Concert light show: audience flashlights instead of wristbands
The audience scans a QR code, raises their phones, and the flashlights flash in time with the track. The DJ controls the light from pads or the sound engineer from the desk. The effect of LED wristbands, with nothing to rent or hand out at the door. We have done it at concerts of Sirotkin, Nikolay Grinko, Pavel Pikovsky and Vasily Urievsky
Event technologies
A synchronized light show from viewers’ phones: each screen and flashlight becomes a pixel of the shared picture
Works in the browser, no app download required
Works on whitelists, even when the internet is blocked
Flashlight sync without internet via ultrasound, no load on the mobile network
Mapping the picture from flashlights by row and seat or by geolocation
Pricing
Total
3,900$
Fixed price for the entire event
LED wristbands, drones or phones
- LED wristbands like Coldplay’s: buying thousands of units, handing them out at the door and collecting them after. Coldplay spends around 400,000 euros on wristbands per concert. See the comparison on the instead of wristbands page
- Drone show: open sky only, weather-dependent, permits required, at least two weeks of preparation
- GROMKA.SHOW: every viewer already has a phone, nothing to hand out, and after the show a sponsor promo opens in the browser
Case studies
A flashlight show at the Sirotkin concert at SummerSoundOn August 13 the audience raised their phones, and a screen behind the band showed the show liveRead
A flashlight show at the Sirotkin concert in St. PetersburgAugust 23, Roof Place: our second show at the band’s concert. Videos by @whoisanyaaa and mikk.filmRead
A flashlight show at the Pavel Pikovsky and Vasily Urievsky concert in Nizhny NovgorodOn September 12 we controlled the whole hall’s flashlights and drew pictures by seatRead
A flashlight light show at Nikolay Grinko’s concertThe audience’s phone flashlights flashed in time with the songs, and the whole hall became part of the actReadRelated articles
LED wristbands for concerts: how they work, what they cost and what can replace themControllable LED wristbands like Coldplay’s: how they work, what renting them costs and how to get the same effect with phone flashlightsRead
Concert advertising: formats, prices and what actually performsA breakdown of advertising formats at concerts and festivals: branding, screens, sampling and promo in every viewer’s phone with 25–30% conversionRead
How a phone flashlight light show works: ultrasound instead of the networkA QR code, a browser and sound from the speakers: how thousands of phones flash together with no app and no load on the internetRead
A city day show: how to run a mass event and a finale without fireworksWhat it takes to run a mass event, how to build a city day programme and how to make a finale the whole square takes part in, without fireworks costing millionsReadFAQ
- Do viewers need to install an app?
- No. Scan the QR code and open the page in a browser. Works on iPhone and Android
- Who controls the show?
- The sound engineer, the DJ or the artist. We prepare the script and control tracks in advance
- Does it work at open-air events?
- Yes. Flashlights are visible under street lighting, and at large venues we send waves across sectors
- How do we get more viewers to join?
- Announce the show at least a minute and a half before it starts: that is how long it takes to scan the QR code and open the page. It works best when the artist makes the announcement, the crowd trusts them
- Is it like the wristbands at Coldplay concerts?
- The effect is similar: the whole hall glows together. But wristbands have to be rented, handed out and collected, while the phone is already in the viewer’s hand. A QR code on screen replaces the logistics. More in our Coldplay wristbands breakdown
- How many viewers can take part?
- From a small hall to tens of thousands at a stadium. Price depends on audience size
- How much do LED wristbands for a concert cost?
- Renting controllable LED wristbands costs 100–450 ₽ per unit per day, for 10,000 viewers that is 1–4.5 million ₽ plus handing out and collecting. More in our article on concert wristbands
- Can the show be built into a concert programme?
- Yes. It goes on a chorus, the final song or the encore, a couple of minutes in the timing. The artist just announces it from the stage
- Does it work at a festival or a city day?
- Yes. At big venues flashlights flash in waves by sector, commands come as ultrasound through the speakers, no mobile internet needed. More in city day show. A separate page: city day show
- How is it different from a flashlight flash mob?
- In a regular flash mob the crowd just switches flashlights on. Here they flash to the music, in waves and seat-based pictures, controlled from the sound desk