is a translator of cultural identity; an appeal to eclecticism and stylisation; the use of immersive and interactive technologies, as well as lighting and video design.