The Anna Collection enriches Visa Lighting’s architectural portfolio with pendants that blend timeless elegance and design versatility. Featuring multiple shade sizes, two material options, and hundreds of color combinations, Anna empowers designers to create lighting solutions tailored to any environment.

“Anna was created to inspire design freedom,” said Hans Nielsen, Senior Designer and Product Strategist at Visa Lighting. “Every element—from shade materials to finishes and lumen outputs—was crafted for flexibility. It’s a classic form with contemporary performance.

Anna is offered in two shade materials:

• Solid Aluminum Shades: Spun by in-house artisans using manual forming tools, finished in durable non-VOC powder coat or alternative metal finishes
• Luminous Shades: Translucent, matte white acrylic for a soft, comforting glow

Designers can mix and match materials and colors to achieve looks ranging from understated sophistication to bold statements. Each pendant features a slim power cord, minimalist canopy, and aircraft cable suspension for a clean, floating aesthetic. Available in low, medium, and high output options, Anna delivers 90+ CRI for superior color accuracy in retail, hospitality, workplace, and public spaces.

Like all Visa Lighting products, Anna is manufactured in Milwaukee and meets BAA (Buy American Act) and BABA (Build America, Buy America) compliance standards.

Raphaël’s FOH team were also controlling content for13 x 4K video outputs spread across multiple surfaces, all of which combined to bring numerous spectacular and breathtaking Eurovision-tastic moments to this vibrant, action-paced broadcast show. Lighting equipment, together with LED screens, trussing and rigging, was supplied by Bulgarian rental company ESC Rental, whose CEO Natalie Hadad worked closely with the event’s technical production manager and supervisor, Aleksandar Zdravkov, who is also CEO of company ProCinema Production.

It was a project made all the more enjoyable by close collaboration with a fabulous Georgian set design team comprising show creative director Basa Potskhishvili,
show art director Tamar Potskhishvili, show co-director David Gurgulia, and Oto Tedoradze, who oversaw the stage construction.

The centrepiece of the scenic setup was a 12-metre diameter ‘drum stage’ based on the famous Doli, a traditional double-headed percussion instrument at the heart of Georgian folk music. This was positioned right at the centre of the 46-metre-wide stage, with its circumference clad in video panels and lit top and bottom and diagonally with LED tape.

With the large amount of LED screen involved, Raphaël knew that he would need bright, powerful, and reliable lighting fixtures, so he specified Robe products as the main moving lights.

The 54 x Robe ESPRITE LTL WBs (Wash Beams) were rigged on ladders – for optimal positioning – behind the main LED surfaces in a matrix formation. “We needed a powerful luminaire and specifically one with a bigger lens so we could really maximise the breakup effects requested by some delegations,” explained Raphaël, adding that these looked great as they blasted through the blow-through LED. It was the first time he had used the iESPRITE LTL fixtures on a show like this and was even himself a little surprised at the impact and punch they brought to the picture.

The 39 x standard ESPRITES were then dotted around the stage on the decks and around the perimeter of the drum stage, where they were used for excellent cage-effect beams and other cool looks. For key lighting, they used a combination of the 26 x Robe FORTE and 12 x iFORTE fixtures, which were positioned on the overhead roof trusses.

Raphaël stated that having the FORTE’s high CRI and plus/minus green and magenta filters available made it possible to definitively fine-tune the output to attain THE best levels and shifts for everything to look outstanding on TV and for the live audiences … AND for those in the live audience who were unable to keep off their smartphones for the duration of the show! A major challenge when working in LED surface heavy environments like this is to find light levels that simultaneously allow the video to work as it should and function on camera – and with different camera systems!

“It’s absolutely essential to have all the screens and all the lights working harmoniously with all the cameras,” he underlined – a tricky balancing act, which was delivered with great style. Raphaël has been using FORTES and iFORTES for key lighting since the fixtures were first available, and both he and Chris are huge fans.

