Pharos modernises Stockholm’s Avicii Arena

  Posted by: electime      30th April 2026

A system from Pharos Architectural Controls has played a major role in transforming Stockholm’s Avicii Arena into a smart and futuristic stadium.

The arena, located in the Swedish capital, is primarily used as a venue for ice hockey games, boasting a capacity of up to 14,000 visitors for these sporting events. The arena also hosts shows and concerts, making it an important cultural venue. When the Avicii Arena was named as the host for the 2025 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship, a strategic decision was taken to renovate and modernise the arena, including its lighting and AV capabilities.

Full-service lighting design practice Light Bureau was appointed as lead for the comprehensive lighting design across the entire arena environment, with their role later expanding to include the development of the lighting control system’s architecture and technical documentation. At a very early stage of this process, it became clear that the requirements for the control system were unique, and Pharos was the manufacturer that could meet all these demands.

A comprehensive lighting control system is now in operation at the Avicii Arena, consisting of two Pharos Designer LPC controllers – each offering four universes of capacity – alongside eight Pharos RIO D4 devices to control DALI fixtures and ballasts, plus a number of Pharos touch panels, specifically a Designer TPS 8 and four Designer TPS 5s.

Together, these control solutions enable the venue to seamlessly deliver dynamic lighting effects across the arena space, precisely control the fixtures for the playing field, and manage all surrounding conventional lighting in amenity and hospitality areas such as restrooms and lounges.

The Designer LPC features individually controllable and independently running timelines and scenes and offers the freedom of real-time manual overrides with the versatility of powerful show control and integration features. With a compact form and minimal power requirements, the LPC can be installed virtually anywhere.

The Pharos RIO D4 is a remote input/output device that provides a convenient and scalable way to control DALI fixtures and ballasts from Pharos controllers and receive DALI commands.

Designer TPS panels allow operational staff to quickly and easily recall predefined scenes, as well as override colour and intensity on demand, making it possible to customise the scenes for different events.

The lighting control system’s capabilities are all administered through Pharos Designer software, creating a seamlessly integrated approach to the management of the stadium’s lighting. This includes simultaneous output to DALI fixtures as well as dynamic DMX control of RGBW and RGBLA+UV fixtures via Art-Net. The system also met the requirement to communicate with the existing SCADA system and to integrate with the existing KNX building management system.

The success of the project was in no small part due to the effective teamwork by all parties in the project. Working alongside Light Bureau was general contractor NCC and electrical contractor Nymans El. Stockholm Lighting was the official Swedish representative for Pharos, while Luminex supplied all the network components.

Ryan Salisbury, Regional Sales Manager for UK, Ireland, N. Europe & Benelux at Pharos Architectural Controls, said: “The Avicii Arena is a popular venue for sporting matches and other cultural events. While it was structurally sound, its technology was outdated and no longer fit for purpose. The upgrade using Pharos technologies has now put the stadium in full control of AV and lighting effects, delivering an incredible experience for visitors. It is rewarding to know we are a key part of that.”

Fredrik Winqvist, Technical System Specialist at Light Bureau, added: “This was a large-scale project that needed a highly specialised and experienced team to deliver the brief. From the outset, it was clear that Pharos had the best solutions to meet the project’s unique challenges.

“The Designer range from Pharos is incredibly impressive, delivering everything needed for dynamic and complex lighting projects. As well as being powerful, the solutions are easy for clients to grasp and use on a daily basis. Additionally, their seamless integration makes lighting control very straightforward for all those involved in delivering the project.”

The result of the renovation is that the arena has become more flexible with a closer audience experience. With new gondola lounges, a new media cube, a new sound system, and an entirely new structure with expanded possibilities for event rigging, audiences are experiencing a more intimate arena with improved acoustics and atmosphere.