International. This year a huge lighting montage was prepared for the Eurovision Song Contest held in Stockholm (Sweden). The venue used in the grand finale, the Ericsson Globe Arena, is today the building that contains the largest hemispheric roof in the world. The dome has a diameter of 110 meters (360 feet), and in order to illuminate it, 200 SGM P-5 luminaires were installed.
Swedish lighting designer Fredrik Jönsson first set foot in the Globe Arena 28 years ago while it was being built. The illuminator already imagined at that moment how to properly illuminate this dome. To tell the truth, Jönsson considers the Globe Arena as his home, since it is located practically next to his residence.
Over the years he has illuminated multiple concerts there, but always with the dome hidden among the darkness of the event. For Jönsson, the opportunity to reveal the true immensity of the dome is like a dream come true, despite the challenge involved:
"I've always thought that people didn't realize how really big this dome is, as there are no visual landmarks; only a huge dark void can be seen. But, truth be told, the height from the center of the dome to its apex is greater than the distance from the ground to the highest point in the center of the structure."
In order to illuminate the Globe, it was decided to find out the real dimensions of the dome with laser meters, so that it was possible to create a 3D model as accurate as possible. Jönsson knew about P-5s after having worked with them previously: "I knew perfectly well what a good number of P-5s could offer. I had only used them in small assemblies, but I had no doubt about the impact they could create on a hemispherical roof as large as this."
The P-5 luminaires were installed in pairs along the small technical walkway that is located at the limits of the circumference. Of each pair, one P-5 mounted a 21º lens to illuminate the highest part of the dome and the other used a 43º lens for the lower part. Jönsson comments: "By orienting them, we tried to achieve the greatest possible coverage without seeing the light drop and avoiding over-illuminating the area in which both beams overlapped. The truth is that it looked incredible."
During the Eurovision assembly, Jönsson invited everyone who approached the venue to enjoy the splendid illuminated dome. While the performers performed on stage, the lighting of the dome was kept at minimum levels as the surface with which it is built is extremely reflective. But between themes, the P-5s illuminated the entire dome creating saturated atmospheres of color.
Jönsson concludes: "I am very happy with the final result. In addition, we had a lot of fun with the intensity effects and strobes of the P-5 that animated the dome perfectly, although I must confess that while filming we had to control the dimmer levels."
Before the Eurovision finals it was reported that the Globe sank 35mm to the ground due to the heavy rigging load generated by the audio and lighting mounting. Peter Johansen, CEO of SGM, comments: "We cannot rule out that the 200 P-5s contributed to this, but we are sure that they had a great weight when it came to heating the atmosphere and discovering to the public the true grandeur of the dome."
