The spectacular Arena di Verona was the location for August opening of the Women's European Volleyball Championship with the Italy-Romania inaugural match. A unique event framed by a thousand years of history, creating excitement well beyond a simple passion for sports.
A complex operation that, with the endorsement of the department charged with protecting the historical monument, brought together the Federation, the Municipality and professionals to create an unparalleled event.
The lighting project
For suitable lighting at an event of this magnitude, the organizers relied on the forty-year experience of PERFORMANCE iN LIGHTING in illuminating international sporting events. A challenge anything but simple given the lighting performance to be guaranteed and the uniqueness of the site.
The lighting was supplied using 56 professional LASER+ 30 floodlights with 10°x25° elliptical reflectors. The floodlights were installed along the upper lateral perimeter of the amphitheatre on a structure specially created for events of this type. Each of these is controlled individually through the DMX digital protocol with the ability to dim the light and manage programmed on/off switching to create evocative light choreography at the beginning, intervals and at the end of the matches.
For the first time, PERFORMANCE iN LIGHTING has experimented with leasing its luminaires in temporary concession to the MeQuadro lighting service of Verona, thus offering an innovative service that meets the needs of organizers of large events. The products have been wired specifically quick installation by the lighting service trade.
In a second phase, the lighting fixtures were aimed with great precision. The result allowed us to better enjoy an unparalleled event both for the players on the court, for the spectators present and for the live broadcast television audience in over one hundred countries for a potential of more than one billion viewers.
Preparing for the event
The court was located in the centre of the Arena in the midst of thousand-year-old stands, making for a breath-taking setting. Months of preparations were necessary to experience the intense excitement concentrated over a few hours. The installation work required great organizational and technical skills to dismantle the theatrical structures on site, set up the court and perform technical checks.
The entire operation was a great collective coordination effort with the participation of over 200 skilled workers, the use of 50 trucks for the transport of technical material and over 60 hours of continuous preparation that involved 120 volunteers and 190 workers and technicians from the various set-up teams on location.
