Lighting

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03 October 2025

USA - The Weeknd has become the first major touring artist in North America to use GLP’s Mad Maxx CW searchlights – on his long running After Hours til Dawn world tour, which is set to run until August 2026.

The artist’s long-term LD, Jason Baeri, had been an early adopter of the powerful fat-beam LED fixture, with its massive 750mm beam diameter, when he specified a pair of heads for the Canadian artist’s grand walk-on at this year’s Grammy Awards back in February. “But this time, the deployment was very different,” he states. “For the Grammys we just needed something that had an awesome amount of power behind it, without having to deploy 20 different fixtures. The Mad Maxx was the most effective tool for the Grammys, whereas this time we are taking advantage of the considerable throw, and the nature of this being a giant sky-tracki

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03 October 2025

USA - An Avolites Ai media server is at the heart of the new lighting installation that wraps both towers at Las Vegas landmark, the Rio Hotel & Casino.

This is being used to map, help control and schedule over three miles – and 351,032 pixels – of ‘illuminative possibility’, designed by the creative lighting team of Chris Kuroda and Andrew ‘Gif’ Giffin, using Clear LED’s X-Bar 25mm product which wraps 360 degrees around the buildings.

Well-known for their work as live music and entertainment lighting designers, Chris and Gif programmed a series of cues, scenes and sequences that run automatically.

Ruben Laine from Australia and US-based Creative Integration Studio was asked to devise a control solution that treated video as lighting.

This involved outputting lighting in a video-centric format, enabling micro-managea

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03 October 2025

Italy - SPACE - originally founded in Ibiza - brought its experience to Italy in 2024 with the launch of an open-air venue. Now, after completing its second season, the venue has firmly established itself as one of Europe’s most technologically advanced destinations. The club chose to partner with Claypaky when installing a permanent IP66-rated lighting system.

Designed specifically for the demands of a fully open-air venue operating during the summer season, the new lighting setup transforms SPACE into the SPACE Festival, a format that merges electronic music, artistic performances, and immersive technology. The 2025 season, which opened on 2 June and concluded on 30 August, featured internationally artists including Carl Cox, Gigi D’Agostino, Peggy Gou, Tale of Us, Marco Carola, and Charlotte de Witte, attracting a cosmopolitan crowd and deliv

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03 October 2025

Hungary - Sziget is staged on the Óbudai-sziget (Old Buda Island) in Budapest, an island on the Danube, a short distance from the city centre. The island is transformed into the ‘Island of Freedom’ community for the six-day duration of the event.

Robe moving lights were prominent on several major stages this year, including the Bolt Night Stage supplied by Light Positive with some fixtures that were a new investment, The Revolut Stage supplied by VEG Europe, and the Main Stage, supplied by Colossal.

Robe’s distributor AVL Trade organised a backstage area and tech hub for all crew, creatives and others working BTS across the site, which included the Avostream mobile demo vehicle, a comprehensive merch cabin, bar and chilling zone under the trees adjacent to the Night Stage backstage village. Up to 60,000 festival fans attended each day.

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03 October 2025

USA - Las Vegas-based designer Jeff Maker set the tone for I Prevail’s Summer of Loud Tour, which united multiple metal giants with pyro effects positioned upstage, mid-stage, and downstage.

Throughout I Prevail’s shows on the tour, the fiery effects underscored the core character of the band’s performance. Nevertheless, Maker was careful to arrange the pyro units so they did not block the lighting, which he saw as essential to “sculpting the band differently from song to song.”

“Light angles played a big role in setting moods and moments throughout this design,” said Maker. “By shifting between uplighting, side lighting, and crowd lighting, I could sculpt the band differently from song to song. I felt that it gave the show a dynamic flow and kept the visual storytelling evolving.”

Colour also helped shade the mood

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02 October 2025

USA - Elation Lighting has acquired the X-Laser brand and assets and launched X-Laser USA, a new independent company that will continue operating under the X-Laser name.

Founded in the US, X-Laser has become one of the most recognised high-powered entertainment laser manufacturers in North America. The company is known for its FDA-varianced safety systems, advanced optics, and engineering excellence.

X-Laser USA will operate from the X-Laser facility in Laurel, Maryland, led by general manager Adam Raugh, a 20-year engineering expert in laser manufacturing and regulatory compliance. The Maryland location, which serves as X-Laser’s R&D and production hub, will also serve as a US manufacturing site for select Elation products, as well as an East Coast service centre for Elation.

