Qatar - Airstar, inventor of the lighting balloon and provider of lighting solutions for the event industry, deployed 90 Pixocom balloons for the latest edition of Qatar National Day.

Many cultural activities are planned during this national commemoration, which celebrates Qatar's unification and independence, including fireworks, concerts, parades as well as a zoo specially set up for the occasion. The event took place on the outskirts of Doha.

All 90 Pixocom balloons were especially made to measure by Airstar for this event. Despite being designed for rental staging purposes, with dismountable elements, all the lighting balloons were developed with a permanent application in mind, in order to withstand potential sand storms and high winds.

Airstar Dubai, which successfully won the project, was in charge of lighting up the area, under the responsibility of Marcin Michna, de

USA - Elation will be launching "a revolutionary new product" during InfoComm 2015 at a special event held Thursday 18 June and invites lighting professionals to stop by Elation booth #6259 for a VIP invitation.

As further proof that the wheels of innovation are running in high gear at Elation, another world premiere product will also be on display at InfoComm, the EHD2.5, a 2.5mm pixel pitch high-definition LED video panel for rental and production applications.

Other innovative products that will be having their InfoComm debut include Elation's powerful hybrid Platinum FLX moving head; high-output ACL Series of narrow-beam LED effect lights; and Colour Series Colour 5 Profile ellipsoidal spot, Colour Pendant wash, and Colour Chorus 72, 48, 24, and 12 batten wash lights. Also on hand will be Elation's high-power Protron 3K LED strobe, as well as the pioneering and a

USA - At InfoComm 2015, Sennheiser is unveiling its new SL Headmic 1 presenter's microphone. At just 7g, this is a lightweight unit that offers powerful sound and is sturdy enough for the toughest corporate applications, the company says.

Designed to be unobtrusive when worn, the high-quality condenser microphone for talks and presentations uses the proven capsule of the omnidirectional MKE 1 broadcasting microphone. It is easy to use and is connected to a bodypack transmitter via the 3.5 mm jack cable included.

"The SL Headmic 1 leaves nothing to be desired in terms of audio quality. It ensures excellent voice clarity and outstanding speech intelligibility right through to the very last row of seats," explains Kai Tossing, Portfolio Manager Business Communication.

The microphone can be optimally adapted to the shape of the head, and the microphone boom can be worn

USA - Cloud Electronics USA will unveil and demonstrate the new CDI-46 Digital Interface Card for the recently launched Cloud 46/120-Series of mixer/amplifiers at InfoComm 2015.

The CDI-46 digital interface card provides a TCP/IP ethernet interface, RS-232 connectivity and an RJ-45 connection for Cloud's range of digital paging microphones, including the PM-4SA with spot-announcement facilities. In addition the CDI-46 boasts a 10-User PIN locked Ethernet server to allow connectivity and control via any portable device with a web browser.

Exclusively designed in Sheffield, UK by a team of skilled R&D audio engineers, Cloud products are renowned globally for using high-quality components and have an outstanding proven product reliability record in the field. Cloud products are used by some of the world's leading blue-chip brands and high street names in Retail, Hospitality, Educ

USA - In line with its ongoing policy to keep the industry informed about the latest developments in its own DSP technology and broader audio processing and networking trends, Symetrix has announced a busy programme of seminars and presentations to take place on its booth (#321) during InfoComm 2015.

Symetrix SymNet processors' support for Audinate's Dante media networking technology has contributed to products from the range being specified for a huge variety of installation projects. Accordingly, at InfoComm 2015, Symetrix' range of presentations will include Symetrix Field Applications Engineer Greg Suchomel demonstrating the ease and speed with which it is possible to use Symetrix DSP and Dante to create a large-scale conferencing system that will integrate with any hardware or software-based video codec.

The busy hourly programme of presentations will also feature Christo

Germany - ETC is taking two stands at this year's Stage Set Scenery show in Berlin - with one purely to premiere ETC Rigging in Europe.

ETC Rigging, which can be seen in Hall 2.2, stand number 208, is another layer to the company's extensive lighting and power control portfolio. By working with local dealers to provide complete wire rope winch packages, ETC Rigging is among the easiest to install and most versatile available. This is the first time the product has been available outside the US.

Sold as complete packages, each winch is easily customised for non standard layouts, and can lift up to 900kg. To ensure its integrity, every hoist is individually tested under heavy load at ETC's factory in Wisconsin, USA, and each electrical component examined and checked.

