Thorn at Euro 2016

Thorn, a Zumtobel Group brand, has provided new lighting for three of the stadiums hosting Euro 2016 in the run-up to the tournament, ensuring that the competition will be seen in the best possible light, with the stringent requirements imposed by UEFA for TV broadcasts. Thorn floodlights are in use at Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Étienne, at the Stade des Lumières (Stadium of Light) in Lyon and at the Allianz-Riviera stadium in Nice.

Thorn equipped the three venues with various different floodlights including Altis, Areaflood, Mundial and Champion. In addition to the pitches themselves, other areas including car parks, interiors and a facade were also illuminated. At all the stadiums, three or four variable lighting modes are available to meet the different lighting requirements during training, during a match and for TV broadcasts. 

In the lighting of such major arenas the primary focus is on compliance with UEFA’s stringent demands for high-definition TV broadcasts. As many as 300 floodlights are installed per stadium, directed in order to light the pitch evenly to the required illuminance level of 2.000 Lux. The vertical light distribution required to show the players optimally is 1.500 Lux – enabling cameras to capture their movements perfectly across the whole playing area.

Even lighting across the whole of the pitch is another requirement, reducing shadows to a minimum. For slow-motion replays and HDTV coverage it is also very important that the light is almost completely flicker-free – a factor that is especially crucial in slow motion TV sequences. This “flicker factor” must be lower than 5% to comply with the UEFA guidelines. Colour rendering (≥80 Ra), colour temperature (5000-6200 Kelvin) and glare rating (GR<50) are further key criteria.  

Altis, Areaflood, Mundial and Champion
Program: stadium lamps
Design and production: Thorn by Zumtobel Group
Year: 2016