Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, announced that its stage lighting will be used in the next leg of Justin Bieber’s rapturously received ‘Purpose’ 2016 world tour. Lighting designer Cory FitzGerald has declared the multi-functional Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 BeamWash luminaire as essential for the redesigned 2017 leg.

“There’s going to be a few changes when the tour continues next year as we will be heading to outdoor venues and stadiums,” said lighting director Nick van Nostrand, who is in charge of realizing FitzGerald’s design out on the road. “The show is going to be reworked and we are currently making decisions on what’s going to come with us. Cory has stated that the Philips VL4000 BeamWashes are high up on the list. There’s not anything else out there that’s a good substitute for all the roles it performs in the show.”

Justin Bieber takes center stage with his dance crew at one of his Purpose tour performances. (All photos courtesy of Philips Lighting)

“The VL4000 BeamWash is so powerful it can break through the different bright, video-heavy moments during the set and manage to deliver some really neat features, whilst maintaining that intensity. We’ve got lots of wide gobo looks in this show, with a number of them pointing straight out. Even at full width they still punch through the video wall and stage washes and give us some very dramatic looks.”

Lighting designer Cory FitzGerald positioned the VL4000 BeamWash luminaires upstage, on the articulated mid stage truss to deliver dynamic gobo work, seven underneath the deck to deliver beams of light and texture through the raked video floor, and four on the suspended trampoline, which Bieber and his dancers frolic on during the song ‘Company,’ for audience lighting and gobo washes.  A single fixture has also been built into the center of an octagonal cage of V-Thru LED screen, where it works as a single down light for Bieber’s drum solo.

A man does a backfliip  in the far right while other dancers move to the beat on the blue LED lighting illuminated stage  during one of Justin Bieber's performances.

Colin Kavanagh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Philips Entertainment Lighting, said: “Since launching the modern automated light more than 30 years ago, Philips Vari-Lite has become synonymous with rock and roll and large-scale event lighting. We are committed to continuing to meet the needs of the entertainment industry with leading edge products, as evident with the recent launch of the brand new Philips Vari-Lite VL6000 Beam and the planned new Philips Vari-Lite launches throughout 2017.” 

FitzGerald finalized the concept for the 2016 globetrotting tour before it embarked on its journey of 115 shows in numerous international arenas. His design sees a constantly morphing canopy of light in varying pop-tastic colors, featuring beat-perfect attention-to-detail and multifaceted dynamic effects, which work in sync with the stunning video content created by Possible and set designed by Chris Gratton and Nick DeMoura.

Justin Bieber singing to the tune of an acoustic guitar.

“I’ve always been a fan of Cory’s designs [FitzGerald has worked with the likes of Bruno Mars and Beyoncé] so when I heard he was brought on board I was excited to work with him,” says van Nostrand “His design is incredibly intricate and richly layered. I really like the way the lights have been integrated into the rig and the overall design of the show.”

Justin Bieber’s Purpose tour follows his studio album of the same name, which debuted at #1 in more than 100 countries in 2015 and has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide. The tour continues to stadiums in Australia, New Zealand and South America in 2017.