The Champs-Élysées illuminations are among the most recognisable festive lighting installations in the world. Pharos Architectural Controls have aided the 2025 Champs-Élysées illuminations by delivering the advanced lighting control technology required to synchronise one of the world’s most iconic festive attractions. Spanning the full length of the avenue and encompassing approximately 1.5 million LEDs, the project demanded a control solution capable of operating flawlessly at a vast scale, with uncompromising accuracy.
The Christmas installation stretches across ten physically and electrically independent areas, each requiring autonomous operation while remaining perfectly aligned as part of a single visual experience. To achieve this, ten Pharos Designer VLC+ M controllers were deployed across the site, providing a total of 800 universes of perfectly synchronised control, distributed across controllers with capacities of fifty and one hundred DMX universes. Each VLC+ M has HDMI video to lighting input and DisplayPort connectivity for confidence monitoring, with an audio input port offering two channels of on-board linear timecode. Each controller outputs the pixel-accurate playback of multiple layers of complex lighting and video content.
The project’s lighting design was delivered by Blachère Illumination, a long-established leader in large-scale festive lighting, with Soliled, an independent specialist in LED lighting controls and smart building automation, responsible for control integration and programming. Together, the project team faced significant challenges relating to infrastructure, power distribution, and network synchronisation, all intensified by the physical separation of the ten zones. Through close collaboration, a fibre optic bridging solution was implemented, enabling frame-accurate synchronisation. Once commissioned, the system was configured to operate automatically, ensuring reliable and repeatable performance throughout the festive season.
In addition, ten Designer BPS control panels were integrated across the installation, providing a clean button trigger and reliable interface without adding unnecessary infrastructure complexity.
The project was delivered under an exceptionally tight timeframe, with installation beginning in August and the public opening taking place in mid-November. Despite the compressed schedule and technical challenges, the lighting control system from Pharos performed exactly as intended from day one.
The completed Champs-Élysées 2025 illuminations are a powerful demonstration of what is possible at true urban scale with Pharos solutions. The result is a seamlessly synchronised, visually precise lighting experience that enhances one of the world’s most celebrated public spaces.
Teodora Marian, Regional Sales Manager for Central & Southern Europe at Pharos Architectural Controls, commented: “The Champs-Élysées installation really shows what is possible in large-scale lighting control – turning a complex, iconic space into something that feels cohesive, alive, and thoughtfully designed rather than just technically impressive. With multiple physically independent zones, pixel-accurate playback and frame-accurate synchronisation were critical. By deploying multiple Designer VLC+ M controllers, the system delivers flawless performance while retaining the flexibility to run complex, high-resolution content with confidence.”
Elie Bouskela, Director at Soliled added: “This was a project where ‘impossible’ was not an option. We needed absolute precision, all operating as one. The Pharos solutions gave us the flexibility and reliability to overcome the limitations of wireless synchronisation and deliver a perfectly aligned lighting experience at a truly urban scale.”
Project Credits
Lighting Design: Thierry Reboul / Thomas Dechandon / Blachère Illumination
Lighting Control: Pharos Architectural Controls
Lighting Control Design: Soliled
Images and video courtesy of Blachère Illumination
