Cameo is bringing back the 90s

With the lighting design at the “Love the 90s” festival in Valencia

90s nostalgia meets festival vibes – the “Love the 90s” festival series is an emotional revival for an entire generation. At the end of May, the open-air area in front of the iconic Museu de les Ciències in Valencia was transformed into a vibrant journey through time with 90s stars such as Snow, 2 Unlimited, La Bouche, and DJ Sashe! Under the radiant sun until nightfall, more than 15,000 visitors celebrated in front of the two spectacular stages for hours on end – accompanied by a monumental lighting design by the Spanish creative studio Experiencias Visuales, which featured more than 200 Cameo lights.

Lighting design meets architecture

For lighting designer Edu Valverde, who has been responsible for the stage and lighting concept for “Love the 90s” since 2017, this year's design was based on brutalism: “Large surfaces, straight lines – inspired by German architecture. The stage was designed to resemble a monolithic structure while also serving as a screen for projecting LED videos.” The seamless transition from daylight to darkness, which required a high degree of flexibility and luminosity from all the light models, presented a particular challenge.

Three different cameo models were used, each of which was specifically adjusted to the rhythm of the festival:

Cameo PIXBAR 400 IP G2

The LED bars served as continuous lines of light along the white set elements. Their high light output meant they provided highly visible lighting accents in full sunlight from as early as 5 p.m. “We started at full performance capacity,” explains Edu Valverde. “Then we gradually dimmed down to 10 per cent as soon as dawn broke and the skies darkened.”

Cameo ZENIT W600

For Edu Valverde, the ZENIT W600 has long been more than just a technical tool, but an “old friend” that he has already used to realize numerous major projects. For the “Love the 90s” festival, the lighting designer once again relied on the tried-and-tested outdoor LED wash lights to flexibly illuminate both the architecture of the gigantic stage and the adjacent areas. Valverde particularly appreciates the ZENIT W600’s filter system: “Different beam angles and lighting effects can be created in just a few simple steps – this not only saves time, but also makes the lights extremely versatile.” For a festival that ranges from daylight to darkness, this is an invaluable advantage.

Cameo OTOS W12

Edu Valverde and his team used the IP65 Wash Moving Head with its 32 × 50 W RGBL LEDs, controllable FX LED effect ring, and multi-zoom feature for the first time. “We have tested the OTOS W12 extensively, both in the studio and directly at the rental firm, and are thrilled by it," explains Edu Valverde. “The W12’s zoom levels make it suitable for both wide-area lighting and creative effects.”

Much more than nostalgia

Even though the “Love the 90s" focuses on memories, the technical set-up is ultra-modern and meticulously planned. The entire pre-production process took several months and was implemented early on with 3D visualizations. “Shows like this are very complex, so every element has to be perfectly coordinated," emphasizes Valverde. It’s clear to him that the Cameo lights play a key role here: “They are robust, efficient, and versatile – exactly what you need at an open-air festival.”

The Cameo lights were supplied by the Spanish rental service provider Fluge Audiovisuales.