Happy Belgium, a distinctive and uplifting experiential event that was a combination of live music festival, national celebration, and a world-class special live broadcast to celebrate Belgian National Day 2023 and the 10th anniversary of Belgian King Philippe’s coronation. Presented by the FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Happy Belgium was staged in front of the magnificent Cinquantenaire Arcade, an imposing 30-meter-wide, 45-meter-high triple arched monument in the center of the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels.
The music festival at the core of the event featured performances by 12 dynamic and high-profile Belgian artists accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra including rhythm section. Lighting Designer Jordi Vandekerkhof from production specialist More To Show worked closely with the event organizers Frank Anthierens and Nathalie Rasschaert from the agency Alice Events and DDMC Event Design. The aesthetic underpinning Anthierens and Rasschaert’s pitch was to present a carefully crafted live experience that also provided a dynamic environment for the multi-camera telecast using the buildings as a stunning backdrop. This enabled broadcast camera director Hans Pannecoucke to create a TV spectacle that was equally dramatic and enjoyable for the millions tuning in across multiple TV networks to watch, as well as those engaging and enjoying the occasion in person.
Creative Architectural Balance
With the event design so intricately linked to the Cinquantenaire architecture, all the surrounding technical infrastructure— stage, lighting, PA arrays, delay towers, I-Mag screens, etc.—was added with the goal of blending production seamlessly into the location, achieving a modern elegance and functionality in the historically significant setting. Once Alice Events was awarded the pitch, it was time for More To Show to get involved and turn the ambitious plans into production realities.
The scope of More To Show’s work included creating a lighting design for the buildings and the stage, managing all technical suppliers including audio, video, lighting, power, pyro, and broadcasting and all other site infrastructure and necessities required for the main two-hour festival section of the Happy Belgium event. “The key was to get exactly the right blend of technology and historic monument,” explained Vandekerkhof, who also faced the challenge of budgeting and coordinating the operation in a little over five weeks since being green lighted. To beat the zero to full show’s five-week timeframe, More To Show energized its vast contact base and put its effective communication skills and collective expertise to work in amassing the right people and equipment.
The Cinquantenaire, the inside and undersides of its arches, the exterior and interior walls as well as the colonnades and supporting buildings were all lit in the plan, transforming its imposing presence and structural integrity into ‘natural’ scenography. Lighting the buildings brought the space alive with color, texture, a sense of grandeur, and a magical atmosphere, a task primarily achieved using a mix of over 230 CHAUVET Professional fixtures, both floods and moving lights, all supplied by the rental company, Splendit.
Illumination
Lighting the crowd was critically important to the success of Happy Belgium, given the festival nature of the event. Eighteen Chauvet Color STRIKE M strobe / wash fixtures were placed inside the peristyles and functioned as an architectural wash for inside the buildings as well as doubling up for audience blinders, using the strobe and tilt function at strategic moments. Forty-eight Colorado Q40 LED Washes covered the building façades in light, and the effects of these two fixtures combined brought a crisp ‘high definition’ impact to the picture. “The architecture of this site is our scenery, our backdrop,” said Vandekerkhof. “We wanted it to be visible.” On this special evening in July, that was achieved in a beautifully balanced fashion.
Allowing the beauty of the Cinquantenaire Arcade to be front-and-center was not only important for the large crowd in attendance, but it also enhanced the viewing experience of the millions watching on television. Vandekerkhof relied on 28 Maverick MK3 Profile CX fixtures to provide impeccable key lighting for the TV cameras, while maintaining a discrete physical presence.
Key to helping Vandekerkhof realize his goal of maintaining discrete lighting placement at Happy Belgium, were the IP65 rating and multi-functional capabilities of his CHAUVET fixtures. Since these fixtures were outdoor rated, he was able to position them without conspicuous protective domes. “We wanted to light the stage, audience, and surroundings without drawing attention to the fixtures,” he explained. Also, with so many diverse fixtures at his disposal it made it easier for him to reduce the number of units used, without sacrificing the output or capabilities of his rig.