The 48 x Robe Spiider LED wash beams were scattered around the overhead trusses and utilised for the main wash effects, which worked brilliantly, as did 56 x MegaPointes deployed along the top of the three main LED screens. They excelled themselves as beams, specials, and camera flare effects. Above the audience on a series of trusses, 36 x LEDBeam 1000 fixtures were positioned. These are a little older now, commented Raphaël, but “still in excellent shape and worked very well for what we needed from these positions.”

Having all these Robe luminaires at the fingertips certainly enhanced the creation of an eye-catching opening show and interval act in addition to the 18 competing delegation performances, all ablaze with colour, drama, and individual visual expression.

Raphaël worked alongside his own fabulous FOH team of Fabian Schmidt, lighting director for show lighting; assistant lighting designer Marcel Knauf; key lighting operator Tobias Heydhausen and follow spot caller Matthias Hagel. His gaffer was Oliver Klaus, and the remote follow spotting system engineers were Matze Held and Christian “Rocket Chris” Glatthor.

The Sunrise Studios team also included the media server crew, comprising server operator Matthias Schöffmann with media server farming managed by Chris van Deenen of Trust Rental GmbH. Head of video planning was Sebastian Huwig, and the projection mapping guru was Martin Karl. Motion graphic designers were Sebastian and Natalie Zittlau, and Natalie was also the overall motion graphic design supervisor.

Photo Credit: Chris Moyan

A well designed lighting scheme does not announce itself. It quietly guides movement, enhances form, reveals texture, and supports the purpose of the space. When done right, people rarely say, “What beautiful lighting.” Instead, they say, “This space feels right.”

Lighting as a Spatial Language

Every space speaks a language. Architecture provides the grammar, interiors supply the vocabulary, and lighting sets the tone and emphasis. As lighting designers, our role is to translate intention into illumination. We ask questions that go beyond lumens and fixtures: What is the story of this space? Who will use it? At what times of day? For how long? In what emotional state?

Lighting determines how volumes are perceived whether a ceiling feels expansive or oppressive, whether a corridor feels inviting or intimidating, whether a façade appears monumental or approachable. Through contrast, hierarchy, and rhythm, light establishes spatial clarity. Without this clarity, even the most beautifully designed spaces can feel confusing or uncomfortable.

Beyond Fixtures

One of the most common misconceptions about lighting design is that it is about selecting fixtures. Fixtures are tools, not solutions. The real design lies in deciding *where* light should exist, *where it should not*, and *how it transitions between the two*.

A lighting designer works with layers: ambient lighting for overall comfort, task lighting for function, accent lighting for focus, and decorative lighting for identity. These layers must work together seamlessly, responding to both architecture and human use. Overlighting is as damaging as underlighting. Excessive uniform brightness flattens spaces, erases depth, and causes visual fatigue.

Good lighting design embraces shadow as much as illumination. Shadow gives form meaning. It allows surfaces to breathe and materials to reveal their true character.

Human Centric Lighting: Designing for People, Not Plans

Lighting is experienced by people, not drawings. A technically correct lighting layout can still fail if it ignores human perception. Factors such as glare, contrast ratios, colour temperature, and vertical illumination directly affect comfort, productivity, and mood.

In residential spaces, lighting must adapt to daily rituals waking, relaxing, entertaining, resting. In workplaces, it influences focus, alertness, and wellbeing. In hospitality environments, lighting orchestrates emotion, guiding guests from public vibrancy to private calm.

Human centric lighting is not about complexity or expensive technology. It is about empathy understanding how light supports the body’s natural rhythms and psychological needs. Sometimes, the most impactful design decision is simply reducing light where it is unnecessary.

Daylight: The Primary Design Partner

Artificial lighting should never compete with daylight; it should collaborate with it. A lighting designer studies how natural light enters a space, how it moves throughout the day, and how it changes across seasons. This understanding informs fixture placement, circuiting, and control strategies.

Daylight brings variability, contrast, and life to interiors. Artificial lighting must respond sensitively, filling in gaps rather than overpowering natural conditions. Intelligent integration of daylight reduces energy consumption while enhancing spatial quality.

