LIGHTS OF HOPE Olympiacos FC event – Karaiskaki Stadium | Piraeus | Greece | July 19th, 2020

Tim Dowdall

I have had the pleasure to work with Asteris Kutulas over a period of thirty years, starting way back in the 1980s. We cooperated on numerous major productions all over the world often with extraordinary success. I have also witnessed during this time how, in his parallel life, he has realized his many book, film and art projects.

In his „Lights of Hope“ project for Olympiacos FC in the summer of 2020, Asteris Kutulas combined art and sport in a visionary concept, giving Olympiacos Piraeus and the football world a wonderful gift. It became very clear at this event that Asteris Kutulas is not only a very experienced producer, but also an inspired and inspirational filmmaker.

Asteris Kutulas wrote a detailed script for the event, using Ross Ashton’s fantastic projections, Achilleas Gatsopoulos’s and Daniel Brune’s graphic laser projections, and the live act with children’s choir and DJ, to build an emotional work of art celebrating the Olympiacos team and their fans. As the basis for what he calls his „liquid staging concept„, Asteris Kutulas chose music by Marios Joannou Elia that gives the impression of having been created especially for the event. Asteris Kutulas fused all of these elements together with the impressive lighting design of George Tellos. The result is simply sensational.

In addition, I know from my own experience what it means to produce such a project in just two weeks, and moreover under pandemic conditions. For this superhuman effort, my respect goes to Asteris Kutulas and all those involved.

Tim Dowdall, Berlin
Impresario | One-time Executive Vice President Live Nation Central and Eastern Europe (2005-2013)

Knut Foeckler: „A digital orchestration – right into the hearts of millions of viewers“

In a time, when pandemic has become another word for limitation and frustration, a team around Asteris Kutulas has created a masterpiece of multifaceted performance bringing joy into the hearts of so many football lovers. When the heroes of Olympiacos, the Piraeus based football club, had won the Greek Super League mid 2020 for the 45th time, they wanted to share their victory with all their fans. But the pandemic got in their way. However, the marketing management of Olympiacos had a spontaneous idea. They called Asteris Kutulas and asked him to do the mission impossible: He was asked to create a breathtaking event that conveyed the electrifying atmosphere of a football stadium – but without audience – and to have it ready to roll within 3 weeks‘ time.

He agreed and created a convincing concept within a few days. He pulled the best of the best together and sweating under their Covid Masks they orchestrated a „liquid staging“, projections, laser motion design, fireworks, live acts, music and much more to finally create „Lights of Hope“. Kutulas directed an international team of top talents to present a masterpiece sending the joy of a victorious football team and a light ray of hope into the world that has been darkened too long by the pandemic.

Knowing Asteris for many years, I was convinced that he would master the mission impossible, when he told me about the project sometime in July 2020. I have seen so many fantastic productions coming out of his experience and creativity. He is a master of show orchestration, music dramaturgy, stage design, concept art, and many other disciplines that make an event a great event. I was very touched when I saw „Lights of Hope“ – a fusion of football enthusiasm, art, and TV show. I hope to see many more of his creations in the future.

Prof. Knut Foeckler, Munich
Founding Member & Professor Service Management – Cologne International School of Design | Honorary Professor Cultural and Media Management – Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin | Former Managing Director Marketing Philip Morris – Munich | Former Executive Vice President Deutsche Telekom AG – Bonn

Nana Trandou

I have seen, and see again in “Lights of Hope”, an urgency, a self-sacrificing effort, a focus of the highest degree in Asteris’ work. Yet, it is not this drive or passion which fascinates me, but rather the meanings and concepts that incite such complete focus on giving to others, which must be noted. Asteris is using his mastery in stage-production techniques to share an idea which he holds within himself, making this project of the highest level of Stage- Production and Art simultaneously. Such ideas, having given Asteris meaning, purpose, inspiration etc. now seem to drive him, at all costs, to giving it back to the World.

… In this work, Asteris masterfully assists us in witnessing the Olympiacos team as the present embodiment of the faith and achievement which is the intended result of the mythological messages their emblem boasts. They represent all such message-passing, “Lights of Hope” in any circumstances, and it is the Artist’s job (accomplished superlatively) to guide us to comprehending that truth ourselves; to finding the message implied in the action of the team, and how and why we should do the same …

Nana Trandou, Athens
Former CEO of DiDi Music SA | Founder, owner and CEO of High Priority Promotions PC, Greece Concert and Festival Promoter

Mike Finkelstein

2020 will always be remembered as stumbling block in the sport and music industry.

This year, when the majority of events in sport and music were cancelled or postponed worldwide, the Olympiacos 45th championship ceremony in Piraeus was a surprising and unexpected exception.

When I first watched the video – LIGHTS OF HOPE – I could not believe my eyes. Who would have thought this show could be possible in this very dull and pessimistic 2020 year?

A message transmitted from Piraeus to the Olympiacos FC community and to the world was a message of hope and optimism. LIGHTS OF HOPE – the name of the ceremony – is the exact description of brining this message into the world.  

And we see the result – the unforgettable, created in no time, show in the full of art and emotions stadium transmitted to the entire world. I really hope we will see more shows like that created by Asteris Kutulas in the years to come.

Mike Finkelstein, Hadera (Israel)
CEO MAFTEX Light & Multimedia Solution

Lisa Schaft

In July 2020, the Greek soccer club Olympiakos Piraeus won against local rival AEK Athens and became the Greek champion for the 45th time. The pma magazine reported on this in a nicely edited article in connection with the double event LIGHTS OF HOPE. In this report, it becomes clear how the director and show designer Asteris Kutulas was called to Athens only three weeks before the event and set up a spectacular double event.

Lisa Schaft, Editor for the pma magazine, Germany

Alexander Strizhak

LIGHTS OF HOPE for Olympiacos Piraeus was a very spectacular event. An effective and impactful use of all technical possibilities, a huge video screen with fantastic projections, unique laser graphics, a very well used light show, impressive pyro and special effects, a children’s choir as a human element. The LIGHTS OF HOPE show created a strong emotional involvement in the action on the stadium field. I have seen many stadium productions before – Asteris Kutulas as an experienced director managed to stage this TV show breathtakingly and to convey the celebration of the victory of the Olympiacos football club in a unique way: he combined tradition, symbolism, music, sport, passion, and a modern staging in the stadium of Olympiacos FC.

Alexander Strizhak
Owner and Managing Director
JSA Europe / Stage Company
Latvia/Riga & Ukraine/L’viv & Kyiv

Giovanni Broccu

Producing such an event as LIGHTS OF HOPE for Olympiacos Piraeus FC requires not only courage, but also a high level of intelligence, know-how, as well as a great deal of creativity and professionalism. I have had the privilege of working with Asteris Kutulas on various projects, so I know what I am talking about. We concert and tour promoters and festival organizers can often only be compared as „choir boys“ compared to those who realize such events.

Giovanni Broccu
Concert Tour Promoter & Festival Organizer
Kultur Depot GmbH, Herten, Germany
Sardinia Entertainment Srl, Posada, Italy
Art & Craft Ltd, London, United Kingdom

Olympiacos´ Lights of Hope – Interview des pma Magazins mit Asteris Kutulas