The power of the grandMA3 system from MA Lighting was the chosen option to carry out the lighting design and production of the Beste Zangers Live concert at Rotterdam Ahoy.
In the hands of the specialists from the Utrecht-based light and video studio Light Image, the system ensured efficient preparation and execution of this spectacular spin-off of the famous talent show.
This was the fourth live edition, celebrating the phenomenal success of Beste Zangers, the popular TV singing competition that has now been broadcast for 15 seasons. This year’s live show took place on May 9, 2025, bringing together fan-favorite performers for a one-night-only special appearance.
The technical production was handled by Unlimited Productions bv, while Eventec once again supplied the complete lighting, PA, and rigging package. With an extensive stock of grandMA3 systems, Eventec is one of the country’s leading suppliers and a major player in the Dutch rental market for television and live events. As MA Lighting’s local distributor in the Netherlands, Rolight was available to provide support and acted as the main point of contact throughout the project.
grandMA3: the benchmark
We continue to invest in the latest technologies, backed by our highly trained team, to ensure that the shows we work on are exceptional. Supporting the Light Image team with such great systems is always a pleasure, says Stefan Bensch from Eventec.
William van Rumpt, lighting designer and programmer at Light Image, agrees: “To be honest, grandMA3 is my platform of choice. With it I can program quickly and efficiently, and I practically know the console blindfolded! Also, grandMA3 is pretty much the industry standard for events of this kind in the Netherlands”.
With nearly 25 years of experience in show lighting, Van Rumpt began his career in a small local venue in his hometown and worked for various lighting companies offering both supply and creative services. Over the past 10 years he has specialized in lighting design and programming, frequently collaborating with Light Image on a wide range of live and broadcast events.
Regarding his history with MA Lighting control systems, he comments: “I’ve been using MA equipment for a long time. I started on an MA Lightcommander 24/6 and a Scancommander, and since then I’ve used every grandMA console they’ve produced!” Although he has also worked with other manufacturers’ systems, he says: “I always preferred going back to MA because I like the programming style and the possibilities it offers”.
With Light Image, Van Rumpt was one of the early adopters of grandMA3, and acknowledges that the early software versions were difficult to work with. “I missed many of the functions I used in grandMA2, but I liked how the new console was designed. Navigating through the software —especially new functions like phasers, tree structures, etc.— was quite a challenge, but in the end I can say I would never go back to grandMA2”.
Managing the complexity
The lighting rig for the show was extensive, with more than 1,000 fixtures. Van Rumpt and his Light Image colleague, Bas van der Poel, used two grandMA3 light consoles and a grandMA3 processing unit M, which increases the system’s capacity by 4,096 parameters, all running software version 2.2.5.0. One console handled the sACN universes and the main control of the stage lighting rig, while the other managed the keylights in the same session, using a different user profile.
Thanks to grandMA3’s multi-user configuration, which allows different users to work on the same showfile at the same time, I could focus on the show and the music while Bas took care of the keylights and followspots. Also, since preprogramming time was limited, we used a combination of busking and pre-programmed looks. This allowed us to be as flexible as possible, giving each song and artist something unique. Using recipes was a great way to create song-specific looks and effects, while still having my busking page available for accents and bumps, explains Van Rumpt.
Time-saving features
He adds: “I also tour with a couple of bands, and using the recipes feature in grandMA3 is a real time-saver. Additionally, importing MVR (My Virtual Rig) files is another big advantage: we use Vectorworks as our main CAD software, so importing MVR gives us quick access to patch and 3D positions in our visualizers and grandMA3 systems. Other time-saving features include the import/export menu and the new PSR (Partial Show Read) feature, which is generally a very useful way to save time on the road and during changeovers”.
This hugely successful show was a major triumph, bringing back fan-favorite performances for an audience of 16,000. Thanks to the powerful, flexible and robust grandMA3 system, Light Image was able to deliver a memorable show for the crowd.
© Nathan Reinds
