Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Robe Dares to Dream at Eurovision 2019

31/05/2019

Robe Dares to Dream at Eurovision 2019 posted: 31/05/2019

Lighting equipment was supplied and co-ordinated by Denmark based Litecom

Unashamed glitter, glamour, spandex, multicolour, bounce, camp costumes, fun and some properly superlative pop songs hit the airwaves hard and reverberated around Hall 2 of Expo Tel Aviv, Israel for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest - currently the world's largest music television show.

Lighting included nearly 300 strategically placed Robe moving lights - a mix of BMFL WashBeams, BMFL Spots and MegaPointes - which were specifically requested by this year's lighting designers, Ronen Najar and Dakar Azulay, both accomplished and respected practitioners working prolifically in Israel and internationally.

They put together a joint pitch to creatively light the high-profile production organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and hosted by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation and broadcast via Israel's KAN network.

Once selected from some stiff competition, Ronen and Dakar worked closely with Eurovision head of production Ola Melzig and his international team and utilised over 2,500 lighting and pixel fixtures on the rig, amounting to in excess of 71,000 control parameters in total!

Ronen and Dakar looked after all entertainment lighting and Dakar also took care for the key lighting. Ronen lights many live events, theatre shows and music tours, while Dakar specialises in television and broadcast lighting.

They are great friends and working together produces a unique synergy allowing both the imaginative space to bring a different approach to the lighting design, which helped make this one of the best regarded ESC presentations to date. They also took briefs from the 41 individual artistic directors from each individual delegation.

The talented international team included production designer Florien Wieder of Wieder Design in Germany who created the performance environment's elegant architecture. In addition to the 41 contestants who battled it out to become the 26 finalists via two live televised semi-finals the week ahead of the final, Ronen and Dakar also lit 7 pre-show, playout and interval acts, the Flag Parade and other ceremonial moments.

The ESC lighting team also programmed for Madonna's two interval numbers during the final - her 1989 hit Like A Prayer' and new single Future' with US rapper Quavo - a task overseen by LD Al Gurdon, who looked after all the iconic star's lighting requirements.

The 116 x BMFL WashBeams were installed across the roof of the venue and were utilised for all the key lighting - from the front, rear and side and several fill' positions.

We needed a powerful lightsource, and we wanted one type of fixture to take care of every aspect of the key lighting elucidates Ronen. For this, we thought the BMFL WashBeam was the best option .

Both he and Dakar regularly use Robe products in their designs.

Eighty-seven BMFL Spots were used for all the audience lighting. This is vital in a show like Eurovision to ensure that TV directors Amir Ukrainitz and Sivan Magazonik had a constant and consistent selection of go-to audience shots to add to the broadcast mix. Eurovision fans are known for their enthusiasm and their presence is an essential part of the excitement.

The 78 x Robe MegaPointes were dotted around the audience trusses and above the stage, used for effects and to assist in the epic lighting looks.

Another reason they were keen to use these Robe fixtures was the light weight, keeping in mind the weight loading of the roof - a show like this with a massive production is not an everyday occurrence! They chose multiple LED fixtures for the same reason, and the placement of fixtures around the venue also referenced weight and involved some careful calculations.

Power was another challenge - even with thousands of LEDs in the rig - so lighting was primarily driven by a series of synched generators.

Lighting control was via a grandMA network with Angelo De Nella operating the main show lighting console. Joshua Cutts from Visual Frontier in South Africa ran the audience lighting and the key lighting was looked after by Dakar - who had all the master intensities on his console and ran these in conjunction with Ivan Eftimov operating a separate desk. Moti Aroshas operated the green room lighting.

Camera views and movements were controlled via Cue Pilot

Ronen didn't operate a desk on this occasion; however, he creatively directed the overall show lighting and each delegation's lighting in conjunction with all the different operators. It was a huge undertaking for which his calm and affable personality - in addition to his natural eye for creativity - was ideally suited.

Integral to the lighting programming team was lead programmer Matti Murray, who ensured the night-time sessions ran productively and efficiently assisted by Chris Bolton of Keystone Productions, also from South Africa. The lighting systems control engineer and logistics whizz was Jack Collins.

