'Blown away' - Newcastle United chief reacts as £25m deal celebrated

A sensational light show - entitled ‘We Are One’ - was projected onto the Baltic Flour Mill to celebrate the city, Newcastle United and its fans on the eve of the historic ‘Blaydon Races’ anniversary. It also marked the one-year anniversary of Sela’s £25million-per-season sponsorship of the Magpies.

Showcasing iconic moments from the club’s history, fans watched as Alan Shearer’s unforgettable volley against Everton in 2002 and David Ginola’s wondergoal against Ferencváros in the UEFA Cup in 1996, burst the back of the net on the Baltic. 

Club icon Tino Asprilla was also reimagined somersaulting down the Tyne in celebration of his famous hat-trick against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League in 1997, before fans were fast-forwarded to the present day, with highlights from the current men’s and women’s squads, including Newcastle United Women’s promotion to the Championship earlier this year. 

Thousands people gathered to watch the nine-minute show emblazoned onto the side of the Baltic, which also saw club legend Jackie Milburn projected onto an 18-metre-high wall of water, before looking to the future and closing with shots of Newcastle United’s official shirt for the 2024/25 season on display with the message: “And this is only the beginning.”

It rounds off twelve months of amazing activations from Sela including ‘Unsilence The Crowd’. Sela launched groundbreaking haptic shirts which enabled fans who are deaf or have hearing loss to feel the atmosphere of the crowd for the first time against Tottenham Hotspur in April.

On the eve of the club’s return to Champions League football, Sela also orchestrated a UK-first football-themed drone show above St. James’ Park.

Ibrahim Mohtaseb, Senior Vice President of Sela, said: "We wanted to round off our first year of sponsorship of Newcastle United with an unforgettable night for the city, using Sela’s capabilities as a creator of live events and experiences. We’ve worked hard to understand fan culture and the local community, and it was incredible to see so many thousands of people come down to the banks of the Tyne.

“We hope they enjoyed this special show that celebrated the city, the fans and their club. We wanted to use iconic city landmarks to really bring that to life. Newcastle is a one-club city with such a rich history and an exciting future ahead; last night we were all one together.

“We very much look forward to what the future holds for the club and our partnership. One thing we can be sure of is that as Sela we want to deliver more spectacular experiences for fans to enjoy.”

Peter Silverstone, Chief Commercial Officer at Newcastle United, said: “Over the past 12 months we have been blown away by Sela’s capabilities in delivering spectacular experiences for Newcastle fans. The Club, our fans and the city of Newcastle, will never take these experiences for granted.

“From delivering the unforgettable Champions League drone show to making the St. James’ Park matchday experience more inclusive for members of the Deaf community through launching haptic shirts – Sela has demonstrated that it is a more than simply a ‘sponsor’ on the front of our shirts.

“Within the first year of our partnership, Sela has become entrenched in the local community and continues to create spectacular, purposeful memories that will last the tests of time. Sela has put our supporters at the heart of all their activities and we are so proud to have them as part of our Newcastle United family. Last night we were all one together.”

Sela, the leading live events and experiences company in the Middle East, is known for delivering spectacular experiences at iconic destinations which are enjoyed by millions every year. The show is a demonstration of their commitment to using their capability, experience and innovation to provide unforgettable moments to Newcastle United fans.