About Us

{contentTitle}

Accessory

{name}

Account Removal

User Account Update

Account Update

User Activation

Activation page

Amortization Calculator

{title}

Application Picker

Job Detail Page

Career Page

Case Studies

Case Studies Page

Cookies Bar

Cookies

Cookies Info

Cookies Page

Cookies Info (CZ)

Cookies Page (CZ)

Disclaimer

Error 404

Error 500

PDF Error

Event

Expos&Events

Expos&Events Page

FilePage

File

User Forgotten Password

Forgotten Password page

Gallery

General Translations

General Spot On

Gobo

Happy Hours

Homepage

HP Slider

Homepage Slider

Innovation

Innovation Page

Inquiry

Key Feature Category

{intDes}

User New Password

New Password page

News

News Detail

News Detail Page

News Page

Office

Offices Page

Products Parameters

Param Or Feature

Patent

{number}

Patents Page

Person

{firstName} {lastName}

Podcast page

Privacy

Privacy Policy

Privacy (CZ)

Privacy Policy (CZ)

Product

Product Detail

Product Detail Page

Product Overview Pages

Products Page

Rental Region

{region}

User Registration

Registration

Rental

Rental Finder

Search Page

Short Video

{internalDes}

Slide

Smart Links

Spot On Index

Support

Support Project Registration

Support Rma Form

Sustainability

Technical Training

Technical Training Calendar

Technical Training Type

{subtitle}

User Thank You

Thank You page

Trademark

{trademark}

Trademarks Page

Unavailable Locale Error

User Login Modal

User Login

User Login page

Video

Video Spot On

Wheel

System and Method for Controlling the Humidity and Pressure in a Luminaire

Systems for a Luminaire

Coating for a Framing Shutter for a Luminaire

Removable Lens System for a Luminaire

Lighting Control Console

14070420-01

99016015-9

99016015-8

99016015-7

99016015-6

99016015-5

99016015-4

99016015-3

99016015-2

99016015-1

 on Instagram and never miss a story again!

The browser you are currently using is not supported. To prevent glitches and functionality issues, switch to different browser.

Lighting included six of Robe’s new iBOLTS, a massively bright laser-source searchlight style moving light capable of jaw dropping effects, and 12 x iPointe65s – an IP65 version of Robe’s famous MegaPointe moving light – fixtures stood out from over 200 lights illuminating the Arcadia Arena.

The Dragonfly’s body was projection mapped adding texture and depth, the head comprised a custom transparent video screen made from 200 LED tiles and lasers were its wings. Naturally – in true Arcadia style – the show featured an impressive array of fire effects.

Originated and designed by Arcadia’s Pip Rush (creative director) and Bert Cole (technical director), the 30-metre-long 8.5-metre-high biomechanical Dragonfly is built from an ex Royal Navy Sea King helicopter, and it was at the heart of a 70,000-capacity evolved geometric space at the festival.

The sculpture ‘awakened’ every night at 11.30 during a breathtaking 9-minute show, “Warraloo”, developed by Arcadia in collaboration with the Wadjuk Noongar nation of Western Australia and based on the Dragonfly’s pupation cycle. This was followed by a full lineup of DJs and artists playing over the three main performance days of Glasto 2024.

In addition to being a stunning piece of art and engineering in its own right, the Arcadia zone was the core of the festival’s vibrant late night entertainment culture.

The Dragonfly’s production lighting design was by Dave Cohen of creative lighting studio MIRRAD, with technical production manager Katie Davies overseeing all related production elements on site throughout the two-week build and 3-day run periods, including coordinating 47 core crew and technicians.

With the DJ booth located in the cockpit of the helicopter / head of the Dragonfly and surrounded 360-degrees by the bespoke transparent LED screen construction, Arcadia fans enjoyed banging headliner sets from Fatboy Slim, Eric Prydz, Amelie Lens, Andy C and many, many more, delivering superlative music and vibes throughout the three-day festival, which is among the best known worldwide.

The six iBOLTS were rigged on the top of six 11-metre-high trussing towers positioned around the Arena, and used for blasting beams and effects out into the sky and creating those massive, big site-wide looks that ensured the Arcadia arena was visible from everywhere across the undulating site at night, helping to generate that special Arcadia energy.

The weatherised iPointe65s were positioned on four inner podiums circling the dragonfly, each with a large flaming bull-rush and smoking grass sculpture on top, comprising three fire jets. The bull-rush podiums were also made from recycled metal parts and crane arms and provided an organic environment for the Dragonfly.

The iPointe65s were rigged below the podium’s metal grated floors and used for architecturally lighting the bull-rushes while the podiums were utilised by performers during the show.

Katie commented, “The iBOLTS were fantastic as a powerful and dynamic lightsource seen from all over the site, while the iPointe65s were perfect for ensuring the bull-rush podiums stood out during the show!”

Reliability was a key factor for Arcadia for both these fixture types, and anyone familiar with the unpredictability of the English summer will know, the weather can be erratic!

“We already knew from previous experience that Robe fixtures are rock solid, you can put them up and they will just work and work, and IP rated Robe fixtures – even better. We are really confident using these products and they worked from day 1 of the installation,” noted Katie, adding that the technical partnership between Arcadia and Robe has been “really valuable in helping to bring the Dragonfly to life” and deliver unique and memorable shows.

Everyone worked intensely and with passion and excitement on this project as the show evolved, seeing the dragonfly morph from a slightly prosaic collage of utilitarian grey metals and objects, transforming into a beautiful, living, breathing Dragonfly pulsating with colour, movement, and positive energy.

The Warraloo show was inspired by strong connections made by Arcadia and the Aboriginal First Nations of Western Australia during a residency in Perth in 2016. The performance explored multiple themes including renewal, climate change and our relationship with technology.

Lighting for the show was operated by Sam Werrett, also from MIRRAD, using an Avolites D9 console. Avo has been another enthusiastic technical partner of Arcadia for some time. 

The lighting crew included head of lighting James Bunning, Arcadia lighting crew chief Jake “Sharkie” Cawkwell, dimmer tech Stu Barr and lighting techs Nat Archer, Charlie Knight and Rupert De-Renzy-Martin plus lighting power specialist, Jack Coffin.

They were joined by three technical interns, Sinead Brooker and Becky Winrow students from the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies and Tyler Haines from Robe’s NRG initiative.

The Arcadia arena and the showcase performance were a massive success, and the area continues to be one of Glasto’s favourite and most visually stimulating and innovative creative performance spaces.

With conflicts currently raging around the world, the transformational nature of a one-time weapon of destruction into a monument of hope for a more peaceful future brought additional resonance and symbolism to the Dragonfly as a cross-cultural symbol of courage, strength, and happiness.

Photo Credits: Matt Eachus (TheMancPhotographer), SHOTAWAY

Arcadia Lights Up Glasto 2024 with Dragonfly and Robe iBOLTS

Discover more

WTF is Happening at ON Services

Robe Spotlights Metallica’s Incredible M72 2026 Stadium Tour

Robe Helps Epic Eurovision Glow Up

Lucie celebrates 40 with Robe

Navigate

Log in

Follow Us

Stay in Touch

Navigate

Log in

Follow Us

Stay in Touch