Carlos Sainz will switch on more than 13 million Christmas lights in Madrid with a 3D and AI show at Cibeles Palace

This weekend, Madrid will officially open the Christmas season: the switching-on of the city’s lights has been entrusted to two-time world rally champion Carlos Sainz. The central event will be a video mapping display on the façade of the Palacio de Cibeles, where light, sound and 3D graphics will come together in a colourful show entitled The Energy of Christmas.

The projection will take spectators from cosy domestic lights to the lively streets of the city, showing how the Christmas spirit fills Madrid. Fourteen powerful projectors and more than 150 specialists will be used for the show, and artificial-intelligence technology will help create hyper-realistic effects.

After the video mapping display, the city mayor and Carlos Sainz will press the button that will switch on more than 13 million LED lights across the capital. The illumination will cover every neighbourhood in Madrid and promises to surprise both Madrileños and tourists in the coming weeks.