“Honoring Heroes with a Moment Built for the World”
The Mission
Transform the Atlanta Falcons’ Salute to Service game into a cinematic, once-in-a-lifetime pregame experience that honored U.S. military service members in a way that was unmistakably Falcons — bold, emotional, and unforgettable — while also wowing national broadcast audiences and 70,000+ fans inside the most advanced stadium in the world at that time.
What Ignition Delivered
- Full concepting + creative direction
- Live broadcast & studio production
- Artist booking & performance management
- Halo, Mega-column & ribbon content creation
- Stage design, show calling & technical production
Ignition produces opening production number and video lead-in and PATRIOTIC impact content for halo-board and live production
The Moment
Ignition produces opening video lead-in, impact content for the halo-board, networks and live production.
Angelica Hale stepped into the spotlight, delivered Rise Up with astonishing soul, and held the entire stadium — and national broadcast — in absolute silence.
Repelling out of the stadium roof, soldiers from Ft. Benning fast-roped 300 feet carrying the American flag, descending like true heroes with a game ball hand-off to Falcons exec (and veteran), Steve Cannon, just as the National Anthem cue hit.
It was goosebumps. It was bigger than football. It was everything Salute to Service should be.
The Results
- National broadcast segment for the NFL and Atlanta Falcons “Salute to Service”
- Viral moment shared across Falcons & NFL digital
- Thousands of in-stadium fans moved to standing ovation
- Military partnership highlighted in a fresh, modern, emotional way
Ignition Media Group was honored to design and deliver a moment that didn’t just open an NFL Game Day Broadcast —
It Ignited a Nation’s Pride!
Angelica Hale Performance
Atlanta Falcons “Salute to Service”
Pre-production planning and creative
Ignition’s Game Plan
With Forbes calling Mercedes-Benz Stadium “the game-changer” and “euphoric” for fan experience, our job was to deliver a pregame moment worthy of that hype — emotionally powerful, visually massive, and technically flawless.
We originally developed a concept featuring GRAMMY-winner Andra Day performing her anthem “Rise Up” from the soaring Sky Bridge, high above the field with downtown Atlanta glittering behind her. But as any great partner (or coach) knows: audibles win championships.
When a scheduling conflict forced Andra out, Falcons leadership suggested a daring pivot: 9-year-old America’s Got Talent phenomenon Angelica Hale, whose viral rendition of “Rise Up” had just captivated the nation and Falcons GM Rich McKay. It was unexpected. It was risky. And it was PERFECT.
RISE UP PERFOMANCE
We scaled the technical staging to support both her comfort and her powerhouse vocal. Ignition hustled Angelica into Capitol Studios in LA to record a track, then flew her straight to Atlanta — no time for dress rehearsals or traditional run-throughs.
Everything had to work on instinct, muscle memory, and sheer heart.
Inside the stadium, we designed original motion graphics and broadcast content that flooded the Halo board, Mega Column, and ribbon displays with patriotic storytelling — featuring real service members, families, veterans, and USO moments — to frame Angelica’s performance with meaning.
RISE UP PERFOMANCE
For the climactic finale, the aerial acrobats drop from their silks in a dramatic “death spiral” as a pyrotechnics waterfall rains down behind Andra Day and Angelica Hale. A voiceover concludes the Opening Night Spectacular…
RISE UP PERFOMANCE
AMBSE CEO Steve Cannon
Honoring 280 Fallen Heroes | Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
Never Forgotten | Steve Cannon, Chief Executive Officer of the AMB Sports + Entertainment, reads the names of 280 Fallen Heroes as the Falcons honor their memory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Ignition was engaged in the final year of the Stadium’s Construction to help plan and launch the worlds most sophisticated stadium.
“The $1.5 billion HOK-designed Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a game-changer. It eclipses all other NFL venues, event stadiums including Minneapolis and Dallas.
Totally customized, it elevates the fan experience to euphoric levels for all events within” Forbes
