Dalhalla, a unique open-air amphitheatre set in the former Draggängarna limestone quarry in central Sweden, is undoubtedly one of the most attractive and interesting live music venues in Europe.
It is especially popular during its summer season, which hosts a wide variety of musical styles and artists: rock, pop, musicals and, occasionally, opera performances.
The venue has invested in 20 new Robe iFORTE moving lights, delivered for its 2025 season, which has just concluded. This technical upgrade has been very well received and has been used to great effect to illuminate artists and delight audiences throughout the summer, explained Anders ‘Hebbe’ Herbertzon, Dalhalla’s head of technical.
The new iFORTES have replaced 18 MMX Spots that had been in service since 2012. Still in excellent condition, these fixtures have now been redeployed to another venue operated by Dalhalla’s management company, Rättvik Event, located in the nearby city of Falun, where they are used during the winter season.
Dalhalla also still has 12 of Robe’s first-generation LED theatre luminaires — DLS Profiles — on the front truss of its main rig of nearly 200 fixtures. Purchased in 2014, these units continue to perform perfectly after logging many hours of use.
Previously, the venue used other classic Robe products such as the ColorSpot 2500, ColorWash 1200 and LEDWash 600, which are also still operational and now installed in a local hockey arena. There is even a small club venue with older ColorWash 250s that still look great, and bulbs can still be sourced for them at a good price. This reflects a long relationship with Robe and numerous examples of reliable products offering excellent value for money.
Hebbe had always appreciated the BMFL, especially for its power and gobos, and all of this led them once again to consider Robe for this latest technical upgrade.
We know that Robe works and keeps on working, which is an excellent starting point for any investment. These are fixtures built to last, very stable in the long term, he noted.
In 2023 and also last year, Dalhalla rented iFORTE fixtures mainly to illuminate the venue’s spectacular surroundings: the imposing quarry walls with a 60-metre vertical drop and the turquoise lake at its base, for specific shows. Since the amphitheatre is 400 metres long and 175 metres wide, a great deal of brightness was required, and the iFORTES proved highly effective. After seeing them in action, Hebbe and his team were able to experience first-hand their brightness and other features, benefiting from direct, hands-on knowledge of what the fixtures could achieve. “We needed powerful, versatile, robust, IP-rated fixtures, and iFORTE met all the requirements”, he stated. They also consulted several visiting lighting designers before making the final decision, and “iFORTE kept coming up repeatedly in conversations”.
Beyond the power and quality of light, professionals also valued the gobos and framing shutters. In fact, iFORTE was appearing more and more frequently as a preferred option on technical riders. “This additional information confirmed our own impressions and experiences”, added Hebbe. “iFORTE was, without a doubt, the clearest choice”.
Brightness was the top priority. Dalhalla’s current roof, installed in 2009, provides some shade during the day, but stage lighting remains essential for all productions. Moreover, in summer the sun does not set until around 11 p.m., meaning much of the season takes place almost entirely in natural daylight.
The new iFORTES were supplied to Dalhalla by Bellalite, Robe’s Swedish distributor, who are always available to provide support and assistance if needed.
While Hebbe is delighted with the iFORTES, he also recalls the previous MMX Spots with great fondness — as do many others, especially in regions such as Scandinavia and the Balkans — since at the time they were the brightest options available. “They also had an excellent gobo set and they were quiet”, he comments. Overall, Hebbe believes Robe is a manufacturer that “is always striving to innovate and bring great quality and reliability to the market”.
So far, the new iFORTES have been used as part of the venue’s upstage lighting system, employed by most artists performing at Dalhalla. If needed to light the quarry, they can be de-rigged and repositioned to wash the vast limestone walls with light.
Technical production for Dalhalla’s concerts is coordinated by a team of eight led by Hebbe, and since 2022 all technical equipment has been fully owned by the venue.
This impressive space, with a capacity of between 4,800 and 6,500 people depending on seating or standing configuration, is renowned for its exceptional acoustics and stunning natural setting. It is located about 7 km north of Lake Siljan and Rättvik, in Sweden’s Dalarna region.
The quarry ceased limestone mining operations in 1990, and its transformation into an event space began in 1994 as a project driven by the late opera singer and cultural visionary Margareta Dellefors, who passed away last year at the age of 98.
