Member Article

Imagination and Major League Baseball Unveil Spectacular Live Baseball Experience, the Trafalgar Square Takeover

Major League Baseball (MLB) London Series, Trafalgar Square Takeover, a three-day baseball extravaganza, is coming to London this weekend.

MLB London Series: Trafalgar Square Takeover will see the iconic landmark transformed into the ultimate festival of baseball between June 23-25 to celebrate MLB returning to the UK, as St. Louis Cardinals take on Chicago Cubs in a 2-game series at London Stadium.

MLB London Series: Trafalgar Square Takeover will be an opportunity for fans to experience MLB in the centre of the capital with baseball activities, ballpark food, MLB merchandise and a full programme of entertainment including live screening of MLB World Tour: London Series 2023 presented by Capital One.

Imagination has once again partnered with MLB on this celebration of baseball, creatively responsible for curating and crafting the fan festival experience.

At the heart of the experience sits Home Run Derby X The Cage, a brand new immersive digital baseball experience. The Cage will give visitors a chance to hit home runs in Trafalgar Square in a dimension-defying new baseball game that blends real life and virtual gameplay using the latest ball tracking technology. Located within an epic cage structure, players hit physical baseballs which are digitally visualised across the iconic London skyline, reaching Nelson’s column and beyond.

The interactive nature of this offers a memorable adventure for the new generation of baseball enthusiasts. Opening the London Series weekend on June 23, the showcase match up will feature teams of MLB Legends, Superstars, and Big Hitters, representing the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and St Louis Cardinals, all competing to be crowned Home Run Derby X The Cage Champions.

As well as MLB Legends, other famous faces and big names from the sporting world will take their turn in the Cage over the course of the weekend in explosive 3v3 matchups. The Trafalgar Square Takeover will amplify fan engagement with Home Run Derby X and provide a high-energy live experience offering unique opportunities for digital storytelling. The free-to-attend experience plays out over three days, during which visitors will also be able to watch the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs play out their 130-year rivalry on UK soil via a live broadcast on three large outdoor screens.

Rob Day, Business Director, Imagination said: The “MLB London Series ‘Trafalgar Square Takeover’ is the latest in a series of high-octane in-person MLB fan engagements, a testament to the ever increasing appetite for live cultural experiences. We’re extremely proud of our partnership with MLB and relish the opportunity to work with such brave clients who consistently want to challenge the status quo and defy conventions by reimagining new fan experiences.

The ‘Trafalgar Square Takeover’ is a fusion of experience and culture, an authentic celebration of baseball - featuring the latest baseball experience, Home Run Derby X ’ The Cage’ at its heart. This festival represents the latest collaboration in an eight year partnership, collectively striving to push the boundaries of fan engagement by blending physical and digital fan experiences.“

Ben Ladkin, Managing Director, MLB Europe said: “There will be no missing the MLB London Series when it returns for the first time since 2019. Taking over Trafalgar Square, an iconic London venue, is the perfect representation of the coming together of this uniquely American sport with a growing UK fanbase. Whether you are an existing fan or a total novice, the event - featuring challenges, big screens, global stars and the full ballpark food experience – will have something for you. We’re sure that many fans for life will be created over the course of this unmissable weekend.”

Imagination has been working with MLB since 2016 on developing new baseball formats, with a number of different experiential activities helping the league to test, learn and iterate. Previous events include Europe’s first-ever Home Run Derby (2017), and London Yards (2019) - which ran alongside the historic London Series, redefining the fan experience and captivating new markets and audiences - and Home Run Derby X in 2022.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Business News .