The new 8,500 capacity Sun Arena in Pretoria, South Africa features a house moving light rig of 90 dynamic Robe fixtures, which are at the disposal of all events utilising the state-of-the-art multipurpose venue, part of Sun International’s Time Square development and entertainment complex.
Robe lighting fixtures are integral to a complete turnkey technical package specified and supplied to the venue by Robe’s South African distributor DWR to operators Sun International.
The Sun Arena’s capacity expands to 10,000 with a standing audience with the goal of attracting leading artists, performers and event clients from around the globe. The backbone of the lighting rig features 12 Robe BMFL Spots, 6 Robe BMFL Blades, 24 Robe Spiider LED wash beams, 24 Robe Pointes and 24 Robe LEDBeam 100s.
The lighting is being looked after day-to-day and gig-to-gig by Johannesburg based MGG, South African full production and rental specialist, who won a tender to supply full venue technical facilities management.
Robe luminaires were selected to give a nice balance between the powerful hard edges of the Robe BMFL Spots and Robe Blades and the rich and beautifully homogenised colours of the Robe Spiiders together with their additional effects. The sheer versatility, punch and speed of the Robe Pointes, arguably the most enduringly popular ‘hybrid’ effects fixture of the last decade, won them a place on the rig and the tiny Robe LEDBeam 100s can be squeezed in anywhere and produce massive effect for their miniscule size.
Apart from the Robe moving lights, there are six Robe ColorStrobes available and 74 LED PAR cans, complete with a MA Lighting grandMA system for control. Large amounts of Prolyte trussing and motors mean that trussing can be configured and rigged in numerous creative ways throughout the arena.
“Most LDs are very happy to see Robe and work with it on a lighting spec,” commented Johnny Scholtz. The brand is extremely strong in South Africa thanks to the hard work of DWR, and also on the rise in other areas of the African continent, “so it was an obvious choice from many angles”.
The first Sun Arena gig to utilise the new house system was the ‘Unison Celebration Show’ featuring a vibrant and diverse line-up of exciting and talented multi-cultural African artists, reflecting Time Square’s commitment to supporting South Africa’s thriving performing arts industry. Lighting for this event was designed by Francois van de Merwe from MGG.
