Drake Takes Over the CN Tower in a Blaze of Light
Torontonians looked skyward this week as hometown superstar Drake transformed one of Canada's most iconic landmarks into a massive canvas for a breathtaking projection show. The one-night event featured 75 projectors, a crew of 300 people, and months of meticulous planning — all to bring a jaw-dropping visual spectacle to the CN Tower.
The project, created in collaboration with artist Mohabir, was the kind of audacious creative swing that only a global icon with deep roots in his city could pull off. The result? A dazzling display that lit up the Toronto skyline and stopped pedestrians in their tracks.
How Do You Project onto the CN Tower?
It turns out, projecting onto a 553-metre concrete tower is not exactly simple. The team had to engineer a custom setup involving dozens of high-powered projectors positioned at strategic points around the base and surrounding area. Getting 75 projectors to work in perfect sync — painting coherent, moving imagery across a tapered cylindrical structure — required a level of technical coordination that rivals major concert productions.
The 300-person crew included lighting engineers, digital artists, and logistics specialists, all working through the night to make the vision a reality. According to those involved, months of pre-production went into solving the unique geometric challenges of projecting onto the tower's curved surface.
A Love Letter to Toronto
For Drake, whose entire musical identity is bound up with Toronto — from his early days on Degrassi to the global dominance of OVO Sound — this kind of project reads as a love letter to the city that made him. Using the CN Tower, arguably Canada's most recognizable structure, as a creative medium sends a clear message: Toronto is a world-class cultural capital, and Drake is committed to proving it.
The installation drew comparisons to major international projection art events in Paris, Sydney, and New York — but this one was homegrown, conceived and executed by Canadian talent.
Projection Art Is Having a Moment
The CN Tower show arrives amid a broader surge of interest in large-scale projection art across Canada. Cities like Montreal have long celebrated this art form through events like Montréal en Lumière, and Ottawa's own Lumière festival has brought projection mapping to Parliament Hill and Confederation Park. The medium is increasingly being embraced as a way to activate public spaces and blend technology with community celebration.
Drake's involvement brings a massive pop-cultural spotlight to the format — and could inspire more artists and municipalities to think big about how they use iconic landmarks as creative canvases.
One Night Only
Part of what made the event so compelling was its ephemerality. This wasn't a month-long installation or a ticketed experience — it was a single night, free to anyone who happened to be in the right place at the right time. That spontaneity, combined with the sheer scale of the production, gave the whole thing an almost mythological quality. You either saw it, or you heard about it the next morning.
For Canadians, it's another reminder that world-class art doesn't only happen abroad. Sometimes it lights up the CN Tower overnight.
Source: CBC Top Stories
