European Capital of Culture Explodes into Life with SGM

P-5: A Winner in Umea's Winter

Having been declared European Capital of Culture 2014 all eyes now turn to the city of Umeå in Sweden. Lumination of Sweden was put in charge of the technical production for the inauguration ceremony, and brought in 36 SGM P-5 wash lights to create the right atmosphere and colour large outdoor spaces for this opening winter weekend of the cultural year. This incorporated the shows, “Burning Snow” and “Lit City”.

Burning Snow was performed on the ice of the Umeå River and involved a team of 70 people from Lumination of Sweden, PRG, Lunatx, Groundfloor Production and ARS Electronica along with local volunteers and performers. Meanwhile, Lit City took place at a central location in the city, for a weekend of art and lighting in a snowy and icy environment. This project called upon 30 technicians from Lumination of Sweden.

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Lighting designer, Tobias Hallgren, from Lumination of Sweden, who was given the main technical responsibility for both events and was head designer for Lit City, selected the P-5 for its “light output, versatility and outdoor compability” and was delighted with the results. “There was a lot of positive press coverage during the weekend from all over the world. Umeå City was very pleased with the whole project both in artistic results and practical solutions,” states Hallgren.

The 36 P-5 wash lights were supplied by rental service company 2rent, who recently invested in the fixture as its first SGM stock after having them demoed by SGM Sweden’s Mikael Uddh.

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2rent partner, Henrik Rydell, explains that he quickly saw the potential. “We love working with the P-5. We can easily set the addresses and mode via Android phones to improve the service level towards the customer. It is also great to be able to read out the data of the fixture when the unit comes back from a rental. We love the design and we keep telling our customers that now you don´t need to hide the lamps anymore, since it is a beauty to look at!”

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Rydell especially favours the P-5’s NFC function, and foresees future application of the fixture in TV studios for colouring stage props, in shop windows illuminating and promoting products, in car exhibitions around the world and in outdoor environments in general due to its high IP rating.

Summing up, Rydell realises he has a winner in his stock. “We know it is a powerful wash and we know it will serve us for many years”, he concludes.