Duinrell, the holiday resort, amusement park, and water park located in Wassenaar (South Holland) and highly popular with families, celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2025.
The venue began operations in 1935 as a family park on the historic estate of the Van Zuylen van Nijevelt family, just a short distance from the beach. Today, it is one of the Netherlands’ most beloved and successful theme parks, attracting 1.4 million visitors annually.
In recent years, Robe moving lights have begun to play a prominent role throughout the park, contributing to its positive atmosphere and the distinctive energy that defines Duinrell.
Roy van Zutphen, the electrician and engineer responsible for lighting, leads a team of 29 people overseeing the venue’s technical and operational aspects, including performance spaces and attractions. His responsibilities also extend to areas such as mechanical systems, carpentry, and set construction.
When a new Arcade Hall opened in 2023, Roy contacted Maikel Sakkers, one of Controllux’s senior sales managers, who already had a connection with Duinrell through one of the company’s service technicians who had previously completed an internship at the park.
Roy was seeking advice on the best lighting options for the new venue, which was conceived as a hybrid space capable of hosting events for up to 1,500 people. After visiting the site and seeing the scale of the new building, Maikel recommended a combination of Robe fixtures consisting of PAINTE, LEDBeam 150, and CUETE.
We needed lighting that was as flexible and adaptable as possible, while also providing a reliable solution, explains Roy, who is delighted with the results.
Reliability was a key factor, as the Arcade Hall operates between eight and ten hours a day throughout the year, meaning the fixtures needed to be robust and built to withstand intensive use.
Four PAINTE fixtures were selected for the performance area located at the center of the venue, the primary space used for events. These fixtures provide high-quality illumination, extensive creative effects capabilities, and excellent key-lighting performance. Meanwhile, 24 LEDBeam 150 fixtures were deployed around the stage — situated in the center of the building — and on the venue’s roof trusses.
Roy also required additional fixtures capable of producing attractive gobo effects and rich colors, but without the complexity of the PAINTE fixtures. For this purpose, he selected CUETE units, which feature CMY color mixing compatible with PAINTE but without zoom functionality. Both PAINTE and CUETE belong to Robe’s TE (Transferable Engine) range, incorporating the company’s transferable LED engine technology.
Robe was selected as a solid and reliable brand with low maintenance requirements. Roy also regarded the TRANSFERABLE ENGINE technology as a major advantage for this project.
I also wanted a system with fixtures that any visiting lighting designer would feel comfortable using for their events, he comments.
Another important consideration was the delivery schedule. The fixtures had to be supplied within just six or seven weeks. Once the specifications had been finalized and the order placed, Maikel coordinated the project with Robe in the Czech Republic to ensure that all equipment would be available within the required timeframe.
The day-to-day lighting of the Arcade Hall is controlled via a Mosaic show controller, although the fixtures can be connected to external consoles and operated independently during events.
Refurbishment of the Duinrell Express
Roy was so pleased with the results achieved in the Arcade Hall that last year he once again turned to Controllux for the refurbishment of one of the park’s most iconic attractions: the Duinrell Express train ride.
The attraction had been operating for 47 years, making an upgrade more than necessary. Once again, Roy sought advice on the best lighting options and chose to install 16 Robe iBar 15 fixtures together with several iParFect units.
The iBar 15 fixtures are used to illuminate walls and scenery, while the iParFect fixtures were installed at the entrance to the cave, where a zoom-capable luminaire was required.
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Roy has worked at Duinrell for 15 years and is deeply passionate about both his job and the venue.
There’s never a dull moment here. Every day is different, new challenges and opportunities are constantly emerging, and the pace of work makes the experience as exciting as an activity-filled vacation, he says enthusiastically.
He also highlights the excellent relationship he enjoys with Controllux, describing the partnership as “brilliant and highly productive”, while praising the company’s attention to detail and professionalism.
Roy recently had the opportunity to visit Robe’s factory in the Czech Republic, an experience he describes as “incredible”, particularly appreciating “the craftsmanship and dedication that go into the manufacture of every product”.
