Robe had a big presence this year across three major performance areas at Hungary’s Sziget Festival.
Headlining the Main Stage this year were a host of artists such as Imagine Dragons, David Guetta, Billie Eilish, Florence + The Machine, Lorde and Macklemore, plus a plethora of other artists, together with events all over site from wild dance parties to alternative arts, pubs, cocktail bars, chill out zones and seminars.
Production lighting for the Main Stage was designed by Mark Kontra, part of the team from rental specialist Colossal which supplied all the lighting kit for this area.
The Robe count here this year was over 160, with 42 FORTES, eight iFORTES, 64 Pointes and 56 ColorStrobes. Four BMFL Spots running on four RoboSpot systems were available for those requesting it, which were Florence & The Machine and Lorde. Imagine Dragons brought in their own seven-way touring RoboSpot system complete with BMFL LTs.
The philosophy with Sziget’s Main Stage lighting is to be as “accessible and accommodating as possible,” explained Mark. The production rig is also designed to make overnight headliner programming sessions as smooth as possible. “We provide enough of everything,” stated Mark, “but also try and keep it simple so everyone can clone their show files without any hassle!”
The stage this year measured 24m wide by 15 deep with 15m of headroom expanded slightly higher from the 2022 event. A thrust extended out at the front to a B stage so artists could get amongst their fans. Most of the lighting was Robe fixtures, rigged on four main over-stage trusses plus another two wing trusses.
The FORTES were positioned in an eight-eight-eight formation on the three upstage trusses with 10 on the front truss, as requested by Mumford & Sons. The iFORTES were on the PA wing trusses which were fully exposed positions.
Commenting on the use of Robe ColorStrobes, Kontra said: “They are still a brilliant wash and a great blinding fixture very bright, ideal for festivals and super reliable, we’ve never had to use a spare!”
David Guetta brought in one of the more complex floor packages (designed by the team at High Scream) which included his own LED screen part flown and partly ground supported immediately behind his DJ platform and in front of the large 20m by 7m house LED screen at the back. This was supplemented by a left and right IMAG screen. At FOH, two grandMA3 full-size consoles and two grandMA3 lights provided control running with five NPUs over a Luminex network.
The Visual Europe Group (VEG) were the lighting, audio, and video equipment suppliers for the FreeDome tent. They have one of the largest Robe rental inventories in Hungary. Helping to make an eclectic variety of styles and genres of music move and groove with four live acts each evening were 42 Robe BMFL Spots, 24 Tarrantulas and 24 MegaPointes plus some other lights.
As with the Main Stage, these were all chosen as “Rider-friendly, reliable and festival appropriate products that offer consistent quality,” noted VEG Account Handler and Project Manager, Kristof Nagy. The BMFL Spots and MegaPointes were mainly on the upstage trusses and on some angled trusses in the upstage corners. The Tarrantulas were in these positions with 10 units on the front truss. The other lights on the rig included blinders, strobes and LED PARs. Also on the kit list were 24 Robe Tetra2s and 12 miniPointes.
The dropYard stage featured a semi open tent, the stage located at the closed end and the FOH at the open end, with lighting co-ordinated by David Kovacs and the kit also supplied by Colossal, the production design for lighting was also completed by Mark Kontra.
Main Stage lighting was rigged on a ground supported structure upstage and on this 24 Robe Spiiders and 16 MiniPointes were deployed. On the front truss were another 12 Spiiders, plus some blinders, with LED floods attached to the stages of the tented structure to help light the audience further back and cube LEDs on the front of the stage that also lit the audience. The front truss Spiiders were also used for DJ key light.
For control, there was a grandMA3 light, and Kovacs and his colleague Mark Stiller operated for those acts not bringing their own LD. “It makes all the hours and days of hard work worth it when what you’re doing gets a reaction,” Stiller commented.
Kovacs has worked as a freelance lighting tech and operator in Hungary and internationally and still enjoys revisiting Sziget each year as it has also become a large part of his life. “I love lighting this event, I am very lucky that my work is also my hobby!” he concluded.
