Sunrise Festival 2026 – Black Stage
Venue: Podczele Airfield, Kołobrzeg, Poland
Date: 31 July–2 August 2026
Fixtures
112× Brighter X-Beam IP
Production
OWL SHOWS - Netherlands
Lighting Supplier: Wizja Multimedia
INTRODUCTION
Sunrise Festival is one of the largest electronic music productions in Central and Eastern Europe. For the 2026 edition, six stages representing different strands of electronic music were built at Podczele Airfield. One of them was Black Stage—an industrially styled stage with a programme dominated by techno and various forms of electronic music.
The stage hosted artists including Pan-Pot, Nicole Moudaber, Anfisa Letyago, MRAK, Stephan Bodzin, Kasablanca, Meduza, Kölsch, UMEK, Dave Clarke, Chris Liebing and DJ Rush. Such a broad programme required a lighting design capable of transforming the character of the space for each performance—from restrained, precisely structured looks to full-scale lighting effects during the peak moments of the sets.
OWL SHOWS was responsible for the production, while the lighting system was supplied by Wizja Multimedia. The rig incorporated 112 Brighter X-Beam IP fixtures. All units were deployed on Black Stage, positioned around the perimeters of several suspended circular scenic structures.
In this project, the X-Beams were not simply another layer of lighting. Their placement was directly integrated into the stage architecture, making the fixtures an integral part of the overall visual concept.
PROJECT BRIEF
Design objectives and operating environment
The primary objective was to create an extensive lighting layer that would emphasise the circular geometry of Black Stage and enable the lighting team to build multi-level looks across a large outdoor space.
The stage architecture was based on several circular structures suspended at different heights. The X-Beams were mounted around their perimeters, creating a repeated, symmetrical lighting arrangement.
This configuration enabled the fixtures to create:
- beam fans extending above the audience;
- symmetrical looks emphasising the shape of the structures;
- intersecting layers of light between the different levels.
The fixtures could operate as separate groups assigned to individual structures or as one integrated system comprising 112 points of light. This allowed each look to develop progressively with the music—from isolated pulses to full-scale compositions encompassing the stage and the space above the audience.
Technical solution
The Brighter X-Beam IP uses a 120 W phosphor laser source and an optical system producing a 1° beam angle. An illuminance of 87,500 lux at 20 metres allows the fixture to maintain a clearly defined, high-impact beam across a large outdoor environment.
This was particularly important on Black Stage, where the beams had to remain visible alongside LED screens, lasers and special effects. The optical system made it possible to create clearly defined aerial forms without losing beam sharpness over longer projection distances.
The CMY colour-mixing system and an additional colour wheel with 12 colours ensured consistent colour reproduction across all 112 fixtures. The units also feature 17 static gobos, an 8-facet circular prism, a 24-facet circular prism and the ability to use both prisms simultaneously.
This enabled the lighting team to move from individual, tightly focused beams to much wider and denser aerial effects. The frost filter also made it possible to move away from the fixture’s typical beam character and create a softer layer of light.
THE CHALLENGE
Maintaining consistency across 112 fixtures
In an installation based on symmetrical circular structures, any variation between fixtures becomes immediately visible. The system required a high level of beam consistency, uniform colour reproduction and precise movement from every moving head.
The X-Beams had to operate as one coherent system—both when creating static geometric looks and during fast sequences involving entire groups of fixtures.
Outdoor location
Sunrise Festival takes place in an open-air environment close to the Baltic coast. The lighting system therefore had to be prepared for humidity, dust, sand and changing weather conditions.
The X-Beam IP has an IP66 protection rating, allowing it to operate in outdoor installations without additional rain covers. For fixtures installed across multiple suspended structures at an outdoor event, an IP66-rated housing is now an industry requirement.
Maintaining visual definition across a large space
Black Stage operated within a large open-air environment. The effects had to remain clearly visible both within the immediate stage area and from the more distant sections of the audience.
The presence of LED screens, animation lasers and special effects presented an additional challenge. The fixtures needed to retain their own visual identity without becoming lost among the other elements of the show. The narrow, high-intensity beam produced by the X-Beam IP enabled the creation of clearly defined aerial forms above both the stage and the audience.
A large number of fixtures installed on suspended structures
With 112 fixtures in the rig, weight and physical dimensions were just as important as optical performance. Each X-Beam IP weighs 13.7 kg, reducing the total load imposed on the suspended scenic elements compared with a system based on larger, heavier fixtures.
The compact design enabled the fixtures to be distributed evenly around the perimeters of the rings while maintaining consistent spacing between each lighting position. The fixtures did not visually dominate the scenic design, but once the system was active, their arrangement became one of the defining visual elements of Black Stage.
Working across multiple heights and planes
The fixtures were not arranged on a single plane. They were installed on several structures suspended at different heights and positioned at varying distances from the audience.
This required precise programming of fixture positions and movement directions. The beams had to form a coherent composition without uncontrolled overlaps or any loss of clarity in the stage geometry.
At the same time, the multi-level arrangement was one of the project’s greatest strengths. It enabled the lighting team to move light through successive scenic layers, activate individual rings in line with the progression of a track or combine all the structures into one high-impact composition.
CONCLUSIONS
Black Stage at Sunrise Festival 2026 demonstrated how effectively lighting can be integrated with stage architecture. Instead of using a conventional arrangement of moving heads installed in straight lines, the production created a multi-plane installation in which each group of fixtures emphasised the shape of one of the circular structures.
The deployment of 112 Brighter X-Beam IP fixtures enabled the lighting team to create both precise, structured forms and dense compositions encompassing the entire Black Stage environment. The light could be moved between successive levels and developed in line with the music.
The most important factors in this production included:
- a tight beam that retained its intensity over long distances;
- fast and precise movement;
- the ability to create a wide range of effects using prisms;
- compact dimensions and low fixture weight;
- an IP66-rated housing.
The production confirmed that a compact beam moving head can form the backbone of a large-scale festival rig when it combines the required output, precise optics and a construction designed for real-world operating conditions.
