Prague's Žižkov TV Tower to re-create Apollo 11 launch with special videomapping show

On July 20, 1969, history was made when the Apollo 11 Lunar Module touched down and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of mankind’s giant leap, and a number of events across the globe will celebrate the mission, including the recent documentary Apollo 11, which just screened at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

In Prague, a most unique event will take place on July 20 at 22:17, when a special videomapping show will be projected onto the Žižkov TV Tower, transforming the local landmark into a shuttle being launched into space.

“On Saturday, July 20 at 10 p.m. and 17 minutes, we will launch the Žižkov TV Tower from Prague,” Filip Liška, who came up with the idea, told local media.

“[The Žižkov TV Tower’s] design is similar in shape and size to the original Apollo 11 launcher, from which astronauts embarked upon the first landing on the Moon’s surface on July 20, 1969.”

The videomapping show will faithfully recreate the Apollo 11 launch, which took place on July 16, 1969, through its journey to the moon and back to Earth on July 24.

A lineup of events leading up to the projection will take place from 19:00, with a series of concerts, lectures, interviews and workshops at Mahlerovy sady, the park adjacent to the Prague TV Tower. Following the videomapping show, a special film screening will begin at 22:30. Admittance to the event is free of charge.

If you can’t make it on the 20th, the organizers plan to repeat the videomapping show on the TV Tower the following night, July 21, at the same time.

This isn’t the first time the Žižkov TV Tower has been launched into space.

In 2015, carmaker Škoda created a series of videos that captured the TV Tower taking off like a rocket for a promotional campaign to promote a new generation of their Škoda Superb vehicle. The videos quickly became a viral hit: