The NFL Games London have become a fixture in the sporting calendar. This October, three regular season games came to the capital, two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley, as part of the league’s growing international series.
To celebrate, the NFL Experience London presented by American Express took over Trafalgar Square for two days. This free fan festival brought the NFL to fans of all ages, with a mini NFL Flag field between the fountains, interactive activations, challenges, live music and entertainment.
With the eyes of the NFL’s global audience on the capital, connectivity had to work from the first minute. The production team needed it to run the show. The media teams needed it to stream and broadcast live. And the public and American Express, the main sponsor, expected a great experience.
Wireless Solutions was asked to support the event with a WiFi network that stood up to the prestige of the event.
We were asked to provide the WiFi network across the two-day NFL Games event in Trafalgar Square. It was a high-profile central London site, with a tight window to get everything built, live and taken down again.
Working with TBA and some of the Project 30 team, we quickly built a clear picture of who needed connectivity, where, and for what. We then designed the network around four groups, each with different needs: the production team with media streaming to large-format screens, live cameras that could be monitored, the public, and the main sponsor American Express.
Reliability was key. The event production team was looking for a partner that could seamlessly integrate with the site crew and deliver without distraction.
We allowed enough time for the install, knowing that we were working in a confined space, in collaboration with the full site team. It had to be a collaboration, which was finished in time without rushing.
We delivered a WiFi network to the brief, that supported all users easily with 100% uptime. Streaming to the big screens was continuous without a single glitch, and everybody was happy with the result, and how we delivered the service.
The real testament came from American Express, who told us it was the best WiFi they’ve had across all of their venues globally.
Production, media, the public and the sponsor were all connected throughout, so everyone could focus on the event rather than the technology. Live support was on hand for both days, and the derig was completed once the final fans had left.
We even had a little time to help support some of the other team on the build side!
We’re looking forward to supporting the NFL’s London Games again next year.
Delivering for a global brand and its biggest sponsor in the heart of London has shown what’s possible when the WiFi is designed properly from the start. We know what works, and we’d love to bring that experience to next year’s games.
