
Paris, France - Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), the global leader in lighting, today announced it is illuminating the interior of Notre-Dame de Paris with LEDs that will show off the cathedral's gothic features as never seen before. Philips is placing LED technology at the service of 850 years of history, paying tribute to the architecture of this Gothic masterpiece. A total of more than 400 luminaires were used, with an installed capacity of just 30 kW, compared with almost 140 kW previously - reducing energy consumption by 80%.
21st century technology to highlight a 13th century monument
With this new LED technology, the light appears to emanate from the stone, with the luminaires displaying the building while themselves remaining inconspicuous. Never dazzling, sometimes powerful, and always warm, this light creates a reverent atmosphere while still emphasizing the architecture.
The lighting reveals the details of renowned works of art such as the Virgin and Child. This statue, which was moved to Notre-Dame in 1818, is the most famous of the thirty-seven representations of the Virgin that the cathedral contains.
Today the profile spots redefine the characters while at the same time shining a gentle light onto the sculpture and the white flowers laid out at her feet.
The north and south rose windows, which were made in the 13th century and symbolize the flowers of paradise, have also been highlighted.
Positioned above the north and south doors, more than 50 meters from the rose windows, two completely invisible 250W spotlights direct their beams onto each rose window, revealing the delicacy of the sculptures. This lighting gives the impression that the stained-glass window itself is radiating light, without altering the monument's exterior appearance, since the light is only visible on the inside.
Lighting adapted to the Cathedral's different activities The Cathedral has two roles, a religious one and a cultural one, with religious ceremonies, visits (almost 14 million visitors in 2013) and concerts. The new lighting was therefore designed to allow different atmospheres to be created depending on these activities , explains Armand Zadikian, the project's lighting designer.
Armand Zadikian was able to retain areas of half-light, to play upon the contrasts and to create effects of white tones. In order to integrate the lighting perfectly with the building and make the LED luminaires virtually invisible to visitors, he also worked in close collaboration with Architectes des B timents de France , the official French architects' body.
Computerized orchestration
Specifically designed by Benoit Ferr , the resident bishop's architect (European Architecture Company, EUROGIP), the major innovation of this project is the creation of a spinal column, horizontal, flexible and easily accessible. This technical column extends for three hundred meters, the length of the triforium.
The 400 luminaires are operated by means of a computerized system, with a touch screen to simplify control. The system contains several lighting programs and Notre-Dame's manager can add more if required.
Almost all of the luminaires are dimmable, making it possible to modify the lighting according to the event taking place (ceremonies, concerts, prayers, etc.), the time of day or the season.
Why was LED lighting chosen?
The characteristics of LED lighting have several advantages:
Lower energy consumption: the 400 luminaires used have an installed capacity of just 30 kW, compared with almost 140 kW previously. The consumption of the lights in the nave, for example, has been reduced to a fifth of what it was.
A luminous efficacy far greater than that provided by conventional sources and instant ignition.
A longer lifespan of the installation: around 13 years for 10 hours of lighting a day (switching on and off does not affect the lamps' lifespan).
A reduction in maintenance costs: LED luminaires require little maintenance. For example, the lights have LED flame lamps that reduce the number of maintenance-related operations (scaffolding and moving furniture), while at the same time cutting energy consumption by 80%.
Dynamic lighting that makes it possible to adjust the atmosphere of the site according to the religious or cultural activity (change of intensity and color).
Philips is very proud to have placed its know-how and technology at the service of this splendid project. For us the challenge was to devise effective lighting while respecting the authenticity of this monument, which attracts several million visitors every year. The lighting really had to enhance the beauty of the site without at any time overwhelming it , says Benjamin Azoulay, General Manager of Philips Lighting France.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...