Asian Champions Trophy 2023 | Watch Chennai’s iconic Ripon building light up to celebrate hockey

Witness a light show on the iconic Ripon building to promote the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023. From 7-11pm, enjoy a mesmerizing display of lights, patterns and colors.

When writer Shalin Maria Lawrance was heading to the beach two days ago, she saw a spectrum of dots on the iconic Ripon building on Raja Muthiah road. A small team was setting up lights that evening but she was unsure about what to make of it.

“I love catching a glimpse of the Ripon building when we drive by. It is majestic. The way it is lit at night adds charm to the place. On August 9 though, my family and I were captivated by the unexpectedly beautiful projections on the wall. For about half an hour, we stood transfixed, watching a wonderful light show with patterns and a variety of colours. It was then that I realised that it was to promote the hockey tournament happening in the city,” she says.

Shalin says the empty roads in the night helped her and several others, including migrant workers and auto rickshaw drivers who dot the city’s nightscape, take their minds off their day. A perfect end, if you may. “Everyone should watch it at least once,” she says.

Member Secretary, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), J Meghanatha Reddy says that this light show has been an effective way to promote the Asian Champions Trophy which ends on August 12. The show will go on between 7pm and 11 pm at the building until the tournament ends.

“Hockey is back in Chennai after 16 years and the best six teams from around the world are here to play. A minimum of a million people cross the Greater Chennai Corporation building each day. We realised that it would provide them a different viewing experience and help hockey get noticed quickly,” he says. For the 44th Chess Olympiad that took place in Chennai in 2022, the organisation projected the mascot of the tournament ‘Thambi’ on the walls. This, however, is a far more elaborate affair.

Anitha Ravichandran, chief operations officer of Flynet Technologies, says that her organisation was able to quickly set up the projection mapping for the building because of its large, vintage canvas. She adds, “Besides looping videos of the women mascot of Indian hockey and the promotions for the tournament, we have peppered the viewing with lights, patterns and colours to look soothing.”

Head to the Ripon building on Raja Muthiah road between 7 and 11pm on August 11 and 12 to catch the light show.