The Big Screen at Fed Square has had a major high-tech makeover, sharpening one of Melbourne’s most recognisable public screens while opening it up to a new generation of artists, community groups and independent creators.
For more than two decades, the screen has been a backdrop to some of the city’s biggest shared moments. Since it launched in 2002, Melburnians have gathered beneath it for major sporting events, cultural occasions and appearances from international stars including Oprah and Robbie Williams.
It also played a role in the 2008 National Apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Now, eight years after its last major upgrade, Fed Square has transformed the screen again—this time, pairing a sharper picture with new possibilities for creators to share their work with the city.
2.6 million pixels, 116 square metres
The new Big Screen packs 2.6 million pixels across 116m² of high-resolution LED display.
Its new ultra-wide rectangular format is designed to give programmers greater flexibility, allowing community groups, artists, presenters and industry partners to experiment with different configurations and create more dynamic public experiences.
The new format follows a widely used industry standard, meaning independent creators can produce and supply content for the screen without having to make complex technical adaptations.
In practical terms, that lowers one of the barriers to getting work in front of a huge public audience at one of Melbourne’s highest-profile gathering places.
For Fed Square, the upgrade turns the Big Screen from a giant display into a more accessible public canvas for Melbourne’s creative community. “The Big Screen has been part of some of Melbourne’s biggest shared moments for more than two decades, and this upgrade ensures it can continue to play that role well into the future,” says Fed Square Director & CEO Katrina Sedgwick.
“Importantly, we’re also opening more doors for independent creators, community groups and partners to bring their ideas to Fed Square, and showcase their work to new, highly engaged audiences.”
A more accessible public screen
The changes also bring an accessibility upgrade, with an in-picture interpretation window now available across events, films and other programming.
It sits within a broader rethink of the precinct’s digital infrastructure. Fed Square has upgraded the digital display on the side of Transport Hotel facing Flinders Street Station and installed a new screen beneath the Fed Square stage canopy.
Together, the screens create a more connected digital network across the precinct, giving community groups, local government, artists and brands new ways to communicate with audiences gathered in the Square.
24 years later, Melbourne’s Big Screen is still drawing people together in the heart of the city. The difference now is that the audience may have more to see—and more of Melbourne’s independent creative community may have a chance to put something up there.
