Nearly 100 Robe BMFLs – 88 x BMFL Blades and 6 x BMFL Spots – proved invaluable
to Fredrik Jonsson’s lighting design for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest which was
staged in the Globe Arena, Stockholm with a capacity live audience of around
10,000 plus an estimated 180 million television viewers worldwide.

Nothing like a bit of pressure … which Jonsson took in his stride, lighting his second
ESC in three years, having also been LD for the 2013 edition in Malmo. He was also
the lighting operator for the last ESC staged at the Globe Arena … in 2000.

Jonsson’s stunning production lighting design was crafted together with set
designers Viktor Brattstrom and Frida Arvidsson and Mikki Kunttu who designed and
ran all the playback video content as the initial 42 entrants batted it out to be
among the 26 finalists.

The event once again took production, presentation and visual imagination to new
heights of style, ambition and excellence under the Technical Direction of Ola
Melzig.

When it came to key lighting, Jonsson knew that due to the height and dimensions
of the Globe – the largest spherical venue in the world – he needed a fixture that
was super-bright and also that could be precisely shuttered.

With a massive amount of video elements integrated into the stage and set (900
square metres) he needed the brightest fixture possible … and Robe’s BMFL was the
only fixture that can currently deliver brightness and power fully for both criteria in
the quantities and accuracy required.

The BMFL Blades were positioned to give two levels of key-light – the first row of
trussing was immediately in front of the stage and very steep. A bit further back
(into the arena), the second row of units was rigged further into the auditorium and
also doubled as back and key-light for the extensive green room area.

These were throwing around 18 metres down into the Green Room, a major part of
the live action as the tension mounted on the final night, with cameras constantly
flipping between the 26 delegations nervously waiting in there and the
performances onstage at the other end of the Globe.

The BMFL Blades were also positioned on three side ladders stage left and stage
right which were on motors and moved up and down throughout the show –
throwing approximately 16 metres to the stage. These were invaluable for getting
side light onto stage for artists, dancers and the various props used in the different
performances. The beams could be tightly shuttered to avoid spilling onto some of
the upstage projection screens when they were in use for certain songs.

Jonsson was assisted by associate LD Emma Landare who also ran lighting for the
opening sequence and interval acts which included a rousing performance by Justin
Timberlake. They worked alongside four lighting operators Calle Brattberg, Danne
Persson, Fredrik Stormby and Timo Kauristo. The BMFLs were supplied to the
production by Danish lighting rental company Litecom.