When daylight is respected, lighting design becomes sustainable by default not as an afterthought, but as a fundamental design principle.

Lighting Controls: The Silent Enabler

A beautifully designed lighting scheme can fail if it is poorly controlled. Controls determine how flexible, intuitive, and usable a lighting system is. From simple dimmers to advanced scene setting systems, the goal is always the same: to give users control without complexity.

Lighting designers advocate for fewer, well considered scenes rather than endless options. A space should transition effortlessly from day to evening, from work mode to relaxation, from public to private. Good controls disappear into the background, empowering users without overwhelming them.

Architecture, Materiality, and Light

Materials respond dramatically to light. Stone absorbs, metal reflects, wood warms, glass transforms. A lighting designer studies material samples under real lighting conditions, not just in catalogues or showrooms.

Texture becomes visible only through grazing light. Colour shifts under different colour temperatures. Gloss levels influence glare and reflection. By understanding these interactions, lighting designers help architects and interior designers make informed material choices that perform as intended.

In façade lighting, the relationship between light and material defines a building’s nighttime identity. Subtlety often creates more impact than brightness. The aim is not to flood a structure with light, but to reveal its architectural intent.

The Cost Myth

Lighting design is frequently seen as an added cost rather than a value driver. In reality, early involvement of a lighting designer often reduces overall project costs. Thoughtful design avoids excessive fixtures, inefficient layouts, and expensive post installation corrections.

Well designed lighting extends the life of interiors, reduces energy consumption, and minimizes maintenance issues. More importantly, it elevates user experience something that cannot be quantified purely in monetary terms.

In commercial and hospitality projects, lighting directly influences brand perception, dwell time, and repeat visits. In residential spaces, it shapes daily comfort and long term satisfaction. These outcomes far outweigh the initial investment.

Collaboration: The Heart of Good Lighting Design

Lighting design does not exist in isolation. It thrives on collaboration with architects, interior designers, landscape designers, engineers, and clients. Early dialogue ensures alignment between vision and execution.

When lighting designers are brought in late, they are often forced to compromise working around fixed ceilings, limited coordination, or predefined budgets. When involved from the conceptual stage, lighting becomes integral rather than corrective.

The most successful projects are those where lighting is discussed alongside form, function, and flow not after them.

The Invisible Signature

Unlike other design disciplines, lighting design leaves no physical trace during the day. Its presence is felt most strongly when it is absent or poorly executed. This invisibility is both its challenge and its power.

A lighting designer’s signature is not a particular fixture or style, but a consistent sensitivity to context. Each project demands a unique response. What works for a luxury residence may fail in a workplace. What suits a heritage building may be inappropriate for a contemporary façade.

Lighting design is ultimately about restraint knowing when to intervene and when to step back.

Conclusion

Lighting design is the art and science of shaping experiences. It operates at the intersection of technology, perception, and human behaviour quietly influencing how spaces are understood, how emotions unfold, and how architecture reveals its intent. Long before a material is touched or a form is consciously admired, light establishes first impressions and lasting memories.

From a lighting designer’s perspective, success is not measured by lux levels, fixture counts, or the latest technology, but by how a space feels over time. Comfort, visual clarity, and emotional balance become the true benchmarks of good design. A well lit space allows people to focus without strain, move intuitively, and connect effortlessly with their surroundings.

When lighting is thoughtfully designed, it transcends trends. It adapts to changing needs, supports multiple functions, and ages gracefully alongside the architecture it serves. It does not seek attention, yet it elevates everything within its reach materials appear richer, spaces feel more intentional, and transitions become seamless.

Ultimately, the true power of lighting lies in its restraint. The most successful lighting schemes are often invisible, sensed rather than seen. They do not compete with architecture or interiors; they complete them. And in fulfilling this quiet role, lighting achieves its highest purpose not to be noticed, but to enhance how we see, experience, and inhabit space.

Sandeip Anand (M.A Lighting Design Germany) is the Director at AIMS Lighting Design, Mumbai having professional lighting experience of more than 20 years.

