LEDs light up Glastonbury Festival

The Cube Henge installation, brainchild of Cubes Concept, was a major talking point at this year’s Glastonbury Festival.

Designed with the atmosphere and ethos of the event in mind, it was a full-scale interpretation of the famous stone circle lit by LED units individually controlled to complement the acts performing in the Dance Village.

“The original idea was relatively simple – create a full scale illuminated representation of Stonehenge that dancers could interact with,” said Cubes Concept director, Mark Robinson. “As is often the case, the difficulty came in translating this simple idea into a physical reality.”

The first step was to find a suitable material from which the structure could take shape. The team came across IBCs (cube-shaped containers used to carry 1000 litres of liquids) and set about fitting 116 cubes with LED colour changing units supplied by UK distributor Batmink Ltd. The LED units were individually controlled via DMX using ChamSys MagicQ software and Mini Wing controller, producing spectacular effects as the crowds danced in and around the construction.

“As is often the case, the difficulty came in translating this simple idea into a physical reality”

“Bearing in mind the whole ethos of Glastonbury, we wanted the installation to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Once we found the IBCs – containers that were not only the perfect size but fully recyclable – we were on our way,” Robinson elaborates.

In-keeping with the focus on sustainability, LED was the obvious choice thanks to its low energy output. However, finding an LED unit that was both compact and powerful enough to illuminate the frosted cubes became another obstacle.

“We tried numerous fittings, none of which really delivered what was required, until we discovered the Visage Multipar 375 through Batmink Ltd. It’s a cracking little unit that produces an impressive output from a compact housing. These, coupled with the excellent ChamSys software, really did the job,” Robinson explains.

“Everyone who visited Cubehenge embraced the experience and the post-Festival feedback has been incredible. As for the future, the modular nature of the cubes makes them perfect for all sorts of applications and we look forward to taking Cubes Concept on the road.”

Their success at Glastonbury has prompted the Cubes Concept team to create a new installation for The Big Chill music festival next month.  

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