Ulster Hall, a concert and entertainment venue that is part of the ICC complex in central Belfast, Northern Ireland, has recently received a new lighting installation featuring nearly 60 Robe moving lights, including nine ESPRITE Profiles, 25 PAINTE Profiles and 25 LEDBeam 350s.
This is part of a general upgrade for the venue, which is also a Grade A listed building dating to 1862, complete with a rich musical and cultural history that has seen greats like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and many more shake its hallowed walls with excitement and great vibes.
It is also home to the Ulster Orchestra, so for all the decibels of rock ‘n’ roll, Ulster Hall also facilitates the refinement and pin-drop silence of classical performance and recordings, affirming its reputation as an important, diverse, and colourful entertainment space.
Dave Young, head of production for the ICC complex – which also includes Waterfront Hall and ICC Belfast– explained that the previous lighting upgrade was in the mid-noughties, so after 20 years of hard service, the refurbishment was well overdue.
He and his team started scouting around for appropriate lighting fixtures in 2025, and Robe was among the contenders. Sustainability was also on the agenda, and for the orchestra, it was important that the fixtures were quiet.
After looking thoroughly at all the options, Young decided that Robe was the best choice for them.
“These three types of fixtures are ideal for our specific needs. We didn’t need the biggest or the brightest, we needed the best all-round options that fitted our budget and the space, and that would offer great value to all the promoters and clients working in the venue,” he stated.
Overhead, they needed a set of profiles and washes, and lights that would work for anything from a recital to a rock show to a comedy night. All of the new lights are in the over-stage rig apart from 6 of the PAINTES which make up a floor package.
The hall has a 1,400 standing capacity and 800 seated, and the shows are a mix of both formats.
Young was already familiar with Robe products – he first encountered the brand when working at holiday parks right at the start of his career. This continued through his work with the NEC Group, and when he was running production at Birmingham ICC before moving to Belfast. He has also seen them constantly on touring shows: “You would hear people generally comment on Robe’s reliability and longevity, and how the lifespan could be at least 10 or 12 years, which is great ROI.”
The new Ulster Hall lights were delivered by Robe UK, project-managed by Gavin Mooney, national sales manager for Robe Ireland.
Ulster Hall’s technical team comprises four production managers who work with different promoters and clients, plus 11 full-time techs to cover sound, lighting and AV, and around 30 regular freelancers. The staff have expanded in recent years, and while the venue was previously purely a receiving house, there is now an in-house production company.
In addition to the concerts, Ulster Hall hosts a range of business and corporate events and trade fairs, all with production supplied in-house, so they are constantly busy. The new fixtures have also improved the efficiency of the workflow, as well as the time taken to focus and produce creative results, so the Robe lights are making a substantial difference.