X-Laser’s professional laser series - both existing and fu

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01 October 2025

UK - A smartly executed production by Limited Edition Event Design helped create the glamour for the world premiere of Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning at London’s Leicester Square. For technical support and lighting, Limited Edition Event Design turned to its frequent collaborator, Milton Keynes-based IPS.

Helping to ensure that that the star-studded premiere was shown in the best light for the sizable live crowd, as well as for the many fans who watched broadcast and other media coverage of the event, IPS relied on 530+ Chauvet Professional fixtures and panels that were positioned throughout the site.

Included in this collection were over 460 REM 3IP LED video panels. Displaying evocative images from the film and its stars, the panels were positioned across a 50m main platform, as well as on-branding walls around a custom-built f

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01 October 2025

Germany - 100 ADJ fixtures were deployed by production companies Laserframe and Creative Sounds Veranstaltungstechnik across two stages at the recent Into The Madness festival in Zülpich.

Vizi Beam RX2 moving heads and Jolt Bar FXIP linear LED fixtures created the effects in the Core arena, while IP65-rated Hydro Beam X12 automated luminaires filled the night sky above the open-air Dunes stage.

Located within a huge ‘big top’ tent, the Core stage at Into The Madness festival 2025 was dedicated to Uptempo and Hardcore dance music. Working collaboratively, Laserframe and Creative Sounds Veranstaltungstechnik were responsible for the complete technical production of the area and pulled out all the stops to create a visual spectacular.

At the centre of the stage was an octagonal truss structure, flanked on each side by mirr

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01 October 2025

USA - Five-time Tony Award-nominated lighting designer Ben Stanton chose 58 Ayrton Diablo S fixtures for Broadway’s Maybe Happy Ending, the South Korean musical about human-like helper-bots who forge a relationship.

Maybe Happy Ending premiered in Seoul in 2016 and has enjoyed many international runs before arriving at Broadway’s Belasco Theatre in September 2024. The production recently won six Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical with Stanton receiving a nomination for his lighting design.

Prior to Maybe Happy Ending, Stanton had used various Ayrton fixtures for concert touring but had not deployed them on theatre projects. For this show he needed “a very small, powerful fixture that could be a workhorse for the design” and Diablos filled the bill.

“I needed a light that would fit nicely

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30 September 2025

Australia - Over 100 industry leaders, movers, shakers and influencers from Australia and New Zealand attended NIDA – The National Institute of Dramatic Art – in Sydney for an official launch event hosted by LSC: The New Home for Robe in ANZ, which represents Robe lighting sales in these key territories.

LSC Control Systems has appointed Darren McLanders as the Robe sales manager for ANZ, filling out a team that now represents a triumvirate of leading brands – Robe moving lights, LSC power and distribution, and Avolites visual control – with stock immediately available for the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Visitors enjoyed the chance to see and learn more about Robe’s latest technologies in a social and creative atmosphere.

They represented all sectors of the entertainment technology spectrum and included lighting and

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30 September 2025

UK - The Lost Estate’s latest production, Paradise Under the Stars, transports audiences to 1950s Cuba; 58th Street immerses them in 1930s New York; and The Great Christmas Feast invites guests into the home of Charles Dickens on Christmas Eve, 1843.

For many years, The Lost Estate has collaborated with lighting designer Peter Small and production electrician James Smellie to bring these ambitious visions to life. Together, they appointed White Light (WL) to deliver the lighting fixtures and technical expertise required to realise these productions.

“It’s not just about installing a show,” explains James. “It’s about installing a world, and one that feels real, responsive, and alive.”

Working in unconventional spaces presents various challenges. With no existing infrastructure, every light, cable, and

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30 September 2025

Belgium - Dry hire company CLUK BV has invested in more than 100 Elation SŌL I Blinders, including accessories, supplied through Elation's exclusive distributor in the country, XLR.

“By choosing Elation as our principal lighting brand and by partnering with XLR as our official distributor, we align ourselves with a portfolio renowned for its exceptional quality, reliability, and global recognition on major tours and productions,” stated Pieter Van de Velde, managing director at CLUK. “XLR strengthens our ability to bring the latest innovations directly to the professionals who rely on us. Together, CLUK and XLR form a strong link in the Elation ecosystem, connecting premium manufacturing with the daily realities of production companies.”

