The final evening concert of the 2022 Volbriöö event in Estonia’s vibrant and picturesque second city of Tartu took place on the Kaarsild (Arch) Bridge, an elegant pedestrian link that connects the centre of town with the Ülejõe District, traversing the Emajõgi River.
Andres Sarv, Lighting Designer from Tartu’s famous Vanemuine theatre and a team from production and rental company E&T were asked to assist with the technical elements including lighting which had a key role in the presentation. Sarv specified Robe Pointes, LEDWash 800s, Spikie and LEDBeam 100 moving lights. These were used to light all the stage action, structural aspects of the bridge, plus the river, riverbank and surrounding areas as thousands congregated to enjoy the music and live artist performances, including headliners popular rapper GENKA and Estonian singer/songwriter Orelipoiss.
Tartu’s Volbriöö is a night of celebration for students and their related organisations – it is a big university town. It is the final event of the “Tartu Student Days” festival comprising hundreds of smaller performances and parties. The 2022 theme was dedicated to supporting and being aware of the challenges faced by war-torn neighbours in Ukraine as the country fights fearlessly and tirelessly for peace, freedom, and sovereignty not just for itself, but for the whole of Europe.
Sarv and the E&T crew have been involved in supplying the event’s lighting for several years before the pandemic, which stopped it for two years, so they knew the setting and were also determined to ensure that everything looked extra special for this return to a live and in-person event. The Robe fixtures were positioned on the long-and-slim stage – some on the floor and some on the surrounding metalwork and also under the stage. In addition to illuminating the stage area, the bridge and the artists, the Pointes, in particular, were great for shooting powerful pillars up into the night sky and along the river. Pointes provided plenty of eye-candy and potent beams to draw spectators down to the riverbanks to enjoy the show, which they could watch for free. The little LEDBeam 100s and Spikies were dotted around the stage, their small size and powerful beams making them a perfect choice both to fit on the tight space and to look great behind the artists or for illuminating larger areas and up-lighting and colouring the bridge’s structural pillars.
The LEDWash 800s were on the stage to provide general wash where needed on the stage or across the bridge. “These four fixture types were perfect for the job, and all complemented each other nicely,” confirmed Sarv. “They are compact and lightweight, yet bright, powerful and able to offer plenty of creative options.”
The lighting fixtures were pulled from E&T’s rental stock and Showtech supplied and built the stage at the centre point of the bridge, designed to match the style and appearance of the architecture as closely as possible. Sarv programmed the lights on a ChamSys MQ80 console working closely with Tõnis Sarv, E&T’s Project Manager for the event, who also operated the lights.
