LD Jonathan Rikner Drives Hov1’s Finale with 170+ CHAUVET Professional PXL Bar 16’s

@LimeLightWired
Sep 2
2 min read

Hov1’s Final Chapter, A Record-Breaking Farewell Concert

On August 29, 2025, Hov1 shut it down in Stockholm with a farewell show that rewrote the record books. 52,236 fans packed Gärdet, breaking Metallica’s long-standing mark for the biggest outdoor concert in the city. The crowd camped through rain just to be front row when the band dropped in by helicopter.

The band ripped through a two-hour set stacked with career-defining anthems like Flickorna i Båstad and Gift, and even announced new music. Every track hit harder than the last, with fireworks and pyro tearing through the night and a sea of voices singing every word back. For Hov1, it was the ultimate mic drop to close a decade-long run. For the fans, it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment that locked the group’s place at the top of Swedish music history.

Turning a Field Into a Festival – Behind the Lighting and Production

None of this happens without a crew willing to turn an empty field into a stadium-level production. Power, staging, crowd flow—every piece had to be engineered from scratch. At the center was Lighting Designer Jonathan Rikner, who carried the band’s summer tour and came back swinging for the finale. That “smaller” run topped out at 66 universes—but this show was on another scale. Over 170 CHAUVET Professional PXL Bar 16s turned into the backbone of the rig, blasting beams that didn’t just hit the crowd—they became part of the Stockholm skyline.

The show was programmed on grandMA3, the same platform Rikner relied on throughout the summer tour, keeping the workflow tight from start to finish. And the lighting team didn’t just run the rig—they also drove the flames and ECO2Jets, with BomBee holding the safety line from stage.