Rhine-Ruhr FISU World University Games opt for Ayrton Cobra
“I knew that I would need a lot of beam lights for this event,” opens lighting designer, Arkin Atacan. “The Ayrton Cobra is simply perfect for this kind of production. It is IP65 rated, compact, high powered and the durability of the laser source is second to none. There was no question about looking at any other fixture to fulfil the requirements we were looking for.”
Atacan is referring to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the Wedau Stadium in Duisburg, Germany – the venue chosen to celebrate the FISU World University Rhine-Ruhr Games of 2025 in July. Built in 1921 and with a capacity of 31,500, the stadium hosted over nine thousand athletes from more than one hundred and fifty competing countries. The Games are the largest congregation of sporting elite after the Olympics. This year, venues were used across the Rhine Ruhr area from Bochum, Essen, Mülheim An Der Ruhr, Hagen as well as Berlin and Duisburg itself.
Lighting designer Arkin Atacan had already experienced working with some of the team from the Rhine-Ruhr Games before they invited him to work on the full design production for the Games’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies. “The Opening and Closing Ceremony events have evolved enormously in the last decade and I was excited to get involved in this,” he says.
“I was first contacted a year ago; the brief was to design a production that worked both in daylight and into the night-time darkness on a scale that would give a big start to this special sporting event.”
No stranger to Ayrton fixtures, having used Eurus, Huracán and others before, Atacan turned to Ayrton once more for this prestigious event, choosing 150 of the laser-sourced Cobra to realise the focal point and delineate the structure of his design.
Cobra’s 260W phosphor laser engine delivers sharp, powerful beams over long distances, with an incredible beam angle of just 0.6 ° ranging to 23 °. Its precise pan/tilt movement and consistent colour performance makes it the perfect choice for large-scale events with television broadcasting.
“The Cobra was integrated into the full stage design; we rigged them on the floor at ground level, behind the stage in the grandstand itself and around the six LED monoliths next to the stage. The idea was to create this massive beam structure with the Cobra in home position. Their beams were essential for the whole production design because the Cobras worked as an extension of the stage set itself. And, because of the laser engine, every beam of every fixture looks nearly identical, which is perfect for me.
“For about 75% of the time we were working in daylight but the power of the Cobra laser engine was such that I even forgot to worry about that! I should also mention the IP65 rating which certainly came into its own; we really had the weather against us at times but, even though they were so totally exposed to the elements rigged on the ground, the Cobras worked like a charm.
“There was just never an alternative to using the Cobras in my design,” concludes Atacan.
The Ayrton Cobras were supplied by Cologne Hunters Licht und Ton Service GmbH.
Credits:
Text: Julie Harper
Photos: © Ralph Larmann
