Robe helps epic Eurovision glow up

Robe lighting was proud to be a technical partner for the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), staged with all the glamour, glitz, energy, sparkle, sheer Eurovision joy and superlative production values you would expect last weekend at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.

The 70^th edition of the world’s best-known international pop extravaganza was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), together with the host broadcaster, which this year was Austria’s Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF).

A stunning production lighting design, featuring nearly 550 Robe luminaires, was created by Tim Routledge and his team, working on their third ESC event, and collaborating closely with set, video and production designer Florian Wieder to present a vibrant, flexible and visually impactful environment.

This had to work for the needs and imagination of all 35 delegations, for audiences catching the excitement first-hand right there in the Stadthalle, and for the millions from around the world tuning in on various live streamed and broadcasted channels to experience the event unfolding.

Prominent on the lighting rig were 190 of Robe’s just-launched GigaPointe laser-source multifunctional moving light, 98 WTF!s – IP rated LED strobe-wash-blinder fixtures – and 25 Robe HolyPATT vintage-style LED ‘scenic’ luminaires.

In addition to these, Tim’s general lighting rig included 182 Robe SVB1 multisource LED wash beams, which he also used on last year’s event in Basel, Switzerland, and have since become a firm favourite.

He also chose 64 Robe iFORTES and iFORTE LTXs – fitted with the HCF (High Colour Fidelity) engines – for all the key lighting and specials on the main stage and in the Green Room, this year located in the arena opposite the stage along the other ‘short-end’ side of the venue.

The impressive architecture of the performance space was based on curves, spheres and understated elegance juxtaposed with elements of fun and quirkiness – in the true spirit of Eurovision. It offered a technically smart universe of possibilities for all performing there.

A large, sweeping ‘signature’ passerelle feature with video floor started at ground level stage left and looped around the middle of the room in front of the stage, curving upwards at stage right in a giant rollercoaster-style loop, snaking around to finish high up in the roof stage left.

A portrait-oriented central LED screen curved seamlessly from above into the stage floor below and extended into a central thrust that traversed the arena floor, splitting into a double staircase at the other side, ascending to the Green Room.

All of this brought a beautiful flow and harmony to the scene for lighting and playback video, which seamlessly combined with the other technical disciplines and worked brilliantly as a piece of televisual art.

The central screen was framed either side by seven columns of moving lights, bringing an epic and breathtaking cinematic feel to the entire space and giving clear sight lines from all around the arena.

Tim’s highly talented team included his associate lighting designers Morgan Evans and James Scott; moving light programmers Alex Mildenhall and Martin Higgins; key light programmer Marc Nicholson; overnight programmers Olly Martin and Manfred Nikitzer; follow spot caller Louisa Smurthwaite and playback video producer Sam Lisher and team. His gaffer and crew chief was Keith Duncan.

All lighting equipment for the event was supplied by rental company Neg Earth out of the UK, with whom Tim also worked on last year’s event and on his first ESC as lighting designer in Liverpool, UK, in 2023.

Tim was delighted to be able to use GigaPointes on this show and they became “headline fixtures” of the show.

The product was just launched at ISE in February and powered by a 350W white phosphor laser source engine, it is a hugely anticipated multifunctional effects fixture, and it was a real moment to have so many of them used on such a high-profile event, following a demo at the end of 2025.

In Vienna, they were positioned all around the space.

They were prominent along the top of the front sections of the passerelle and underslung below its elevated sections upstage. They were rigged around the central semi-circular trusses in the roof, right at the heart of the rig, and were on all four sides of the main stage at floor level.

GigaPointes were used extensively throughout all performances, especially for gobo and beam looks, with the SpectraBeam effect utilised a couple of times to create unique high-impact effects, most notably for San Marino, which comprised rainbow focused looks.

They also featured prominently in the flourishing ‘stage-ready’ sequence that cut in just after the postcard video sequence – in the upcoming country’s flag colours – for each contestant’s intro, accompanied by an orchestral stinger.

Morgan Evans commented, “They were excellent workhorses – we all loved them! Nice and bright, they worked hard, reliably and extremely well throughout the event in these multiple different positions. A highly versatile multi-use product.”