The Gerald Desmond Bridge was originally an arch bridge carrying five lanes of traffic from Long Beach, California, west to Terminal Island. To replace this ageing bridge, a new six-lane cable-stayed main span bridge was completed in 2020. The new 2000ft (3km) Gerald Desmond Bridge is supported by two, facetted, 515-foot-tall (157m) monopole bridge towers.

To add a dramatic presence to the poles and the 80 cable stays, ARUP used nearly 200 Lumenpulse Lumenbeam luminaires to create a decorative lighting program that has increased excitement around the bridge and allowed it to leave a signature on the Long Beach night. All four cable stay spans use uplighting and downlighting alternately to give a positive/negative pattern, enhancing the span, depth, and height of the cables. The luminaires are barely noticeable, as they blend with the bridge’s architecture, allowing the eye to focus on the glowing cable spans themselves.

An exciting feature of this project is that it used Lumenpulse’s proprietary technology, Lumentalk, which allowed ARUP to implement modern, addressable lighting control using only the existing electrical wires, and eliminated the need for new control wires, saving the entire project time, money, and hassle. Lumentalk enabled the RGBW Lumenbeams to light the new bridge in dynamic colours, giving all those nearby a visual reminder of its importance to international trade and regional commerce. But the RGBW Lumenbeams go even further than just reminding. On the first night of being lit, the luminaires were programmed by ARUP to display 15 different scenes, including Hanukkah, Christmas, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Lakers colours, and the Port of Long Beach’s brand colours. Now, the Lumenbeams are enacting their pre-programmed schedule to mark holidays, such as Independence Day and Christmas, and special occasions, such as the Olympics and Pride Month.

Enhanced by the Lumenpulse Lumenbeam’s dynamic, customizable architectural lighting, the Gerald Desmond Bridge has inspired civic pride and the imaginations of everyone that has enjoyed its span into the nightscape.

Location: Long Beach, California, United States
Market: Infrastructure
Architect: Donald MacDonald Architects
Client: Port of Long Beach
Lighting Design: Arup
Photographer: Martin King

Available in a 7.5″ diameter and a depth of 3.73″, Orelia is offered as a surface-mounted or stem-mounted pendant. Designers can specify the base and stem in any of Eureka’s 16-color palette to coordinate or contrast with surrounding finishes.

Constructed from acrylic, the Orelia diffuser is offered in frosted or clear. Regular and high output options are available, ranging from 371 to 757 delivered lumens.

CUPOWER is a specialist in high-end LED drivers, offering some of the smallest and most advanced solutions on the market. Technology is at the core of our strategy, and our portfolio includes cutting-edge drivers featuring mesh technology—one of our key development areas.

Our innovative R&D team and process-oriented production ensure that we deliver reliable, efficient, and industry-leading LED drivers. With in-house capabilities ranging from sheet-metal forming and plastic moulding to assembly and testing, we maintain full control over quality while enabling flexible and sustainable production.

We combine German engineering expertise driven by our team in Germany with the efficiency of our production facilities in China. This powerful synergy allows us to provide LED drivers with exceptional performance and unmatched reliability. As highlighted in our quality brochure, we offer one of the lowest failure rates known in the lighting electronics industry.

What is the USP of CUPOWER and how do you set yourself apart from the competitors?

While most companies in the industry work with a standard failure rate of around 0.2%, CUPOWER delivers LED drivers with only a quarter of that rate. This exceptionally low failure rate sets a new benchmark for quality and reliability in the lighting electronics market.

We are also unique in offering a unified mesh platform that supports all major systems. With one platform for every application, our customers benefit from simplified integration, reduced complexity, and greater flexibility.

Additionally, CUPOWER provides the smallest LED drivers on the market. Their ultra-compact size allows luminaire manufacturers to create innovative, design-driven fixtures where the driver becomes virtually invisible. This opens new possibilities in aesthetics, form factor, and product differentiation. These are just some of the key USPs that make CUPOWER the preferred partner for high-end, technology-driven LED solutions.

Could you tell us in brief about the products that you showcased at the LED Expo, Delhi?

