Green Hippo’s Hippotizer Media Servers were once again at the core of the annual Nobel Prize banquet at Stockholm’s historic City Hall, delivering elegant 4K projections across the venue’s walls and ceiling for an audience that included Swedish royalty.
Hosted in the iconic Blue Hall and attended by Nobel Laureates, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, and broadcast live on Swedish television, the event is one of the world’s most carefully choreographed ceremonial productions.
For more than a decade, projection and video elements at the banquet have been driven by Hippotizer Media Servers, with Swedish visual specialist Peppe Tannemyr of DigiGobos leading video design and programming.
For the recent banquet, Tannemyr deployed a streamlined projection system built around Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 and Hippotizer Montane+ MK2 Media Servers, configured as primary and backup systems.
Two double-stacked 4K projectors delivered 4K content at 50 frames per second directly onto the building’s textured brick surfaces, while the hall’s bright ceiling effectively served as a giant projection canvas.
Given the scale and prestige of the Nobel banquet, reliability is critical. The production runs live for a global television audience and must operate flawlessly.
“One server runs as the main system and the other as backup,” Tannemyr explained. “We can switch between them instantly if something happens.”
Control was intentionally streamlined, using Stream Deck interfaces and MIDI controllers including Akai units, with timecode triggers from the music used when required. “We projected directly onto the brick walls, and the roof is basically a giant screen,” said Tannemyr. “Hippotizer is a toolbox that never lets you down. Any adjustments can be made quickly and easily, which is essential in a live broadcast environment.”
Among the key features used during programming were Hippotizer’s LiveMask tools, allowing content to be shaped dynamically to the venue’s architecture. Effects such as colour adjustments and blur processing were also used to refine the visual tone.
Additional lighting and video elements complemented the projections. Pixel-mapped LED bars were hidden within the banquet tables beneath floral arrangements, creating subtle twinkling effects across the dining space, while smaller projectors positioned in windows extended the visual atmosphere throughout the hall.
Tannemyr’s involvement with the Nobel festivities stems from a long-running collaboration with lighting designer Per Sundin, who has shaped the lighting design for the banquet for many years.
“For several years I’ve been working with Per Sundin on a variety of productions,” said Tannemyr. “From several Eurovision projects to dramatic theatre productions. When it comes to the Nobel events, he has always relied on us for the video side.”
That collaboration first introduced Hippotizer Media Servers to the event in 2007, and the platform has been a mainstay of the production ever since. “We’ve been involved with the Nobel dinner for many years, and 2007 was the first time we used Hippotizer,” he said. “Since then, whenever video projection or video content is needed at the banquet, it’s been powered by Hippotizer.”
The visual concept for the Nobel Banquet evolves each year. Recently, the production has incorporated a rotating guest designer responsible for the creative direction of the evening’s performance sequences. For the latest event, Swedish visual artist Alexander Wessely developed the artistic concept for the performances.
“In the past, Per and I designed the entire visual package together,” said Tannemyr. “Now we help realize the guest designer’s ideas—planning what’s needed from a video perspective, selecting the equipment, and making sure those creative concepts work within the space.”
The role involves translating creative vision into a technically robust solution within the unique architectural environment of Stockholm City Hall’s Blue Hall — a vast brick-lined space with towering walls and a soaring vaulted ceiling.
Tannemyr recalls one particularly memorable moment from previous productions when projection-mapped “fireworks” exploded across the hall’s ceiling. “Obviously you can’t use real fireworks at a formal dinner with the King, Queen, and Nobel Laureates,” he said. “But using Hippotizer, we were able to create the illusion with projection.”
The moment even caught the attention of broadcast commentators. “It was mentioned on television as ‘amazing projections inside City Hall,’” said Tannemyr.
