Making the beautiful game unforgettable

The role of light at the world’s biggest football tournament

Two minutes until the final whistle, and the stadium is a whirlwind of emotion. A lone striker runs toward the goal and fires a shot like lightning—and it’s in! The stadium erupts with joy, and the lights burst into action, uniting all the fans in celebration together.

In sports today, experience is just as important as the scoreline. And lighting has become a core element for shaping this experience—it can evoke emotions, create atmosphere, boost engagement, and leave fans with long-lasting memories.

As the world’s most popular sport, football is no exception. In the summer of 2026, fans from all over the world will flock to iconic stadiums across North America to support their national teams and watch their heroes compete in the biggest football tournament on Earth.

At some of these stadiums, like Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and Mexico City’s Estadio Banorte, Signify has provided industry-leading connected lighting installations that go beyond illumination, transforming football games into immersive experiences.

From the parking lot to the playing field

Modern stadiums increasingly resemble entertainment venues rather than purely sporting arenas, and how they’re lit can have a significant impact on how visitors feel. The role of light is no longer limited to ensuring visibility on the playing field—long before a game starts, and until well after it’s over, the stadium experience today is shaped by light.

Illuminating the façade in team colours can strengthen a team’s visual identity while fostering a sense of pride and belonging among fans as they arrive. Getting visitors to engage emotionally at the gates also builds excitement by creating an electrifying atmosphere that begins in the parking lot and accompanies them as they make their way from the exterior to the interior of the stadium.

For venues that can hold tens of thousands of fans, making people feel safe is just as important, and lighting plays a role here too. Well-designed stadium illumination should guide people safely from A to B, helping with crowd flows, wayfinding, and traffic management. Using warmer tones of white light can also reduce the stress and confusion associated with large crowds.

We wouldn’t expect to go and see our favourite musicians play without the lighting playing a part in the event, nor a stage show where the lighting wouldn’t add to the drama.
In a similar manner, the lighting of a sports event, especially a football game where emotions are high, adds so much to the experience of everyone there – from players and officials to fans inside the stadium as well as those watching at home. At SAPCA, we ensure that clubs, governing bodies and schools can rely on our members to deliver the lighting to make their games a success."

Richard Shaw, CEO,

The Sports and Play Construction Association

Using light to intensify the experience

For fans inside the stadium, lighting has become a core element of the entertainment experience as well. Dynamic light shows before kick-off, synchronized goal celebrations, and dramatic player entrances help visitors feel immersed in the action on game day.

At Estadio Banorte in Mexico City for example, coordinated light effects respond to key match events, such as goals, flooding the entire stadium with vibrant, full-colour light, courtesy of 138 Color Kinetics Vaya Flood HP and Vari-Lite fixtures from Signify. Dynamic light scenes like these amplify the emotions on and off the pitch to shape memories that will last forever."

Advanced lighting systems have become standard features in elite sports stadiums. In fact, light is now choreographed in sync with music and video content—with the intention of tapping into the emotions of fans in the same way that a concert or theatrical production does.

World-class lighting for global broadcasts

In addition to creating the ultimate experience for fans in the stands, every stadium that hosts games during the biggest international football tournament needs to ensure the best possible viewing experience for the billions of people watching on TV.

In order to comply with FIFA’s lighting quality standards, Estadio Banorte turned to Signify, world leader in lighting and an official FIFA Preferred Provider for floodlights. The stadium’s installation was meticulously designed to light every inch of the field evenly, featuring 320 Signify ArenaVision LED floodlights that provide 3500 lx of horizontal illumination for excellent visibility, for both players and broadcasters.

Lighting controls in a league of their own

Today, lighting is a fully integrated part of the live entertainment experience, made possible through the use of connected lighting control platforms, like Signify Interact, which centralize and simplify the controls.

Signify Interact allows stadium operators to manage thousands of individual light points simultaneously through a single platform, so that floodlights, façade lighting, entertainment lighting, and architectural systems can all work together in real time to create synchronized experiences."

One of the most significant benefits of centralized control platforms is the ability to orchestrate dynamic lighting scenes at scale. Entire stadiums can transition between different moods in a flash, from pre-match build-up and kick-off to goal celebrations, halftime entertainment, concerts, and post-match shows.

Shaping the fan experience with light

Lighting has become one of the most powerful tools for shaping how fans connect with their favourite sports at live events and on TV.

From the first glimpse of an illuminated stadium façade to the final whistle and post-match celebrations, light now plays a central role in creating atmosphere, intensifying emotion, and bringing people together.

For tournaments watched by billions around the world, every detail matters. Players need world-class visibility, broadcasters require flawless lighting performance, and fans expect unforgettable moments both inside the stadium and on screen.

Connected lighting systems make it possible to deliver all three simultaneously.

In the end, it might seem like just a game, but the emotions are unforgettable.

About the author:

Pedro Pinto

Global Head of Segment, Public

About Signify

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. In 2022, we had sales of EUR 7.5 billion, approximately 35,000 employees and a presence in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We achieved carbon neutrality in our operations in 2020, have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for six consecutive years and were named Industry Leader in 2017, 2018 and 2019. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.

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