For NBC Sports Network's Tour de France coverage, we created a broadcast package built around one audacious image: the Arc de Triomphe, wrapped in yellow fabric. Inspired by the environmental art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, we constructed a photorealistic CG replica of the monument – every stone, every relief, every detail true to life – then draped it in simulated cloth referencing the race leader's yellow jersey. The package ran for five years.
Role: Concept. Design. Animation. Editorial.
NBC Sports Network's Tour de France broadcast had survived nearly 15 years of network evolution – from Outdoor Living Network to Versus to NBC Sports. Revamping a tradition older than high school graduates required something more than a refresh. It required scale.
Our solution was to go big – to create an epic visual landscape that matched the 2,200-mile race itself. The centerpiece: the Arc de Triomphe, wrapped in flowing yellow fabric. The color references the maillot jaune – the yellow jersey worn by the race leader. The wrapping was inspired by the monumental environmental installations of Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
We constructed the Arc de Triomphe entirely in CG, from scratch. Every architectural detail – every stone, every carved relief, every coffered panel of the interior ceiling – was modeled to match the real monument. It had to be perfect. The cloth simulation that draped the structure was complex, but the greater challenge was the architecture itself: building a photorealistic replica worthy of one of the world's most recognizable landmarks.
Beyond the wrapped Arc, we developed a full broadcast identity – opener, bumps, transitions, lower thirds, and a 30-second master promo. Environmental elements placed NBC Sports branding into the French landscape at epic scale: flags planted on Alpine peaks, transparent LED screens spanning mountain roads, network logos embedded in town roundabouts. The goal wasn't to replicate actual Tour infrastructure – it was to surpass it. To feel monumental.
The package ran for five consecutive years of Tour de France coverage on NBC Sports Network. And in 2021 – eight years after our broadcast debut – Christo and Jeanne-Claude's estate completed the artist's long-planned installation: the Arc de Triomphe, wrapped in silvery-blue fabric.
In September 2021, the estate of Christo and Jeanne-Claude completed a project the artists had envisioned since 1961: L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped. The monument was draped in 25,000 square meters of silvery-blue fabric and 3,000 meters of red rope, remaining on view for 16 days before being dismantled.
We'd wrapped it eight years earlier – in yellow, in CG, for NBC Sports.
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