Apart from our mesh platform, another truly unique feature that we showcased was the option for external antennas. When a driver is housed inside a metal luminaire, wireless signals cannot pass through the metal effectively—signal and metal simply don’t work well together. External antennas solve this problem by providing reliable signal access outside the luminaire. This is a key area of focus for us, ensuring stable communication in even the most challenging installation environments.

We also concentrate on smaller dimensions, wider operating windows, and enhanced functionality. A major highlight is our advanced support for tunable white technology, which continues to grow in popularity. With tunable white, users can adjust not only the brightness but also the color temperature of the light, enabling more flexible, human-centric lighting solutions. These innovations were among the main trends and technologies we showcased at the fair in Delhi.

How do you see the global LED market evolving in 2026?

A major trend we observe today is the growing importance of the LED driver as the central element in mesh-based lighting systems. The industry is steadily moving away from wired light-management solutions, with customers increasingly seeking wireless, flexible, and future-proof alternatives. This shift places the driver at the core of intelligent lighting.

We also see rising demand for smaller, more discreet luminaire designs, which requires drivers with minimal dimensions and maximum efficiency. At the same time, customers are looking for broader operating windows, enabling them to reduce the number of driver variants needed to run their systems—driving both simplicity and cost efficiency.

Another key development is the increasing relevance of software. While the driver’s housing has become a commodity, the real value now lies in the intelligence embedded within it. Advanced software capabilities are what differentiate a standard driver from a truly smart, high-performance solution.

These are some of the defining trends we foresee for 2026, shaping the next stage of innovation in the lighting industry.

How was your experience at the LED expo in Delhi?

This was the second time we focused on the Delhi Fair for the lighting industry, and for us it is essential to showcase our products to the Indian audience. The event is an important part of our exhibition strategy for the coming year. In addition to the Delhi Fair, we will participate in several other international trade fairs around the world to present our lighting solutions.

With its large and growing population, India is one of our most important and strategic markets for the future. That is why we are placing significant attention and priority on this event here in Delhi.

How important are events like these for showcasing your products and networking with the right customers?

I feel, there must always be a good balance. Today, with the strength of social media, trade fairs have become just one part of our marketing strategy. We still strongly believe in the value of direct and face-to-face contact. Speaking with clients in person remains the easiest and most effective way to explain new products.

At the same time, platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube are becoming increasingly important. Social media is now an essential component of our overall marketing approach, complementing our presence at fairs.

What is CUPOWER’s vision for the future?

For next year, we already have several new product ideas in development. Wireless technology will continue to be a major pillar of our strategy, as our vision is to always deliver the latest innovations to the lighting industry. Trends such as mesh and Bluetooth solutions will play a central role, but our flexibility allows us to recognize and respond quickly to even the smallest emerging trends. Our goal is to consistently be faster and more innovative than the rest of the market.

At the same time, sustainability is becoming increasingly important. CUPOWER is proud to be the first and only company whose entire product portfolio is registered with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in Europe. This combination of cutting-edge wireless technology and strong sustainability standards defines our future direction and represents our long-term vision.

High-Ceiling illumination at Geneo, Singapore Science Park

Geneo is far more than a conventional work destination. Comprising a cluster of five mixed-use buildings, it offers purpose-built workspaces, amenities, and serviced apartments. Beyond the professional sphere, Geneo distinguishes itself as a dynamic social and ecological hub. Its major event plaza, vibrant retail and restaurant spaces, and extensive landscaped areas – covering over 21,000 sqm (approximately one-third of the site) – foster a sense of community and provide a seamless connection to the nearby Kent Ridge Park. The overarching vision was to create a space that promotes well-being and interaction, accessible directly from Kent Ridge MRT station as a grand gateway to the wider development.

