A total of 232 Robe moving lights – including 80 x BMFL Blades, 70 x LEDWash
1200s, 84 x Pointes and 8 x LEDWash 300s – were part of an exciting and colourful
opening ceremony for the new 415 million euro Grande Stade de Lyon in France.

Lighting designer Tony Anzalone was working for Lyon based GL events Audiovisual,
who co-ordinated and supplied the high profile event’s technical production.

The 60,000 capacity stadium will be the home of Ligue 1 football team Olympique
Lyonnais (OL) as well as hosting concerts and other sporting events including the
upcoming European Rugby Champions Cup Final in May.

The grand opening show featured a high energy son et lumiere with a cast of 1500
people culminated in a show-stopping performance by popular US rapper will.i.am.

GL events Audiovisual’s head of lighting Alexandre Trapon asked Anzalone to create
the high-impact lighting scheme and specification, and he decided that 90% of the
lighting rig would be made up from Robe products.

The BMFL Blade was an obvious choice as the luminaire is built for stadium shows
and long throw applications, so it was picked for its immense power, and with the
framing shutters, its ability to focus and highlight very specific areas of the action
on the pitch.

Anzalone used BMFLs last summer on the Patrimonio Guitar Festival in Corsica, and
after that excellent experience was keen to use them again. This time he chose the
BMFL Blade version as the framing shutters “allowed me to precisely follow the flow
of the show unfolding on the pitch’.

The BMFL Blades were positioned on 10 x trusses flown around the perimeter of the
venue’s roof on all four sides and up to 70 metres away from the action taking
place on the pitch below … making the need for a super-bright fixture even more
crucial.

Anzalone added that the units were also extremely quick and easy to programme.
He programmed the show in several overnight sessions onto a grandMA console
which he also ran for the hour long opening show.

The 70 x LEDWash 1200s were also positioned on the flown trusses and used for
general pitch and audience illumination in a wide range of colours, achieving
excellent coverage.

The Pointes were rigged on truss sections on wheels which were pushed into
position around the perimeter of the pitch before the show started. Their piercing
beams and multiple effects added many exciting layers of colour and dynamics to
the action.

Finally the eight LEDWash 300s were on the circular stage / DJ booth in the centre
of the pitch for will.i.am’s energetic performance which went down a storm with the
crowds. The fixtures were chosen for their small size and portability.

The show is one of a number of large and high profile events in France to feature
large numbers of Robe BMFL and Pointes, in a market that has expanded
exponentially in the year since Robe established their own subsidiary.