THe four hosts of the show: Bar Refaeli, Erez Tal, Assi Azar and Lucy Ayoub

Ronen really enjoyed working collaboratively with so many first-rate people and being part of a cosmopolitan team bringing so much collective experience to the table. We all learned a lot from one another, and it was a very invigorating environment! he declared.

He was very proud to have lit such a massive show - broadcast to nearly 2 billion people worldwide - and get a chance to show some of the team who were there long term for two or three months a little bit of the magic and vibes of Israel.

The winner of the ESC 2019: Duncan Laurence from The Netherlands

They were onsite in Hall Two for 4 weeks, and before that, Ronen, Dakar and the core lighting creative team spent three weeks in a visualisation studio running
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/shows/robe-dares-dream-eurovision-...
See more stories from liveproduction

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

SBS helps Australians understand why every Census counts

SBS helps Australians understand why every Census counts Media releases As Australia prepares for the 2026 Census on Tuesday 11 August, SBS is helping ensur...

04/08/2026

Canada invests in the future of HF communications with Rohde & Schwarz solutions

Canada invests in the future of HF communications with Rohde & Schwarz solutions After selection by the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) as the p...

04/08/2026

Blendkit Expands Beyond Blender

Blendkit Expands Beyond Blender Brie Clayton August 4, 2026 0 Comments Popular 3D Asset Library Launches Alpha Plugins for Maya, Godot, and Rhino Blend...

04/08/2026

QC: Artificial Intelligence's Big Hammer Finds Another Nail

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

The AI Dilemma: Can C2PA Keep a Video's Provenance Intact?

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

BPS Gaining Traction in Broadcast and Other Sectors

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

Ikegami to Demonstrate Latest-Generation UNICAM Product R...

Ikegami has chosen the 11-14 September 2026 International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam as the European market launch venue for additions to its UNICAM p...

04/08/2026

Appear unifies hardware and software for live production...

Appear (IBC2026 booth 1.C61) will showcase new X & VX Platform capabilities that extend broadcast-grade performance from venue to cloud Appear ASA (OSE: APR), ...

04/08/2026

Broadcast Management Group Brings Amazon Prime Obsessed F...

LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video solutions, today highlighted the crucial role its EcoSystem played in Broadcast Management Group's (BMG) successfu...

04/08/2026

Scripps Completes Acquisition of WTVQ Lexington

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

U.S., U.K. Consumers Now Spend 11 Hours a Day Using Media

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

Sinclair Announces 2026 Annual Scholarship Winners

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

Tom DeLay: Only Congress Can Change Station Ownership Caps

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

IAB Tech Lab Upgrades Open Framework for Agentic Advertising

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

DirecTV For Business Inks New Agreement to Sell NFL Sunday Ticket

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

IEEE Broadcast Technology Society Honors Charles Einolf

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/08/2026

Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Dreion

Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Dreion The singer, songwriter, and producer talks about finding his village at Berklee ahead of his Homecoming performance on Sep...

04/08/2026

Sky Sports agrees deal with SANZAAR for international rugby rights 2026 2030

Tuesday 4 August 2026 Sky Sports agrees deal with SANZAAR for international rugby rights 2026 - 2030 The deal means Sky will have exclusive rights to the inau...

04/08/2026

Kill Tony Launches on Supercast, Giving Fans Premium & Ad-Free Access to Comedy's Biggest Live Podcast

Kill Tony Launches on Supercast, Giving Fans Premium & Ad-Free Access to Comedy&...

04/08/2026

BIRTV. Beijing. August 19-22, 2026

More details coming soon....

04/08/2026

AMC Week. Mexico City. September 2-5, 2026

More details coming soon....

04/08/2026

IBC. Amsterdam. September 11-14, 2026

More details coming soon....

04/08/2026

As AI Increases Demands on Memory, Storage Steps Up

Surging AI demands are driving the need for massive datasets and context windows that burst past the confines of system memory. But rising needs aren't me...