This diversity was clearly evident in the rig’s 48 Maverick Strom 1 Hybrids. This was the first major event for Splendit’s 48 new Chauvet Maverick Storm Hybrid 1 super bright IP65 beam / hybrid fixtures, some of which were placed on top of the arch and the buildings, with others on ground level along the front of the façade blasting out into the night sky. A third layer of lighting was created with more Storm Hybrid 1s lower down along the floor line, all adding more depth to the scene. “For me, this was the first time using this fixture,” Vandekerkhof said, “It was the logical choice, not just because of its IP65 rating, but also because of its power. We were able to use it for tight beams, big zooms, big gobos, and much more. It was excellent for creating those energetic looks.”
Stage Design
I-Mag was important not just so the 60,000+ crowd could get a decent view of the stage action, but also so they could appreciate screen-based elements like the 10 video testimonials—one for each year of the King’s reign—from a selection of people who had overcome challenges in the quest to realize extraordinary achievements. Six 28 sq. meter LED screens were judiciously positioned around the site allowed excellent views of the broadcast mix while people could still enjoy the engagement and excitement of being there live, though not near the stage itself.
The 20-meter-wide dome stage from supplier Gigant International was fitted with clear skins. It was chosen for its compact dimensions and because it would provide all the necessary weather protection for the orchestra and artists, whilst not affecting the visuality of the epic architecture behind. Adding to the overall atmosphere of the evening were 48 COLORado Panel Q40 and 12 Ovation CYC 1 FC units that deepened the beauty of the concert setting with vivid and richly textured color washing; and 24 STRIKE Array 4 fixtures.
More To Show’s stage lighting design had most overhead fixtures onstage rigged on a series of different length D-drops clamped to numerous points in the roof, an ingenious plan that accentuated the curvature of the roof and juxtaposed nicely against the perpendicular lines of the Cinquantenaire. “Straight trusses simply would not have worked in this context, it was really important to preserve the splendor of the buildings as the backdrop,” noted Vandekerkhof, elucidating that the aim was to visually integrate the stage to the point that it almost disappeared, a feat they managed with style and success. Twenty-eight Chauvet MK3 Profile CXs were the primary stage side and key lights, with 56 Maverick Storm 2 Beam wash luminaires that did double duty by also providing side and top stage lighting for additional TV light and 14 Chauvet Ovation 1 Cyc fixtures used as footlights. Robe MegaPointes provided powerful back lighting and aerial effects behind the stage.
All Together
CHAUVET Strike Array 4 Blinders were deployed on all the six delay towers, combined with PWR Ranger blinders curving around the front edge of the stage roof for audience illumination. Being a telecast, it was important to ensure the audience was well lit, and all the stage lighting was carefully positioned to dissolve into the background once the show started. Followspotting utilized two Robe BMFL WashBeams rigged on the main left and right delay towers, both running on RoboSpot remote followspot systems. Two MA Lighting grandMA3 consoles were used for lighting control, a full-size for the show lighting, operated by More To Show’s Cedric Duré and a grandMA3 light for the key lights and TV specials, operated by Niels Huybrechts, also from More To Show.
More To Show’s production team on site also included Linne De Neef, coordinating site wide audio, video and lighting, and technical draftsperson Joost Rombaut. The lighting crew chief was Cedriek Stoffels from Splendit, Tom Logghe was their audio crew chief, Karel Will was the sound technician and Julian Schelfhout the lighting tech, with the project overseen by Splendit’s owner, Marijn Broeckaert.
“It was a massive honor for us to be involved with this event,” enthused Vandekerkhof. “We were all immensely proud of the results, and enjoyed the amazing teamwork that made everything happen smoothly and enabled us to fulfil expectations. A great mood on site encouraged everyone to work efficiently on their separate disciplines, all united by a fantastic synergy and sense of collaboration to realize Anthierens and Rasschaert’s original vision for a truly memorable evening.”
A Finale Spectacular
Creative visual practice Painting with Light (PWL) was asked by the Agoria Sports and Entertainment Technology club—a networking hub for Belgian technology leaders—to show direct and design lighting for the final segment of Happy Belgium. The Finale was an epic mixed media visual spectacle of lighting, lasers, and fireworks. The 15-minute Finale was developed for the Syndicat d’Initiative-Bruxelles Promotion (SIBP) and topped off the music festival event. The PWL team was led by the company’s founder and creative director Luc Peumans, who collaborated closely with Patrick and Nathan Awouters, creative director, and technical manager respectively, from Laser System Europe (LSE). LSE provided the lighting equipment and 40 lasers for the show for the finale. Pyro specialist Arteventia’s Edouard Grégoire, together with his team, designed and supplied the breathtaking finale fireworks.