To go with the new rigging packages are QuickTouch, QuickTouch+, and Foundation controllers, designed to provid

USA - The Media Networking Alliance is both exhibiting and engaging in a range of activities at InfoComm15 to promote the understanding and uptake of AES67, the interoperability standard for high-performance audio-over-IP streaming.

The alliance's booth on the show floor (# 693) will be staffed throughout the exhibition by MNA member engineers and experts, enabling InfoComm attendees to obtain information and advice concerning AES67, and discuss with member companies their experience in implementing the standard. Visitors can inquire about the MNA and the benefits of becoming a member.

The alliance is also hosting two open events in meeting room W304F in the convention centre West Hall. The first of these, from 15:00 to 16:30 on Thursday 18 June, is a panel discussion How is AES67 going to change our industry? It will provide an opportunity for InfoComm attendees to dis

Germany - Stage|Set|Scenery is celebrating its debut in Berlin this week. Around 7,500 trade visitors from 24 countries will be present and finding out information from 270 exhibitors.

Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin comments, "As a cultural venue Berlin is ideal for holding Stage|Set|Scenery, more so than any other German city. Here, at the crossroads of art and technology, this fair showcases an attractive range of products, services and projects."

Over the course of the three-day International Stage Technology Conference experts from around the world will be meeting to exchange knowledge and experiences. A total of 136 events will be taking place at this international event organised by Deutsche Theatertechnische Gesellschaft (DTHG).

Yesterday, Brigitte Zypries, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, opened the tr

USA - - At InfoComm 2015, Barco will demonstrate how its industry-leading solutions deliver "dynamic, visual spectaculars and real-time collaboration to drive business success". Emphasizing technologies built for high impact and low total cost of ownership, Barco's projection and image processing, wireless collaboration, LED video wall, video wall and enterprise networking solutions empower companies to connect their worlds, both inside and out, by enhancing connectivity across the enterprise and around the globe, says the company.

In Booth 2529, visitors will interact with a wide array of Barco's solutions designed deliver "a heightened visual and collaboration experience".

Barco corporate solutions unlock the knowledge of an organization by connecting people and information in the most intuitive way. ClickShare empowers content sharing with a click of a b

Germany - On 9 June at Stage|Set|Scenery 2015 in Berlin, an award presentation took place to honour the winners of the competition presented by the Theatre Architecture Commission (TAC) of the International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT) and the winner of the Weltenbauer Award presented by Deutsche Theatertechnische Gesellschaft (DTHG).

The Weltenbauer Award honours the most accomplished technical realisation of an artistic challenge in the context of a stage performance, show or event production. Yesterday evening, for the first time, the presentation took place at Stage|Set|Scenery. Katharina Thalbach gave the introductory speech.

Orpheus steigt herab, a production by Münchner Kammerspiele was the winner of the Weltenbauer Award which was received by Fabian Iberl, deputy manager and manager of Special Construction. The jury

Germany - The opening night usually decides how successful a play will be. In the case of Stage|Set|Scenery 2015 the debut can be summarised as follows: satisfied exhibitors, enthusiastic trade visitors, high-ranking political figures and a substantial international appeal, say the organisers.

From Tuesday, 9 to Thursday, 11 June 2015 over 6,000 trade visitors came to find out about the latest trends in event technology from 270 exhibitors representing 24 countries at the Berlin convention. Attendees represented planning, architecture, film, event services, stage, lighting, sound, video and media technology, make-up, costume and stage-set design, acoustics, studio, exhibition and museum technology.

Besides Prof. Monika Grütters, State Minister for Culture and the Media, Brigitte Zypries, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy and Tim Ren

USA - The OCA Alliance is promoting the vision of common, open standard, real time network control at InfoComm15. The alliance's booth - # 211 - will feature a live demonstration of control and monitoring across networked audio devices from different manufacturers with different transport protocols, including OCA enabled products from Bosch Communications, d&b audiotechik and Focusrite. Leading technical and product specialists from the alliance will be available on the booth to provide information to, and answer questions from, visitors and exhibitors.

