The Accor Hotel has played host to its share of high profile sporting events, such as the World Indoor Athletics Championships.  Recently, the 18,000 capacity venue was the site of another sports spectacular as it welcomed the Meeting de Paris Indoor, a one day track and field event that featured some of France’s top Olympic athletes such as Kevin Mayer and Renaud Lavillenie. French production house Franck Sono provided suitably energetic visuals for the meet with a collection of CHAUVET Professional  fixtures supplied by Algam.

A total of 15 Maverick Hybrids, 16 Rogue R1 FX-Bs, 15 R1 Beams and 18 Nexus 5x5 fixtures lent added impact to the competition by creating a variety of impactful, and often contrasting looks throughout the venue. This was especially evident at the main podium, which was the centre of spectator and media attention.

To illuminate the central focal point of the entire stadium – a podium complete with red carpet for the winner’s award ceremonies – Algam supplied a matrix of Nexus 5x5 fixtures complemented by two rows of Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures lining the red carpet.

“As the podium was particularly crucial to the overall visual concept of the event, it was decided upon a combination of fixtures to provide interesting contrast and energy,” commented David Deforge, Chief of Production at Algam. “The resulting synergy between the Rogue R1 FX-B and the Nexus fixtures looked spectacular.”

By positioning the fixtures in two parallel rows, the R1 FX-B’s infinite rotation of both pan and tilt with five individually controllable heads resulted in  dazzling multifaceted award ceremony worthy visuals.

In contrast, the Nexus fixtures made up the visual backdrop to the podium itself thanks to their pixel mappable quadratic shape. The fixtures were used heavily during the award ceremony itself where the saturated colours of the RGBW quad LEDs provided interesting eye candy both as a stand-alone fixture and when used in conjunction with the Rogue R1 FX-B.

Another central element to lighting concept were the selection of Maverick MK1 Hybrid and Rogue R1 Beam fixtures, which served to provide punchy ariel effects around the stadium during the various athletic events, including the 60-metre sprint, hurdles and pole vault.

“We wanted to achieve pulsating looks throughout the stadium to provide accentuation to key moments on the track,” commented Deforge. “With the beam, spot and wash combination of the Maverick and Rogue fixtures, we were able to create some extremely strong looks to accompany the events.”

Six Maverick MK1 Hybrid fixtures were positioned behind the six starting blocks behind the 60-metre track with a further nine fixtures placed strategically around the upper tier of the stadium. The Maverick’s multi-facet prisms, versatile gobo wheels and excellent zoom produced a seemingly endless array of beam and spot punches, with long powerful throws assured thanks to the 440 W Osram light source.

Flown from upper tier trussing in the stadium, the Rogue R1 Beams performed a variety of functions, including providing complementary side lighting and further aerial effects to work in unison with the Maverick fixtures. Thanks to the RGBW fixture’s wide zoom angle of 12°-49°, an incredibly wide area of coverage was assured for all manner of looks during the various track and field events.

While Parisians may have waited almost seven years for an indoor athletics event of this calibre, the combination of world-class athletes and first class production guaranteed a memorable occasion for spectators – ensured in no small part by the inclusion of the CHAUVET Professional fixtures in Franck Sono’s lighting concept.