The lighting challenge: brilliance from extreme heights

The centrepiece of Geneo is its monumental, sheltered canopy, characterized by majestic Mass Engineered Timber columns and arches. While its architectural grandeur is evident by day, the true spectacle unfolds in the evening, when Nipek Lighting’s elaborate design comes to life. The key lighting challenge was to provide powerful, homogeneous, and safe illumination for a vast public circulation area, all while working with an extreme mounting height of approximately 28 meters. An illuminance of minimum of 100 lux was required on the ground for general circulation safety standards.

ERCO was the chosen partner due to its proven capability in high-ceiling environments, its commitment to precision engineering, and the robust performance of its luminaires. The solution involved strategically clustering ERCO’s Atrium Double Focus luminaires in groups of eight at the apex of each arch.

ERCO’s approach to lighting effectiveness is rooted in its lx/W approach, which emphasizes not just energy efficiency but true light effectivity. This principle focuses on the crucial ratio of illuminance to connected load (lux per watt) – ensuring the maximum quantity of light reaches the target surface. ERCO achieves this through the use of optimal LEDs and in-house developed operating electronics for low energy consumption, combined with high-precision photometric systems that direct light precisely without spill.

The successful illumination of Geneo showcases the transformative power of expertly designed lighting, realized through the vision of Nipek Lighting and the precise engineering of ERCO luminaires. ERCO’s contribution has not only met the stringent technical requirements of a high-ceiling environment but has also enhanced the architectural beauty and functional utility of this key public space.

The ERCO solution: chosen for precision, power, and longevity

Exceptional Performance at Height: Despite the challenging 28-meter mounting height, these powerful fixtures consistently deliver a remarkable 100 lux on the ground. This not only meets the minimum safety requirements for circulation spaces but also ensures a brilliant and welcoming atmosphere throughout the plaza.

Homogeneous Illumination: The optical precision of the Atrium Double Focus ensures a uniform and glare-free spread of light, critical for comfort and visual navigation in a busy public space.

Aesthetic Integration: The luminaires feature a sophisticated black reflector, contributing to a cleaner, more integrated aesthetic that seamlessly blends with the timber structure.

Durability and low maintenance: With an impressive lifespan of up to 50,000 hours, ERCO luminaires significantly reduce the need for maintenance, offering substantial long-term convenience and cost savings for building managers. This durability underscores ERCO’s commitment to sustainable and reliable lighting solutions.

Architecture: Chris Lee (Serie Architects), Multiply Architects
Lighting design: Nipek Pte Ltd
Photography: Shiya Creative Studio, Singapore
Project location: Singapore / Singapore
Country: Singapore

Robe moving lights, iBOLTS, iFORTES and iFORTE LTXs, once again played a significant role in illuminating four key architectural elements – the 118-metre-wide Hungarian Parliament Building, the Hungarian National Gallery, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge and Elisabeth Bridge.

The project was managed by Visual Europe Group’s in-house team, with all key technical decisions handled internally. Close collaboration between all of these was ensured by project lead Zoltán Ősz, who oversaw end-to-end production and delivery in alignment with the creative design team at GYÁR Post Production Company, sister company and part of the Visual Europe Group.

Tibor Kalla was the lighting designer. It was the first time he had worked in this capacity on the National Day event, although previously he had been part of the team as a systems engineer and network installation specialist. He collaborated closely with VEG to choose the best fixture placements around the city to create the desired overall lighting aesthetic.

Eight Robe iBOLTS were positioned on top of the Chain Bridge’s two arches. The bridge is one of Budapest’s most iconic landmarks – and iBOLTS were used as super-bright beacons of light to draw attention to the bridge as a focal point of the show. During the timecoded show, the arches were illuminated with projection and the iBOLT’s potent sky beams were synced with the music and projections.

At the Parliament building – on the Pest side of the river – 10 x iFORTES were positioned to illuminate the North side of the building, supporting the stunning projections that appeared on its front facade.

The Hungarian National Gallery sits on the Buda bank of the river and is part of the Buda Palace complex. One of the highest altitude points across the whole city, it is highly visible as part of the show vista, and this year its front façade and central dome were illuminated with 16 x iFORTE LTXs in a series of different colours plus gobo texturing to give it more depth and resonance.

