Two evenings, two different audiences, one extraordinary setting: the Verona Arena. On September 1 and 2, 2026, the historic amphitheatre once again became the heart of Italian music with Power Hits Estate and Future Hits Live, two events that have become key fixtures on the Italian music calendar, both conceived by Lorenzo Suraci.
Launched in 2017 and organised by RTL 102.5, Power Hits Estate is a major awards event dedicated to the hits that have accompanied the summer, bringing together the most established artists on the Italian music scene every year. Future Hits Live, launched in 2022 and organised by Radio Zeta, focuses instead on emerging generations, featuring a line-up that reflects the latest trends in pop, urban and Italian music.
Bringing the two events together was the presence of some of the biggest names in Italian music, from Marco Mengoni to Elisa, Biagio Antonacci, Gianna Nannini, Gianni Morandi, J-Ax, Emma and The Kolors. A succession of performances transformed the Arena into a vast stage for live music.
Further enhancing the spectacle was a lighting design project conceived to interact with the Arena’s monumental architecture. Francesco De Cave, LD, show designer and director of photography, who has been involved in productions of this scale for many years, explains the design choices:
“The show has been running for ten years, and every year we strive to enhance it as much as possible, keeping up with technological developments as well. For this edition, we selected 24 Ultimo Sharpy fixtures, with support from Claypaky, to highlight the stage entrance through Gate 37, the main arch that serves as the backdrop to the stage.”
De Cave continues: “The 24 Ultimo Sharpy fixtures were positioned very close together to create a precise scenic effect: a veritable fan of light beams, transforming the stage entrance into a luminous arch and accompanying the artists both as they entered and throughout their performances. I positioned them very close to one another because I wanted to create a compact arch of light that would accompany all the artists as they entered and during their performances.”
According to De Cave, the result perfectly captured the original vision behind the lighting design project. The organisers of the RTL 102.5 and Radio Zeta events were also very pleasantly surprised by the scenic effect, which stood out particularly well against such a historic backdrop.
Precision, speed and colour
For De Cave, Ultimo Sharpy’s strength lies in more than just the power of its light beam. It is the combination of the fixture’s features that makes it particularly effective in a complex setting such as the Verona Arena.
“I appreciated everything about the new product: its sharp, penetrating beams, the speed and precision of its movements, its positioning capabilities and its colours. The three-colour mixing system, now a feature of the new Sharpy, makes it possible to achieve a virtually unlimited colour range without the traditional colour scroll.”
In De Cave’s view, this combination of features places Ultimo Sharpy at the top of its category, making it arguably “the best beam moving light currently on the market.”
A tribute to the Sharpy that made history
In a project firmly focused on the future, there is also room to remember the product that helped define a generation of lighting design: the legendary Sharpy, which De Cave has used in countless productions.
“Nowadays, all beam fixtures inevitably feature three-colour mixing, but I remember that the Sharpy’s colour changes were unmatched: the most precise and fastest ever.”
From the original Sharpy to today’s Ultimo Sharpy, technology continues to evolve, while the pursuit of the perfect combination of impact, precision and speed remains unchanged, allowing light to become an integral part of the show.
For two evenings at the Verona Arena, Claypaky fixtures transformed an architectural feature into a striking luminous backdrop, creating a visual bridge between the grandeur of the venue and the energy of contemporary music. It was an example of how technology and lighting design can enhance one of the most iconic venues in Italian entertainment without altering its identity, instead allowing it to shine in a new light.