Las Vegas Bound - Kylie Minogue is going to Las Vegas. The singer has announced her first exclusive residency in Sin City, following in the footsteps of Adele and Celine Dion. She has not toured in North America since 2011, so her shows at the Voltaire nightclub at The Venetian in Las Vegas will be a major US return.
Minogue has promised extravagant costumes and dances, saying that at this point in her career she has "earned the right to" play Las Vegas. "I've performed a couple of times at Vegas, but as part of a tour, and particularly when I did the Showgirl tour in 2004

UK - Production Futures exists to create opportunities for young people to learn, train, network and develop real careers in production across every area of the live event, music, touring, theatre, TV, broadcast and film industries. The organisation has announced that its flagship On Tour event will take place at Production Park, Wakefield on Thursday 28 September.
Featuring international special guest speakers, panel discussions and learning zones, the event will place emphasis on the theme of transferable skills across the production industries. Production Futures’ diversity p

UK - Vision: 2025, the UK outdoor event industry's steering group for environmental sustainability, has been commissioned by the Event Industry Forum’s (EIF) Purple Grants Fund, to write a new chapter of the Purple Guide on Environmental Sustainability for events.
It is intended to provide clear guidance on best practice and signpost to users to resources and guidance to minimise the carbon impact of events.
Feedback will be reviewed in September and the chapter will be launched 18 October 2023, at SES 23, hosted at the Showman’s Show.
The draft is availabl

UK - Eight years ago, 11 teams turned up, had a bit of fun and raised a small amount of money driving some karts for the live events industry. Fast forward to 2023 and The Parish of Backup delivered the Village Fete, its biggest and most successful event to date. The day was set against the backdrop of a traditional British Fete, 350 members of the live events industry came together to have the best of British days out.
With Chauvet Professional once again taking up the headline sponsor slot, and first-time main sponsor 5 Star Cases joining them and providing a colourful selection

Theatre in Education - Supporting theatre in education and recognising the importance of the art form in education are among a set of Europe-wide recommendations for policymakers to support the sector. The recommendations resulted from the European Theatre Forum 2023, which saw 200 representatives from the European theatre sector gather at JK Opole Theatre in Poland.
The event was organised by the European Commission with the aim of looking at how the sector can address key issues including mental health, the climate crisis and the potential impact of artificial intelligence. Whi

UK - At this year’s KartFest, the Village Fete saw Backup launch Are You OK?, a campaign aimed at raising further awareness of mental health throughout the technical entertainment industry.
Founded in the early 2000’s to provide financial support to technical professionals across sectors such as concert, live events, theatre, TV and film, Backup expanded its remit during the pandemic and has adapted its services to support colleagues not just potential facing financial hardship from physical illness, but their mental health and wellbeing.
The annual KartFest has been the

Anti-War Revival - A revival of Oh What a Lovely War will mark the 60th anniversary of Joan Littlewood’s anti-war musical as it tours nationally from September. Produced by Blackeyed Theatre, the run will include three weeks at Southwark Playhouse Borough. It stars Christopher Arkeston, Rose Bruford graduate Tom Crabtree, Harry Curley, and Alice E Mayer.
The production is directed by Nicky Allpress with musical direction by Ellie Verkerk and movement direction by Adam Haigh. Allpress said: “I’m so thrilled to be directing this unique piece of theatrical history, havi

USA - Behind the Scenes has announced that GLP German Light Products has joined its Pledge-of-Support Programme. The company will contribute a portion of the profits from their new Creative Light products to Behind the Scenes.
GLP German Light products provides designers around the globe with environmentally friendly and energy-optimised lighting solutions that are both uncompromisingly creative and powerful. Creative Light products are the first battery-powered and completely wireless creative LED systems for maximum flexibility in an almost unlimited range of applications.

UK - Production Futures is an initiative created to provide opportunities for young people to learn, train, network, and develop real careers in production across every area of the Live Event, Music, Touring, Festival, Theatre, TV, Broadcast and Film industries.
At its most recent On Tour roadshow event in Manchester, which was opened by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, chief executive Hannah Eakins announced the expansion of the Production Futures Breakthrough Talent Awards to better reflect the wide range of roles and skill sets required across the production industry. The

City Break - The city of Malmö is to host next year's 68th Eurovision Song Contest, it was announced on Friday, following Sweden's victory in Liverpool in May. The coastal town in the south of the country was selected ahead of the capital Stockholm after "dialogue with several cities", organisers said.
The Malmö Arena will stage the semi-finals on 7 and 9 May 2024, as well as the final on 11 May. Martin Österdahl, executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, said the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was "thrilled" that Sweden's third-largest city will hos

USA - The 2023 Behind the Scenes Holiday Cards are now on sale at the BTS Boutique. This year’s collection features a mix of six different designs created especially for the charity by Alyssa Collister, Ryan Dantuono, Scott Kinnebrew, and Robert Mendoza. BTS is also bringing back two past favourites by Alex Elmendorf and William Gerton.
Cards are available in a variety of options: card packs of 10 with a standard greeting, personalised cards with a company logo and custom message, and electronic cards in multiple file formats and an array of price points starting at $20.

UK - For a second year, PLASA is able to support UK-based companies who wish to exhibit at LDI. Working in conjunction with the Department for Business and Trade, UK companies can make their debut at the Las Vegas trade show for a specially reduced rate.
When LDI returns this year from 3-5 December, the show will yet again feature the Meet the Brits Pavilion, which will introduce UK companies to the expansive US market and facilitate valuable in-person networking.
The Meet the Brits package includes a 5sq.ft logo-branded kiosk, complete with furniture, lighting and power, as

Strong Performance - Turnover at Nimax Theatres rose to £31.9m in the year ending October 2022, which marks the first full year of trading figures since the pandemic and a 6.7% increase on 2019. When compared to the previous year, ending October 2021 and including disruption caused by the pandemic, the increase in turnover is 289%.
Nimax Theatres’ venues include the Palace, the Garrick, the Duchess, the Vaudeville, the Apollo and the Lyric theatres in the West End. According to its annual accounts filed this month, turnover to October 2, 2022 was £31.9m. This is up from £29.

