Royal Philips and FC Bayern Munich, the German soccer champions, and their home stadium Allianz Arena, have announced a partnership that will make the stadium the first in Germany and the largest in Europe to feature dynamic animated light shows made possible by energy efficient connected LED lighting.

As part of a three-year agreement, Philips will also become a sponsor of the Allianz Arena and the official lighting partner for FC Bayern Munich.

The 71,137 capacity stadium has a façade comprising the world’s largest membrane outer shell which stands 35m tall and covers roughly 29,000 square meters This will be a gigantic canvas for colored lighting patterns and even animations, giving fans and visitors a unique and unforgettable stadium experience. In the future 380,000 LEDs within 8,000 Philips ColorGraze fixtures will allow the arena to showcase more than just static images. The new LED system will also be 60% more energy efficient than conventional lighting.

“We will expand the palette from three to 16 million colours. There will be plenty of light scenarios possible, with which the Allianz Arena will be able to create unique moods,” Roger Karner, managing director of Philips Lighting in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The partners already developed first design studies and will continue to develop them together with the relevant government departments. This latest innovation from Philips is part of a fully connected lighting network. Every single point of light can be precisely controlled in real-time. Colour gradients and animated interplays of color can even be created from within the 1,056 illuminated segments that make up the facade.

“The new lighting from Philips will allow visitors and TV viewers to feel the full emotion and dynamism of the match from their very first glance,” FC Bayern München AG chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says.

“FC Bayern welcomes Philips, the global player for stadium lighting, to the team,” Executive Board member Andreas Jung says.

“Together we will play to win in the world’s most attractive arena.”

By using controllable Philips LEDs, the stadium will lower the amount of energy it consumes from lighting by around 60%. This amounts to an annual saving of about 362 tons of CO2 . In addition, the long-life of LEDs means less maintenance is required. The LED solution underlines the partner’s support for sustainability in sports and for the region as a whole.