Robe supplied 86 iFORTE LTX fixtures for the lighting rig used in the Burj Lake spectacle, which preceded the fireworks display, with lighting designed by Dom Smith and Paul Johnson of UK-based studio NeonBlack.
Dubai entered in 2026 with a multimedia celebration at the Burj Khalifa, once again transforming the world’s tallest building into the centrepiece of a New Year’s Eve production organised by Emaar and produced by Our Legacy Creations.
This year’s event began with a 20-minute live performance staged across a 450-metre open performance space on the Burj Lake, directly in front of the 828-metre tower that dominates downtown Dubai’s skyline. The large-scale production featured 25 custom-built floats, boats, waterboards and jet-skis, alongside a cast of 570 performers. Among the highlights was a tightrope walker crossing a 450-metre-long high-tension cable suspended 60 metres above ground between structures near the adjacent mall.
Lighting design for the show was led by Dom Smith and Paul Johnson of UK-based design studio NeonBlack. To illuminate the vast outdoor stage and ensure broadcast-quality visuals for 36 cameras directed by Marcus Viner, the designers deployed 86 Robe iFORTE LTX moving lights as the primary key lighting fixtures.
The pre-fireworks performance added a new visual dimension to the annual New Year’s Eve celebration, culminating in the iconic 60-second countdown and a grand fireworks finale cascading from the Burj Khalifa. The event was witnessed live by tens of thousands of spectators and streamed to a global audience of billions.
A major technical challenge for the lighting team was achieving consistent illumination across long throw distances of up to 200 metres. For the tightrope sequence, 24 iFORTE LTX fixtures were positioned on the roof of the Dubai Mall to light the cable, while additional units were installed on the nearby souk rooftop to track the performer. These were operated using Robe’s RoboSpot control system to ensure precise targeting from approximately 150 metres away.
According to the designers, the iFORTE LTX was the only luminaire capable of delivering the required intensity and beam consistency over such distances while maintaining high-quality output for both live audiences and broadcast cameras. The fixtures were supplied by Dubai-based technical rental company Media Pro as part of a lighting rig that included around 3,000 fixtures overall, in addition to the Burj Khalifa’s permanent lighting system.
Most of the 86 units were installed around the lake, many mounted on permanent PA towers and custom truss structures fabricated by Media Pro. Sixty of the fixtures were integrated into a remote follow-spot system supported by multiple fixed cameras to cover the expansive performance area.
Beyond the lake-based spectacle, the event also featured Rio Carnival-style parade floats travelling along Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, as well as lighting for the façade of the Burj Khalifa facing the lake. Even the fireworks conductor, elevated 15 metres on a hydraulic platform, was tracked by iFORTE LTX fixtures. More