Every SŌL I Blinder will leave the CLUK warehouse in Zulte with its full set of accessories included as

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30 September 2025

UK - Audio-visual production and broadcast specialist Hire Frequencies has been appointed official production partner for Event Buyers Live 2025. Alongside this new partnership, the company has expanded its technical inventory and strengthened its roster of agency collaborations.

Hire Frequencies will support Event Buyers Live 2025 (EBL25), helping deliver the event’s growing reputation as a marketplace for the live events industry. The company also partnered with Identity to provide full production support at a major live event featuring a Red Arrows flypast.

Hire Frequencies recently expanded its portfolio with the Uniview UR Pro 3.9 outdoor LED video wall. The UR Pro offers ultra-lightweight durability, outdoor IP rating, and design potential, making it suitable for immersive brand activations and large-scale outdoor e

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30 September 2025

USA - LightParts Inc. has welcomed Patti Mokry back to the team. Patti started at LightParts in 2014 and will again be handling sales and rentals.

Robert Mokry, CFO and co-owner of LightParts says: “We couldn’t be happier to have Patti return to the LightParts family. She brings a wealth of experience and a great reputation in the industry to the gig. As LightParts expands more and more into sales and repair of lighting equipment, Patti’s knowledge and skills will play a key role in that growth.”

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29 September 2025

Germany - In July, Duisburg’s Wedau Stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2025 FISU World University Rhine-Ruhr Games. Built in 1921 and with a capacity of 31,500, the stadium hosted over 9,000 athletes from more than one 150 competing countries. The Games are the largest congregation of sporting elite after the Olympics. This year, venues were used across the Rhine-Ruhr area from Bochum, Essen, Mülheim An Der Ruhr, Hagen as well as Berlin and Duisburg itself.

Lighting designer Arkin Atacan had already experienced working with some of the team from the Rhine-Ruhr Games before they invited him to work on the full design production for the opening and closing ceremonies. “The ceremony events have evolved enormously in the last decade and I was excited to get involved in this,” he says.

“The brief was to design a production

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29 September 2025

The Netherlands - The band Kane made a powerful return to the stage in 2024/2025, entertaining fans across the Netherlands with a series of memorable live shows. Central to the visual impact of the tour was a bold and dynamic lighting design – brought to life almost entirely using Highlite products.

The lighting setup was supplied by HighliteRent, commissioned by ARF&YES, and featured a robust selection of fixtures designed to deliver both power and precision. The touring rig included: 20 x Infinity iW-1941 RDM, 56 x Showtec Stage Blinder Flex Blaze, 10 x Infinity Raccoon S420/4 and 36 x Infinity Raccoon P14/4.

During their show at Park City Live in Heerlen, the main stage also featured a fixed installation using 22 x Infinity Furion H402, six Infinity Furion P602 and six Infinity Furion S602.

The lighting design was created by Jarmo de

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29 September 2025

USA/Europe - Soft field light has long been delivered through classic Fresnel fixtures, but with the industry’s shift to LED technology, designers have sometimes found themselves missing the vintage look that Fresnels brought to the stage. When it comes to achieving that more poignant feel, award-winning lighting designer Paul ‘Arlo’ Guthrie often turns to Elation’s Fuze Wash 500.

“I love that the Fuze Wash 500 has a Fresnel lens, which is a look I’ve really missed since the shift to LED wash fixtures,” Guthrie shares. “I love having a homogenised soft light look right at the source which feels mildly nostalgic.”

The Fuze Wash 500 is a full-spectrum LED Fresnel moving head that emulates the signature look of a traditional Fresnel.

In 2025, Guthrie has used it on three high-profile productions: Finneas’ For Cryin’ Out Lou

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29 September 2025

Australia - The Cat Empire brought their new studio album, Bird in Paradise, to life on stage this August and September.

Melbourne-based Atlas Studios, comprising Matt Jones and Thomas Herterich, delivered an original lighting design on a limited budget.

“We have always been given a lot of free rein with The Cat Empire,” commented Jones. “Among ourselves, however, we wanted to deliver a design that was different from the other designs we had done for them in the past.”

The design that Atlas Studios needed to create was a touring package that could be easily toured and fit into a wide range of venues around Australia. The touring package design they settled on needed to meet the usual common criteria for many Australian touring bands - it had to be budget-friendly, easily accessible in all states around Australia, and it neede

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26 September 2025

Hungary - Budapest was energised into a canvas of drama, colour, excitement, and storytelling in one of Europe’s finest mixed-media spectaculars to celebrate its National Day on 20 August. The 35-minute timecoded show involved monumental projection, lasers, lighting, drone shows and a massive firework display over the Danube.