The iFORTE LTXs were sitting on scaffolding towers built and spaced out along the Savoy Terrace in front of the National Gallery, and their sheer firepower was perfect for this task.

The Elisabeth Bridge pylons were illuminated with a total of 16 iFORTE LTXs, with another 64 iFORTES shooting beams off the sides. This bridge is built at the narrowest part of the Danube spanning 290 metres and is named after Elisabeth of Bavaria. It was the furthest southern point of the main show site, with the Margaret Bridge being the most northern point in the opposite direction along the river.

The fixtures were placed on staging platforms spaced along the bridge’s pedestrian walkway sections. All these Robe fixtures were chosen for their IP ratings and brightness. While the weather was beautiful on this occasion, it is ever more unpredictable, and the brightness and excellent colour rendering, consistency and reliability are ideal for picking out the city’s fantastic structural elements with elegance and style.

The Robe products were part of around 900 lighting fixtures deployed around the city centre site by VEG for a show that attracted approximately 1.5 million visitors to the city for a day of celebration, which saw Budapest become a big carnival with a distinctive festival atmosphere.

Among the major challenges for the VEG team of 250 was coordinating with all the other independent technical departments, so when they arrived on-site, both the power supply and data infrastructure were already in place across this vast urban landscape.

The projection mapping was achieved using 67 Panasonic PT-RQ35K 35,000-lumen projectors and Disguise VX4 media servers, set up in containers at the main control position on the Buda side of the river opposite the Parliament building. They were shooting around 400 metres across to the façade of the 1902 neogothic architectural masterpiece. An extremely tight get-in schedule added to the pressure on the production side. The lighting build started on the 13^th of August and continued until the evening of the 18^th, with just one rehearsal on the 19^th. Lighting rigging on Elisabeth Bridge was left until last, as it was only accessible once all the city centre road traffic closures were in place, coordinated by the police department, all adding to more logistical complexities for the lighting crew.

The fireworks were designed and executed independently by Budapest-based pyro specialists NUVU and were fired from multiple sites, including a series of barges moored along the river.

Szabolcs Botond, CEO of VEG, commented, “Being part of the Hungarian National Day is both an honour and a responsibility. It allows us to showcase the full spectrum of our technical expertise while contributing to a historic and symbolic event that unites the entire country.” The complete overall event organisation was delivered by Lounge Event, an experienced event management agency sharing the same ownership as Visual Europe Group.

Photo Credit: Louise Stickland

By bringing together Current’s high-efficiency LED luminaires with Itron’s intelligent controls, the joint offering empowers cities and utilities to optimize streetlight performance. Modern LED fixtures are designed to produce more lumens per watt than older technologies, which save energy and reduce costs. However, this increased brightness can lead to over-illumination and light pollution if not properly managed.

Itron’s CityEdge portfolio extends the value of smart lighting by enabling cities to manage their streetlight infrastructure with precision. Beyond dimming and energy cost reduction, CityEdge offers remote asset monitoring and streetlight fault detection. The platform also supports the integration with additional sensors, such as air quality, traffic and weather, allowing cities to take advantage of multiple smart city applications to improve community safety. When paired with Current’s luminaires, CityEdge not only provides a more responsive lighting environment but helps streamline operations through features like automated asset management data collection with Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) drivers.

Jarry luminaires range from 1’ to 8’ in length and are available as pendants, wall sconces, and ceiling-mounted options. Fixtures can be installed horizontally, vertically, or at an angle, with up to twelve silicone globes per unit. Vertical pendants are available with or without floor anchors.

The Jarry family is offered in Eureka’s full palette of 16 metal finishes, including Champagne and Silver, and introduces three faux wood finishes—a first for the brand. Thirteen braided cable color options are also available.

Each Jarry globe delivers up to 515 lumens. Output options include dim-to-warm (4000K – 2200K) and static white (2700K to 4000K).

Jarry can be installed in shared spaces such as lobbies, kitchens, washrooms, and office dividers. Designers can choose from preconfigured layouts that vary in globe count, fixture length, and mounting style.