Open Control Architecture (OCA) - due to be ratified as an official AES standard - is a language that enables the common real time remote control and monitoring of audio networks, using any available transport protocol (Dante, AVB, AES67, Cobranet, etc.). During InfoComm the OCA Alliance will discuss new projects currently in dev

UK - Having received an enthusiastic reception from the European market at ProLight+Sound in April, Yamaha's new flagship Rivage PM10 digital mixing console will be enjoying more of the limelight as it makes its UK trade show debut at the ABTT Theatre Show 2015.

Taking place from 24-25 June, this year the West Hall at London's Alexandra Palace hosts the ABTT Theatre Show for the first time. Yamaha is exhibiting on Stand A12 and the show will be the first opportunity for many UK sound technicians to see demonstrations of the RivagePM10.

Yamaha will also be giving a UK trade show debut to two more new products, as well as showing its new TF Series digital mixers for only the second time at a UK trade show and highlighting its CIS series of matrix mixers, amplifiers and loudspeakers. These provide versatile, powerful solutions for any space where high quality installed audio is r

UK - Track expert Triple E is launching a construction arm to its business under the name EEE-Build at the ABTT Theatre Show.

The first product to be launched is a new 'universal building system' best described as full size Meccano, set to "revolutionise the theatre staging, set building, stage machinery, scenery, construction and event markets".

Known as ModTruss, the system features lightweight aluminium construction and a repetitious hole pattern, meaning applications are "practically unlimited". The ModTruss product line "lends itself to create endless configurations using standard accessories, and makes ideas that once took extensive custom design and fabrication to be constructed incredibly simply, easily, and speedily".

The product will be launched on an Art Deco-inspired theatre structure designed for Triple E by architect Konstantinos K

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will showcase a selection of the very latest solutions available from their vast portfolio of over 200 premium brands - on stand A40 at the ABTT Theatre Show 2015, 24-25 June.

Sales teams from the company's four specialist product divisions will be on hand to demonstrate and discuss the latest technologies from leading marques which AC-ET are the exclusive UK dealer for - including Chroma-Q, Jands, Prolights, Spotlight, GLP, LumenRadio, Luminex, Columbus McKinnon Entertainment, BroadWeigh, Dynamic Audio Device, and Green Hippo. Other leading brands showcased include Manfrotto, Litec and Petzl, amongst others - all available from the company's multi-million pound inventory.

Also featured are AC-ET's in-house Cable Express and Gel Express custom assembly services - as well as Lamp Express and other popular consumables from the vast ra

UK - A new website with enhanced features, a fresh new look and easier navigation has been launched for the PLASA Show 2015 (4-6 October, Excel, London). With the redesign of the PLASA Show branding, plasashow.com aims to complement the fresh look with improved features to help visitors find information quickly and efficiently. "Following months of development, the website has been released to truly reflect the position that the PLASA Show has as a business event for the fast-paced and innovative entertainment technology industry," says PLASA Events.

Exciting new initiatives include focused hubs, sector specific seminar streams, 150+ industry leading speakers, workshops and demo areas. Many more exciting new developments will be announced in the coming months, don't miss out - make sure you

UK - When 25 industry companies came together at Sandown Park on 17th June to raise money for industry charity, Behind the Scenes UK, at their annual karting day, leading crewing company Showforce was only too happy to submit a team and lend their support. Other companies competing included: White Light, Stage Electrics, Wonder Works, Brilliant Stages, DiGiCo and Crewsaders.

The karting day saw 25 teams of up to 6 drivers race for 3 hours on an open air course with organisers promoting a competitive atmosphere of skulduggery, out-manoeuvring and general all out 'race to win' attitude. There was also a Formula One style pit stop challenge where the team quickest to change their tyres could claim bragging rights off the track as well as on it! With a BBQ and lots of opportunities to network with clients, catch up with old friends and take part in raffles and stalls to assist with

UK - Doughty Engineering's award winning Modular Rigging System will be making its first official appearance at this year's ABTT show. The range which is riding high on a wave of success, was first introduced as a prototype at last year's show to such acclaim that it was awarded the ABTT Award for Engineering. Since then, the product has gone global and Doughty will be exhibiting a new range of additional items, both on the stand and in the new viewing area at the show.

Mark Chorley, design engineer at Doughty explained, "Such is the success of the range, we are continually developing add on items in response to feedback from lighting designers who, for the first time are experiencing the freedom to run wild with their ideas. The latest items to join the range are the half connector with eye and half connector with cable holders which allow for the H-Frames to be flown at d

UK - Following KV2 Audio's successful return to the ABTT Show in 2014 the company will be returning to this year's event, taking place next week 24-25 June at Alexandra Palace, London.

