The Berlin Six Day Race (Six Day) is one of the biggest sporting highlights in the capital and took place for the 110th time from 27 to 29 January 2023. Due to the pandemic break, cycling fans had to wait more than three years until they could once again experience the elite of track cycling in action on the impressive 250-metre oval at the Velodrom Berlin. A long wait also came to an end this year for AVM Event Veranstaltungstechnik & Service GmbH – after all, the Bremen-based company has been responsible for the event technology of the SixDays in Bremen for more than ten years. This year, AVM relied on more than 300 Cameo spotlights for the first-ever lighting of the bike race in Berlin.
A sporting event of this type and size requires above all a bright and homogeneous illumination of the race track, where the athletes reach speeds of up to 80 km/h. While in the past this was mainly realised via conventional HQI floodlights, this year the Cameo ZENIT W600 D LED washlights played their advantages to the full: in addition to the high-resolution dimming behaviour, the barndoors of the ZENIT W600 D enabled a particularly precise illumination that was exclusively limited to the race track. In addition, the washlights ensured a lower suspended load and enabled the AVM team to integrate the lights into the show lighting design as blinders as well.
“The ZENIT W600 D made the difference – the organiser spoke of the best performance ever! For us, the ZENIT W600 D are currently the best solution for sports and trade fair events on the market,” explains Jens Wiegandt, Owner AVM Event Veranstaltungstechnik & Service GmbH.
In addition to the 116 ZENIT W600 D, AVM used 70 Cameo OPUS H5 beam spot wash hybrid moving heads to project gobos onto the track and create effect beams throughout the hall. The show lighting design was complemented by 24 OPUS S5 Spot-Moving-Heads, among other things, to stage artistic cyclists inside the hall. For further tasks inside and outside the hall, including the illumination of the taxi and shuttle stops, ZENIT W600 LED washlights with RGBW were used. In the VIP lounge of the Velodrom, the battery-operated B200 and B60 C LSD models provided flexible and discreet ambient lighting.
AVM had a special task in mind for OTOS H5. Placed directly at the show stage, the IP65-capable hybrid moving heads not only had to effectively stage the show acts, but also withstand the champagne showers of the award ceremonies. Thanks to the jet water protection, however, the team was able to clean the OTOS H5 with a jet of water after each “shower” without any problems.
At AVM, the huge cameo material pool is constantly in use – from trade fair events in Hanover and Bremen to conferences, concerts and festivals. For Jens Wiegandt, this is no reason to rest on his laurels: “You can never have enough ZENIT W600s. Moreover, I’m curious to see what will happen with the OTOS series in the future.”