A dynamic and highly balanced blend of the three distinctive visual media—lighting, lasers, and fireworks—combined to produce a show-stopping finale. “The big challenge,” explained Peumans, “was blending these three very different disciplines in a high impact show that could catch everyone’s attention after watching the two-hour music festival event.” It needed to be hugely dynamic, lively, and present a big contrast to conclude a memorable evening for everyone, showcasing world-class Belgium talent and technology and leaving everyone with lasting memories.
On the lighting side, a full set of IP rated fixtures was installed on and around the Cinquantenaire and the galleries and colonnades of its associated buildings, which curve away to the sides of the striking monolith “We needed IP rated fixtures for all the obvious reasons,” stated Peumans, alluding to the general unpredictability of the weather. “All the lights were in exposed positions, even the ones lighting the underside of the Cinquantenaire arches, and of course they needed to have the power and features required to help make the show look fantastic.” The fixtures used for the finale design comprised a mix of beams and washes and included 60 PR Lighting AQUA 580 Beams, 18 AQUA 580 BWS, 50 AQUA LED 600 Spots, 30 FOS F7 strobe washes, 10 Explo X2 Wave Flamers, and 14 hazers to assist with atmospherics, all of which were supplied by LSE. In addition to these, Peumans tapped into 18 of the music festival’s CHAUVET Color STRIKE M motorized strobe / wash fixtures that were part of the festival package and supplied by Splendit for More To Show’s festival design.
While it wasn’t an overly large rig, Peumans, a big exponent of lighting ‘appropriately’ and not wasting resources, made every fixture work hard, efficiently, and effectively. “It was very much a case of having a practical and manageable number of fixtures, being imaginative and making them look good with the layers of lasers and firework effects,” all of which gave the show great depth and dimensionality on top of the base layer of scenography provided by the magisterial architecture. Cinquantenaire Arcade, the triple arched monument was completed in 1905 in time for the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence. Topped by an impressive bronze quadriga, it is flanked by various colonnaded buildings extending along both sides that now host three museums.
A Celebratory Narrative
Peumans explained that once the soundtrack was finalized, the galvanizing part was to integrate these three distinctive visual elements into a fluid narrative collage that included the location and working everything to the allocated budget. Much of the magic happened in a Syncronorm Depence previz suite as they visualized the show, critical to its success as in reality they had precious little situ time for programming on site when dark, the time condensed to around three hours over two nights. A run through on the first evening was without pyro but produced plenty of notes, all of which had to be addressed and solved by the next day in PWL’s previz suite onsite, with a further 1.5 hours the following night to review.
To assist this process, a simulation of the fireworks was created by Arteventia that gave a realistic visual of the effects, and this was invaluable to the process. “We worked brilliantly as a team and enjoyed great communication and understanding of each other in formulating a great audience experience,” noted Peumans. The final show was fully time-coded and synched to the music track.
Painting With Light’s lighting programmers were Tibo Spiessens and Jeroen Opsteyn using a grandMA3 and the pre-programming was completed in Depence 3 in their visualization studio. The associate lighting designer was Sieben Vannuffelen and the production Manager for LSE was Hans Cromheecke. LSE’s lighting crew were Arnaud Favry, Jonathan Mulders, Fabian Fizaine, Jonathan Gault, and Jules Roullet, and teching the lasers were Thomas Avisse and Giovanni Laera. The lasers were designed and programmed by Patrick’s son, Nathan and LSE’s artistic consultant was Marcos Vinals. Working alongside Edouard on Team Arteventia was technical manager Gabriel Legrand, project manager Jean François Homerin and pyro shooters Anthony Poveda, Jordan Van Cappellen, Emmanuel Legrand, Amaury Vanderborght and Claudel Doucel.
Peumans concluded, “While all of us involved work on massive events worldwide, it was a very proud and magical moment to be producing and presenting such a unique live experience on this huge scale for our own country and highlighting our heritage, history, and one of the country’s landmark monuments. This really resonated in highlighting some of the original and creative show and production talent right here in Belgium.”
This content was shared with PLSN by CHAUVET, More To Show, and Painting with Light.