Tim echoed these comments, adding, “GigaPointes provided us with an aesthetic backbone,” revealing that he was so pleased with their performance that he’s specified them for Take That’s summer 2026 “Circus” stadium tour.

The 98 Robe WTF!s were the main strobe unit on the lighting design, deployed on the roof trusses running the length of the room either side, and on the large central ‘crown’ semi-circular trusses – the innermost ring – above the stage, alternated with GigaPointes and other fixtures.

Tim already had some experience of using a much smaller quantity of WTF!s on popular UK rapper Dave’s most recent tour, so he knew their potential and was very happy to have them on ESC.

“I love their directionality, and we fully used all the sets of LED chips and the zoning for various effects,” he explained, adding that they appreciated being able to pan and tilt the fixtures, which, together with the zoom, proved extremely handy at times for reducing glare into the cameras.

Conversely, they utilised zoom and LED zoning to create cool colour temperature effects, and the ones along the audience trusses helped with washing the arena.

“Lots of options for TV with these,” noted Tim, who has also spec’d these for another upcoming tour.

Eurovision is one of the most-watched/highest-rated live music broadcast shows in the world, and as always with any camera-based show, key lighting is paramount!

Robe’s iFORTE with its high CRI and excellent quality of light has been a white light go-to for Tim since the product was launched, and here they were rigged strategically in all the main key lighting positions for the main stage and Green Room.

iFORTES were positioned all around the arena on the periphery trusses and the two outer ring trusses above the stage – their power was ideal for the long throws from these positions.

Twelve of the 64 x iFORTES were paired with different remote follow systems, including three Robe RoboSpots.

These iFORTES were used for all the main stage key lighting and were critical to every shot, “They are one of the best – I absolutely would not be without iFORTES on a show like this,” he confirmed.

Eurovision is all about making a diverse range of stars from many cultures shimmer with luminance and magic as they deliver their songs, and he used Robe’s SVB1 fixture on the 2025 ESC event in Basel, Switzerland, and really loved them.

So much so that they were included on the main rig for this year – and in the meantime, Neg Earth had also made a substantial investment in SVB1 luminaires that was delivered by Robe UK.

The fixtures were spread out around three of the four large circular roof trusses and helped emphasise the structure. They created the base looks for a host of versatile twinkling kinetic effects, which could be bold or subtle depending on the artist.

The Green Room design stood out this year for its retro, cosy, classic Viennese-style coffee house concept, and the 25 x HolyPATTS were beyond the perfect movie prop for framing this, providing a highly stylised spherical ‘tungsten’ glow, visible in every wide and medium-wide shot.

The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra was positioned in the Green Room for the grand finale, and they were also dressed with HolyPATTS behind their risers.

Tim and the team applied the highly accurate tungsten emulation with style and panache to bring a highly theatrical feel to the space.

One of the major technical and creative challenges this year was the decision by ORF to shoot the shows – which also included two televised semi-finals to narrow down the field to the 25 finalists – on large chip film cameras, an ESC event first.

For Tim and the lighting department, this meant that more depth, definition and detail was visible, so they had considerably more latitude to play with lighting adjustments and fine-tuning affecting how elements like strobes and pyro would look on camera – harder, softer, etc. “It enabled us to add more texture and finesse to every performance,” he stated, and this really showed on the final broadcast.

Linked to this, the LiveEdit camera software used to cut the broadcast mix could also pre-select different colour LUTs that would run on all cameras for the different artists, so more stylised lighting looks and treatments could be developed and optimised.

Tim described this process as “very satisfying, as it effectively gave us more chance to paint with light,” which also made perfect key lighting – and the role of those iFORTES – even more critical!

Eurovision 2026 was presented by Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski, plus Green Room host Emily Busvine and the winner was Bulgaria, whose DARA gave a stonking performance of her catchy Balkans banger “Bangaranga”, heading off Israel’s Noam Bettan, who came second with “Michelle” and Romania’s third-placed Alexandra Căpitănescu with her song, “Choke Me”.

Photo by ORF Cloud.