The fixtures – a mixture of ColorSpot 1200s, ColorWash 1200s and ColorMix’s– were the main workhorses of the spectacular rig, which combined with Michael Ilka’s set design to create one of the most visually stunning Eurovision shows ever.The Eurovision Song Contest, with a TV audience exceeding 150 million, is one of the biggest and highest profile TV shows in the world.

Lighting and technical production was co-ordinated by Ola Melzig of Swedish based Spectra Stage & Event Technologies. He and Sundin originally approached Robe at SIB 2004 with a view to them supporting Eurovision 2005 – as the event has a penchant for choosing and using the latest cutting edge technology. “We were immediately impressed with Robe’s enthusiasm and attitude” says Melzig, “They were very keen to get involved and to be part of the show”.

Chief moving light technician Dick Welland – who’s done the last 3 Eurovisions - weighs in with, “The Robe’s were fantastically reliable, in fact I’ve not encountered such a reliable moving light in many years – they came straight out of the boxes and worked” he declared. Once the Eurovision lighting rig is up and running, it gets worked extensively for two to three weeks of programming, plotting, rehearsals – and this year for the first time – the televised semi final. “Normally by that stage, we would expect to have swapped out 50 or 60 moving lights” says Welland “But this time with the Robes, only about 10 fixtures were taken briefly into the hospital for minor repairs before being returned to the rig”. That’s an improvement of 500 per cent!