UK - Roger Fox and John Whitaker have retired as directors of global technical theatre consultancy Theatreplan.
Both men helped to build the consultancy whilst working alongside the late pioneering stage engineer, Richard Brett. Having been with Theatreplan as partners and subsequently directors for a combined total of over 60 years, they will be continuing their working association with Theatreplan, as founder consultants.
Fox has brought his knowledge and expertise to a wide range of important heritage theatre projects, including at the Royal Philharmonic Hall, Li

UK - PLASA and LSi are calling for nominations for this year’s Gottelier Award. The award recognises the invaluable contributions of the people behind the products, from pioneering product developers to creative R&D teams.
Named after the late lighting designer and industry commentator Tony Gottelier, the Gottelier Award aims to recognise product developers who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of entertainment, presentation, or installation technology.
Launched in 2007, previous recipients include: JB Toby (Avolites), Christian Heil (L-Acoustics)

USA - The Long Reach Long Riders hosted an auction to benefit Behind the Scenes at their 20th Anniversary Ride’s celebratory banquet earlier this month. The auction itself was quite special, including only one item, a detailed quilt incorporating t-shirts from every charity ride hosted by the LRLR over their 20-year history. The quilt was created and donated, “a true labour of love” by long time BTS supporters and quilters Shan and Trish Ayers.
The Ayers regularly donate many of their intricate handcrafted woodwork creations, including items to be auctioned off during the a

Liechtenstein - The Neutrik Group has introduced a range of products, from its Contrik brand of portable power distribution systems, especially designed for deployment in harsh all-weather application environments.
The range of Xtreme Outdoor (XO) / Active designated products includes Power Container, Power Rack and Power Turtle systems. Designed and precision manufactured, using high quality electrical and electronic components, in the EU, they are intended for mobile entertainment production applications, including video walls, stage lighting and audio installations.
The

Last Farewell - Amid much publicity, Elton John played the last UK show of his farewell tour at Glastonbury, watched by a crowd, estimated to be over 120,000 people. A record 7.3m people tuned in to watch live on BBC One, according to initial ratings. That was the biggest ever overnight audience for a Glastonbury set, the BBC said. In comparison, last year Diana Ross was the most-watched star with 3.1m and Paul McCartney's headline set was seen by 2.7m. "It's a very special and emotional night for me as it may be my last show in England, in Great Britain," said the singer.
Melt

UK - The beginning of June marked four months since the launch of The Power of Events. The prime focus has been on the platform itself, providing a single destination dedicated to showcasing all seven core sectors of the UK events industry, as well as profiling the essential industry community, says the latest report from the not-for-profit company established in 2022.
From a standing start, over 25K unique visitors have to date visited the platform since launch, with positive feedback. It has seen consistent engagement with the podcast listings and the events calendar.
Help

USA - Behind the Scenes has announced the launch of its new affinity fundraising initiative, Ghostlight Groups. The programme, created in effort to raise awareness and funds to benefit the charity, seeks to honour the importance of community and volunteerism in our industry.
Ghostlight Groups are volunteer led groups that gather to raise money for Behind the Scenes through an event or activity of shared interest. Groups may choose an activity like skiing, golfing, or quilting. They might hold a regular meeting of a book club, or monthly movie nights. Ghostlight Group’s events or

UK - The widely respected PLASA Awards for Innovation are now open for entries, for any product released since PLASA Show 2022. The awards are open to all, including PLASA Show 2023 exhibitors, PLASA members, and non-member non-exhibitors. And this year, early bird entries can save 20% off the entry fee if they submit their application by midnight on Monday 7 August.

Organised in association with LSi, PLASA’s market-leading magazine, the awards celebrate innovative products from across the live entertainment technology industry that demonstrate a new style of thinking, im

Renewable Energy - Glastonbury Festival will be run entirely by renewable energy this year. All production areas will either be powered by electricity from "fossil fuel-free sources" or will run on solar panels and battery hybrid systems. Generators will run on fuel made from waste cooking oil and Arcadia's giant fire-breathing spider will also run entirely off recycled biofuels.
Organisers said "sustainability has always been at the heart" of the festival. In 2010, the festival's cowsheds were covered with enough solar panels to power 40 homes, making it the largest privately own

Turkey - Show architects Black Skull Creative and Balich Wonder Studios collaborated to present Pepsi’s 2023 UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show on 10 June in Istanbul.
Brazilian pop sensation Anitta and Grammy award-winning Nigerian superstar Burna Boy and special guest multi-platinum DJ and producer Alesso featured in the show.
Black Skull’s Jay Revell comments: "With The 2023 UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show by Pepsi, we wanted to showcase the immense power of football to unite diverse fans and cultures. Istanbul, a symbol of global cultures, serves as

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians’ Annual Awards took place on Wednesday evening, 7 June, after the first day of the 2023 ABTT Theatre Show at Alexandra Palace, London. This year, the awards were again generously supported by TAIT.
Ted Moore, director of rental services, said of the Awards: “TAIT is really proud to be here once again to sponsor the ABTT Awards Presentation, one of the best globally in our industry. We wish all the nominees good luck and give congratulations to whoever the winners may be.”
The five highly sought after Awards for Light

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