KV2 will be exhibiting on Stand E-21 and showing a range of products currently being used in theatres worldwide.

KV2 will also be presenting an hour-long seminar including audio demonstrations in The Studio Theatre, Londesborough Room. This will centre on the recently released ESD 5 - The Latest Revolution in Theatre Delay Speakers - as well as other exciting products currently being used in several West End and touring productions.

The seminar takes place at 14:00 on the first show day - Wednesday 24 June, The Studio Theatre, Londesborough Room.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Unusual Rigging is set to make a major announcement on its stand (D22) at this year's ABTT show. The news will remain under wraps until 24 June when visitors are invited to attend the stand at 2.30pm for an official photo-call.

Denis Bramhall, Unusual's general manager said, "There are big changes afoot for Unusual Rigging this year and we see ABTT as the ideal platform for announcing these. We've updated our stand - offering a more relaxed atmosphere, more seating and refreshments for anyone who stops by to speak to us.

"We are principally a solutions and rental company - we sell a service, so ABTT is not about displaying our wares. We realised that we needed a space that would encourage new and existing customers to come along and spend time talking to us, finding out how we may be able to help them with a solution to their potentially challenging projects.&qu

UK - This year's First Night Riders charity motorbike and classic car tour of British theatres, which raises money for The Theatrical Guild's (TTG) vital work, takes to the roads on Friday 3 July.

This year marks the sixth year that some of the theatre industry's biggest movers and shakers zoom together for a weekend aimed at raising awareness and much-needed funds to help TTG support Backstage and FOH staff in need. Established in 1891, TTG is dedicated to looking after theatre personnel who, due to a variety of circumstances need welfare advice, counselling, educational sponsorship and many other forms of help.

The charity has many supporters in the industry, including Dara O'Briain who is also a Trustee of The Theatres Trust.

Taking place from 3-6 July, this year's route starts in Scarborough and visits the Spa Theatre & Grand Hall and The Stephen Joseph Theatre. Over the

UK - Award-winning designer Lucy Osborne, internationally acclaimed lighting designer Emma Chapman and lighting specialist and designer Howard Eaton are officially launching their innovative new venue design company Studio Three Sixty at the ABTT Theatre Show this week.

Studio Three Sixty designs and builds a new kind of temporary venue, using the latest technology to create beautiful spaces bursting with versatility.

The story began with Roundabout - a very special commission from new writing theatre company Paines Plough to design and build the world's first Plug and Play Theatre. Roundabout went on to win The Stage Awards 'Theatre Building of the Year 2015'.

Studio Three Sixty was founded by Osborne, Chapman and Eaton to design more temporary venues using the ideas and technology developed for Roundabout.

"We are absolutely delighted to be at ABTT at the launch of

UK - This year's First Night Riders charity motorbike and classic car tour of British theatres, which raises money for The Theatrical Guild's (TTG) vital work, takes to the roads on Friday 3rd July.

This year marks the sixth year that some of the theatre industry's biggest movers and shakers zoom together for a weekend aimed at raising awareness and much-needed funds to help TTG support Backstage and FOH staff in need. Established in 1891, TTG is dedicated to looking after theatre personnel who, due to a variety of circumstances need welfare advice, counselling, educational sponsorship and many other forms of help.

The charity has many supporters in the industry, including Dara O'Briain who is also a Trustee of The Theatres Trust.

Taking place between 3rd and 6th July, this year's route starts in Scarborough and visits the Spa Theatre & Grand Hall and The Stephen Joseph Thea

UK - Martin Professional introduced its new JEM ZR fog machines at the 2015 ABTT Theatre Show.

JEM ZR is a family of powerful fog machines designed to "deliver superior and uninterrupted performance in demanding professional applications". Equipped with 1,150-2,000 W heat exchangers they deliver large amounts of fog and excessive peak output, ideal for venues of all sizes in both install and rental markets.

The JEM ZRs feature variable output control for more subtle effects and are fully up-to-date with digital remote, DMX and RDM.

The entire JEM ZR range is compatible with a wide range of JEM Pro fog fluids. As machines designed and built to last, the JEM ZRs will continue to perform with great output and low consumption.

"Over the past two years we've successfully renewed our professional range or water-based hazers, including the CO2 driven JEM Ready 365

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