Robe iBOLTS and iFORTE LTXs Help celebrate Hungarian National Day 2024

Robe’s iBOLTS, iFORTES and iFORTE LTXs fixture types were prominent on a number of spectacular lighting installations designed by Centrum Production and delivered by VEG (Visual Europe Group) for the 2024 Hungarian National Day Celebrations in capital city Budapest.

These Robe fixtures together with MegaPointes and Tarrantulas were utilised across five key sites on the main day of celebrations which included performances, attractions and events taking place along a 5-kilometre-long stretch on both sides of the River Danube that dissects the attractive Hungarian capital city. This separates ‘Buda’ on the west shore with its castles and historical sites with the thriving commercial hub of ‘Pest’ on the east side.

The project was managed for VEG by Kristof Nagy and the five areas utilising Robe products were the 118-metre-wide Hungarian Parliament Building, The Hungarian National Gallery, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Elisabeth Bridge and the Mandoki Soulmates stage.

The imposing and majestic Parliament Building on the Pest side of the city was designed by Hungarian architect Imre Steindl in neo-Gothic style and opened in 1902, and as always for National Day celebrations, was at the centre of the evening’s main show.

It featured projection mapping onto the front central section from across the river – a throw distance of approximately 400 metres.

A row of lights on the nearside bank flanked the building projections shooting intense beams up into the air, and this was where the 12 iBOLTS were positioned 6 a side at the outer edges of a long line of lights. They were a major part of the lighting scheme and were programmed to interact with the projection show.

The 10 iFORTES were used to wash up and along one of the sides of the building that was not being used for projection.

The Hungarian National Gallery is on the Buda bank of the river in the Buda Palace at its highest point which is one of the loftiest points across the whole city.

In the past, the front has also been projection mapping, but this year it was decided to illuminate it with lighting, so 8 iFORTE LTXs did a fantastic job of this, cycling through different tasteful colour sets, with added gobo texturing.

“We again needed the sheer firepower of these fixtures at this site,” commented Kristof, who was pleased that just 8 fixtures did the job perfectly, positioned on scaffolding towers built and spaced out along the Savoy Terrace in front of the Gallery building.

Budapest’s famous Széchenyi Chain Bridge was included in the main show for the first time this year. Its two grand towers were also projection mapped and the structure was lit and highlighted by 8 iBOLTS blasting out from the towers which are either side of its 202-metre central span.

The Beam lights were used smartly and proved essential in drawing attention to the bridge without interfering with the video mapping.

The bridge was designed in sections by English engineer Willian Tierney Clark in 1839 following an initiative by Count István Széchenyi. These sections were shipped from the United Kingdom to Hungary for final construction, which was supervised locally by Scottish engineer, Adam Clark.

A bit further along the river is the Elisabeth Bridge, built at the narrowest part of the Danube spanning 290 metres and named after Elisabeth of Bavaria. This looked resplendent lit with 48 iFORTES, 32 iFORTE LTXs and 4 iBOLTS positioned on both sides.

“I was keen on showcasing the latest and brightest technology we had on this event which is one of the most important and watched/attended in the country,” stated Kristof, who highlighted how the Robes stood out among the 2000 plus fixtures they supplied for the show including 40 high powered lasers.

The fixtures are all from Robe’s iSeries of waterproof products, and the IP65 weatherproofing was one less environmental factor for the crew to worry about.

Local rental company AVL Trade supplied an additional 12 iBOLTs to the event which had come straight off the Main Stage of the 2024 Sziget Festival staged the previous weekend.

Over 1.5 million people flocked to central Budapest to enjoy the festivities which included numerous shows and events, culminating in the Main Show and its ostentatious firework display.

In addition to these areas, the Mandoki Soulmates stage was lit with the help of 28 x Robe MegaPointes and 30 x Tarrantulas. It was located in front of Budapest’s largest church, Saint Stephen’s Basilica, and the musical lineup was curated by legendary German/Hungarian singer and drummer Leslie Mandoki. The stage was named after his band.

Photos courtesy of VEG.