Over 4,000 fluorescent luminaires at a congress centre will be retained and upgraded to LED with retrofit gear trays in a major lighting project.
Glamox to give Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre an environmentally friendly lighting makeover with the kits.
The retrofit, driven by the phase-out of fluorescent lighting throughout Sweden and Europe, is expected to significantly decrease the venue’s electricity consumption and costs.
The Stockholm Waterfront, operated by Radisson Blu, is a 14,000-square-metre concert and congress centre featuring 24 meeting and conference rooms.
It’s a premier venue for trade fairs and conferences, and its 3,000-seat arena has hosted some of the world’s biggest stars, including Bob Dylan, Sting, Paul Simon and Emmylou Harris.
‘The venue was created with sustainability in mind’, its general manager Sam Holmberg told the Circular Lighting Report. ‘it’s one of Europe’s most energy-efficient buildings with 1,040 square metres of solar collectors producing 1 MW of power per day.
‘Cooling is provided by water pumped from Lake Klara into giant ice tanks in the basement.’
He expected the LED lights to reduce the electricity the arena uses for lighting by 60 per cent or more and should reduce maintenance costs by around two-thirds due to their long life.
The requirement to replace fluorescent lighting largely stems from an EU directive that took effect in August 2023. It led to the phased elimination of the most common types of fluorescent tubes across Europe.
‘A wave of retrofit activity is currently sweeping Europe. Yet in Sweden alone, we estimate that around 15 million fixtures still need to be replaced in the coming years and 250 million across Europe,’ said Andreas Berglund, managing director of Glamox in Sweden.
‘One of the quickest, least disruptive, and most environmentally friendly ways to replace luminaires is by LED Kits that allow the original housing of the fixture to be reused.
‘Only the light source, electronics, and diffuser are swapped out. The kits are super-fast to fit and can be done without disrupting the venue’s day-to-day operations,’ added Berglund.
Glamox supplied the lights for the main hall, conference rooms, meeting rooms, offices, and open areas. During the first phase of a multi-year project, Glamox has supplied around 2,500 luminaires.
A total of 9,000 luminaires will be installed, including linear ceiling lights, downlights, and wall lights. This figure includes 4,000 LED kits that will breathe new life into existing luminaires from other vendors. They provide excellent-quality light while consuming 2.28 Watts of electrical power, compared to 35 Watts for the old fluorescent luminaires.
Most of the lighting will be connected to a light management system, which further increases energy efficiency by providing greater control.
• Learn more about sustainable lighting at Circular Lighting Live 2026, Recolight’s flagship conference and exhibition, which takes place on Thursday 8 October 2026 at the Minster Building in the City of London. Free to specifiers, Circular Lighting Live 2026 will feature leading experts, specifiers and policy makers who will share their insights into forthcoming standards and legislation, emerging technologies and new business models. Search ‘Circular Lighting Live’