Visual Europe Group (VEG) was the event’s main technical supplier, providing sound, lighting, lasers, video walls, projection mapping, and a large-scale drone show for this extensive main city centre site along both sides – Buda and Pest – of the river.

Robe moving lights, iBolts, iFortes and iForte LTXs, once again played a significant role in illuminating four key architectural elements – the 118m-wide Hungarian Parliament Building, the Hungarian National Gallery, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge and Elisabeth Bridge.

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26 September 2025

US - One of the most keenly anticipated follow-up movies this autumn is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. In this mockumentary comedy film, again directed by Rob Reiner, the band reunites after a 15-year break for one final concert.

As the action moves to New Orleans, it is for this concert - which took place at the City’s Lakefront Arena - that vastly experienced lighting designer Mike Baldassari and his programmer Mike Appel, charged 24 of GLP’s original JDC1 hybrid strobes with performing a multiplicity of roles, including setting a colour palette specific to each of the iconic songs.

The convergence of concert and film disciplines is familiar territory for Baldassari, who can cite theatre work, including Broadway, concert touring (Neil Young and Alice in Chains) and a large portfolio of film and television work - including Rock of Ag

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26 September 2025

Europe - Follow-Me has played a crucial role in the lighting design for Diana Ross's Sacred Memories Tour with its Follow-Me 3D system. The spectacular production saw the artist accompanied by a grand symphony orchestra during her summer 2025 appearances in the UK and Europe, with performances featuring classic hits across prestigious arena venues.

The tour presented technical challenges, requiring a lighting design that could complement both the intimate connection between Diana Ross and her fans, while delivering the production values expected from such a performer.

The production team created a concept for arena touring that would feature enhanced production design, integrated video and scenic elements, and would accommodate a full symphony orchestra. Lighting designer Ben M Rogers, working alongside David Horner of Visual Connection, cho

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25 September 2025

Sweden - Jonathan Rikner used the Chauvet Professional Colorado PXL Bar 16 when lighting Swedish hip-hop powerhouse Hov1.

“The original idea for this show was to be able to build rooms of light with emotions,” explained Rikner of NCOAB Productions. “I chose the PXL bar for this reason - it has a nice uniform light output, which really can confine a space. That was in the concept phase, later when I had the rig out for the first time, I played around with different looks and expressions. That’s when I saw that it makes a really nice effect to alternate between horizontal and vertical bars.”

After experimenting with this design concept on different Hov1 shows, Rikner rolled out a full-fledged version of his vision for Hov1’s Farewell Show at Gärdet Stockholm. The record-setting crowd of 52,236 (the previous record was held by Meta

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25 September 2025

USA/Europe - The new Encore DBX from ADJ is designed to create attention-grabbing visuals for concerts, events, and productions. This IP65-rated, full-colour, twin cell audience blinder features a rear reflector illuminated by secondary RGB colour mixing LEDs, adding a distinctive background glow to the fixture’s output.

A pair of potent 150W RGBAW colour mixing LEDs provide the Encore DBX’s main light source, capable of generating an intense output of up to 11,465 lumens in a wide spectrum of colours. Each LED offers independent dimming, colour mixing, and strobing control, providing lighting designers with complete flexibility. The fixture offers variable white colour temperature control ranging from 2700K to 6500K, as well as a Tungsten Control Mode that allows the creation of classic warm white blinder effects. In addition, full colour mixing allows

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24 September 2025

Ecuador - Automotive manufacturer Kia has opened Kia E-Ground in Quito, its first experience centre for sustainable mobility solutions in Latin America. At the heart of this space is an immersive installation designed and integrated by Ecuadorian company Skyluft, which relies on Christie GS Series 1DLP laser projectors to deliver realistic visuals across curved and interactive surfaces.

Covering 1,400sq.m, Kia E-Ground is fully self-sustainable. Its mission is to inspire both the region and the world to move towards a greener future. The permanent exhibition combines innovation and nature to help visitors connect with the importance of sustainability.

The centrepiece is a 27sq.m helical tunnel inspired by the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical pattern that reflects how life unfolds in nature, visible in flower buds, seashells, and galaxies. Inside, v