Where We Belong – Cameo at NATURE ONE 2023

Where We Belong – the place to be for all EDM fans. The legendary rocket base Pydna Kastellaun in the Hunsrück region sets the scene for NATURE ONE. The festival for techno, house, trance, hardstyle and all other varieties of electronic dance music is one of the biggest open-air events of its kind in Europe and attracts the best DJs and live acts of the EDM scene year after year. in 2023, around 65,000 visitors partied over three days to the beats, leads and drops of 350 acts, including Alle Farben, Moguai, Paul van Dyk, Sven Väth and many more. For Cameo, this year’s NATURE ONE marked another festival milestone: with over 450 spotlights on various stages, the lighting designers relied more than ever on the products from the German lighting technology manufacturer.

Cameo Light Installation at Nature One Festival 2023 with OTOS H5 IP65 Hybrid Moving Head OTOS B5 IP65 Beam Moving Head AZOR B1 Beam Moving Head ZENIT W600 Wash Light

Besides the artists themselves, the stage design of the main stage is one of the highlights of NATURE ONE. Every year, the organisers and event technology service providers of NATURE ONE come up with something new and spectacular. This year, pyramid-shaped truss constructions dominate the scenery.

“The OTOS H5 is our main fixture on the main stage, which we use to create all spot and beam effects.”
Marek Papke, Gerdon Design

Open-air Main Stage

“NATURE ONE’s stage designs have always stood out from other festivals,” explains Marek Papke from Gerdon Design, who is responsible for the stage and lighting design of the main stage and has many years of NATURE ONE experience. “While stage design at most festivals is limited to just the stage itself, we’ve been working for years with floor setups where the lighting and video elements are above people’s heads, making the audience feel more like they’re in a club.”

When it comes to lighting design, Marek Papke and his team also have to get away from the traditional concert mindset: “On Saturday, the acts play for more than 14 hours straight. To be able to offer the audience a varied experience here, we need a highly versatile setup that ideally also works in bad weather.” With its hybrid concept of beam, spot and wash, the IP65-capable Cameo OTOS H5 was a perfect match for the requirement profile: “The OTOS H5 is our main spotlight on the main stage, which use to create all spot and beam effects,” explains Marek Papke. “The output is fantastic. Plus, it’s been raining on and off for the last few days and the OTOS are working without a hitch.” In addition to the 150 or so OTOS H5s, Gerdon Design also relies on the OTOS B5 IP65 Beam Moving Head to shoot powerful, piercing 1° beams through the pyramid.

The Cameo spotlights for the main stage were supplied by the technical service provider schoko pro and by NicLen under a dry hire agreement.

Century Circus

Just a few steps away from the main stage is the Century Circus – a gigantic 10-mast tent with 5,000 m2 of space. At the “Home of Techno”, Benedikt “Bemo” Moser is behind the faders. “There are very few decorative elements in Century Circus, which is why the lighting design should not be too playful either,” explains Bemo, who has also been a part of NATURE ONE for many years. “We work more with technology here to be able to convey the strict lines of techno well.” After the experienced lighting designer created several concepts for the visualisation of the Century Circus in advance, the decision was made together with the technical service providers BSS events and Actionlight Veranstaltungstechnik for a setup with many variation possibilities for the long evenings and nights.

“We’ve already had very positive experiences with Cameo in previous years, which is why I’ve chosen them again this year.”
Benedikt Moser, Lighting Designer Century Circus

As the proven combination of Moser, BSS & Actionlight had already had good experiences with Cameo spotlights at NATURE ONE in the past, the team again relied on the lighting brand of the Adam Hall Group in 2023: “There are 120 AZOR B1 LED Beam Moving Heads in the roof, with which I mainly trace the straight lines to bring out the depth in the tent. In addition, there are 60 AZOR S2 spot moving heads on a second level, with which I can reach the entire width of the tent thanks to the large zoom.” The AZOR models are complemented by ZENIT W600 and ZENIT W600 SMD LED Outdoor Wash Lights for powerful strobe effects.