04/08/2026

NVIDIA Alpamayo 2 Super, the Frontier Open Model for Robotaxis and Autonomous Vehicles, Now Available for Commercial Use

For robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles (AVs), the hardest problems aren'...

04/08/2026

AI Leaders Propose SAFE Guidelines for Cybersecurity Transparency

Members of the Open Secure AI Alliance - now more than 120 organizations strong - are developing new guidelines to strengthen agentic AI cybersecurity as the an...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

03/08/2026

SVGs TranSPORT Conference Returns to NYC on Oct. 20; Register Today!

SVG's annual TranSPORT conference returns to New York City for a full day of sessions focused on the current state of live-sports-transmission technology. S...

03/08/2026

SVG All-Stars: Stefan Richardson, Director, Global Broadcast, Riot Games

A five-time Emmy winner, this esports vet has built a production career on live storytelling, audience connection, and meeting viewers wherever they are The sp...

03/08/2026

MLBs Jason Hedgcock on Using the Cloud To Produce World Baseball Classic Games for Netflix Japan

Live production in the cloud is a growing trend across the industry and Major Le...

03/08/2026

Cookie Queens Is Sweet With Substance

(L-R) Nyah B., Nala B., Shannon Elizabeth S., Celia K., Olive G., and Nikki B. attend the Q&A for Cookie Queens by Alysa Nahmias, an official selection of the...

03/08/2026

Rhodes launch Rhodes Clav Pro

Recreates a 1977 Hohner Clavinet D6 After launching a software recreation of their own electric piano, Rhodes set about capturing another classic instrument...

03/08/2026

Peak Tamer from Nicky Howard

A modern solution for an old technique Peak Tamer is a new standalone application that automatically applies gain automation to keep rogue peaks under cont...

03/08/2026

Sound Particles update Beat Panner

Plug-in gains object metadata automation export Sound Particles have just released an update that adds a new Metadata Automation function to their their rec...

03/08/2026

SGL Carbon and X-energy announce capacity expansion for Nuclear-Grade Graphite

SGL Carbon and X-energy today announced a binding agreement to double SGL's production capacity for medium-grain isotropic graphite ( NBG-18 ), a specialize...

03/08/2026

Glensound launches Greater Divine Supernal at PLASA Show...

Glensound will launch the Greater Divine Supernal at PLASA Show 2026, extending its intelligent loudspeaker range for professional studio monitoring and live au...

03/08/2026

How Agua Tinta's Class Project Launched Her Songwriting Career

How Agua Tinta's Class Project Launched Her Songwriting Career Two years after graduating from Berklee, the songwriter has a Latin Grammy nomination, a So...

03/08/2026

Lightware UCX delivers campus-wide connectivity to Leiden...

Leiden University's new Campus Spui, located in the heart of The Hague, the diplomatic and administrative centre of the Netherlands, opened in February 2026...

03/08/2026

Bitfocus heads to the future with new investment

Bitfocus, the specialist in media control and monitoring, has received a further boost to its plans for continuing growth, particularly in Europe and North Amer...

03/08/2026

Leagues Cup kicks off tomorrow, August\u00A04, on\u00A0Apple\u00A0TV - UPDATE - Posted on 03 August 2026

Building on the momentum of a landmark year for soccer in North America, Leagues...

02/08/2026

Acustica introduce Dangerous Music BAX EQ Plugin

Classic EQ design goes virtual Following on from the launch of the 500-series version of their BAX EQ unit, Dangerous Music have now teamed up with modellin...

02/08/2026

Television, Resilience and National Security

The Government's Missing Dimension This article was originally published on the National Preparedness Commission website on 25 June 2026. ----------------...

01/08/2026

Harmonic Piano from The Crow Hill Company

Latest free Vaults instrument released The Crow Hill Company's Vaults collection offers a continually rotating selection of virtual instruments and samp...

01/08/2026

American Television Alliance Slams Deltavision Blackout on Verizon

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/08/2026

FreeWheel Debuts TV Series-Level Reporting for CTV Buyers

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/08/2026

Minnesota Timberwolves, DAZN to Launch New Streaming Offering

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/08/2026

Early Registration Opens for 2026 SMPTE Media Technology Summit

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...