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Ayrton Cobras illuminate Brussels Flower Carpet
The Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium, a UNESCO world heritage site, hosted the biennial Flower Carpet for the 24th time on August 13-18, 2026. Over 700,000 brightly coloured flowers were laid out in a pattern inspired by an artwork by Katsushika Kokusai, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”, which was reimagined by Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama to mark the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Belgium.
Measuring 1,680 sqm and installed by 100 volunteers in just six hours, the world’s largest flower carpet was open to the public for only four days. Each evening visitors were treated to a sound and light show which played four times and was designed by production company Artfex. Lighting designer Geoffrey Oelbrandt used thirty Ayrton Cobra fixtures as part of the light show to create undulating sweeps across the facades of the historic architecture that surrounds the Grand Place, sending beams of light far into the night sky, creating geometric shapes and sweeping across the multicoloured surface of the Flower Carpet itself.
“The Brussels Flower Carpet is such an iconic event, and the Grand-Place provides a spectacular but also technically challenging environment for a light show”, says Oelbrandt. “Our intention was not simply to illuminate the Flower Carpet but to extend the visual experience beyond the carpet itself and use the entire Grand-Place as part of the show.”
“The Flower Carpet is naturally the central visual element but it sits within one of the most recognisable architectural environments in Europe”, he continues. “We therefore wanted the lighting to connect the carpet, the historic facades and the sky above the square. The Cobras were an important part of achieving that, their beams allowing us to take the show vertically into the sky and visually expand the scale of the production far beyond the physical dimensions of the carpet.”
He also notes that the aerial effects they created with the Cobras remained “clearly visible and defined even when working across the full dimensions of the square”. The fixtures were positioned at ground level around the Flower Carpet and integrated into the technical layout. From these positions they projected upwards and across the Grand-Place with the surrounding facades and the open sky, effectively becoming part of the visual canvas.
“Depending on the position and programming, we were working with substantial throw distances across the square and towards the upper sections of the surrounding architecture”, details Oelbrandt. “With thirty units we were able to create a large-scale composition rather than simply using the fixtures as individual beams. This allowed us to work with symmetry, movement, layers and large architectural looks that matched the scale of the square and the Flower Carpet itself and gave us the ability to build from subtle architectural moments into much larger and more spectacular looks during the show.”
The Cobra fixtures were supplied by Rent-All Europe with whom Artfex has a long-standing relationship. “Rent-All has been a loyal and trusted partner of Artfex for many years and supports our productions throughout Europe”, says Oelbrandt. “This partnership is particularly important to the way we work as a company. Because we don’t want our creative or technical choices to be dictated by what is available in our own warehouse, we rely on partners who can provide us with the right equipment for each individual production.”
Pictured: the Artfex build and production team - Karl, Dieter, Simon, Geoffrey, Jonathan, Joren, Arne, Ken (left to right). (Photos: Fabian De Backer/Mastershoot)
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