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28 November 2024

Germany - On 9 November, the city of Berlin – representing the entire country – celebrated the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Instead of a central celebration at the Brandenburg Gate, this time it decided on a decentralised concept with five stages. In addition, 5,000 posters, designed by Berliners, lined up in a row to trace the course of the former wall.

The artistic collective phase7 performing.arts, led by Sven Sören Beyer, was responsible for the creative concept of the celebrations on behalf of Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH. Flo Erdmann was entrusted with the lighting design of the large main stage at the Brandenburg Gate (design by Sven Sören Beyer and Janik Albrecht), as well as the four side stages at the Futurium, Checkpoint Charlie, Paul-Löbe-Haus and Potsdamer Platz.

The stage production thus stretched over 4km throu

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28 November 2024

Luxembourg - Lemon Event Support is a creative event production company based in Luxembourg. The company started as a sound and lighting rental company in 2009 and in 2014 joined forces, skills and resources with video content production specialist Moast Creative Studio. Lemon Event Support grew, developed and enjoyed success delivering multiple events.

The first Robe moving light products onboard were Pointes. They were soon followed by VIVA CMYs, LEDBeam 150s, LEDWash 300s, LEDWash600+s, LEDBeam 350s and, most recently, T1 Profiles.

The fusion of the two companies enabled the provision of full design and production packages, with a separation also maintained within the structure, allowing each to work alone or together as needed, therefore embracing a greater range of clients. With the core of Lemon & Moast’s work being in the high-end corpor

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28 November 2024

Germany - The 189th edition of the Oktoberfest took place recently on the Theresienwiese in Munich. Across the event’s 16-day duration, more than six million guests of all ages visited the site, spreading out across streets, tents and beer gardens to take advantage of a huge variety of entertainment on offer, and slaking their thirst with more than seven million litres of beer. One key venue at the site is the Paulaner Festzelt tent, which has been an integral part of the event since 1895.

Germering-based event production specialists Dora Showtechnik handled the audio for the festival’s Paulaner Festzelt venue, where two bands alternate throughout the day, and this year deployed the XTA MX36 console switcher to simplify their workflow.

The MX36 was designed to offer a uniquely simple solution to the long-standing problem of routing multiple mixin

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28 November 2024

Malta - The flourishing Maltese bar hotspot of St. Julian’s, overlooking St. George’s Bay, is where you will find both Hugo’s Lounge and Hugo’s Terrace & Rooftop. Established by the late leisure entrepreneur Hugo Chetcuti, the operation is today run by his son Luke, who is CEO of the Hugo’s Group.

It is more than a decade since Stefan Farrugia, MD of Martin Audio distributor Futuretech, installed CDD5 in the former venue. While CDD5 remains a firm favourite with the installer, when he was called in to upgrade the sound system that he originally installed at the Terrace many years ago, he only had one series in mind: Martin Audio’s potent BlacklineX.

“The venue needed a more powerful sound system, because although in the beginning the style had more of a lounge feel, with a DJ and live music they now needed something more powerful to

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28 November 2024

UK - Polar recently enjoyed a successful demonstration of the Turbosound Manchester Series of loudspeakers at Old Savoy Theatre in Northampton.

The Turbosound Manchester Series features advanced waveguide technology and custom transducers, and is designed for large-scale reinforcement at concerts, festivals and stadiums, with its modular design allowing it to be scaled for indoor and outdoor venues. The event also featured the Turbosound TQ Series of point-source loudspeakers, as well as a supporting cast of Lab Gruppen amplifiers, Lake’s LMX88 digital processor and the legendary Midas HD96 console.

Polar’s dedicated pro audio division, led by Andy Plunkett, hosted the event which drew in a range of engineers and other audio professionals, including representatives of rental companies. Visitors experienced the Manchester Series in action and had

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28 November 2024

Europe - UB40 recently completed their eight-city UK leg of the Red Red Wine tour, which ended 23 November at Belfast’s SSE Arena. Lighting designer Martin Dudley, owner of Martin’s Lights, is bringing the band closer to the audience through some adroit fixture placement, and the inspired use of Chauvet Professional.

“The Strike 4s are on the front truss as good old-fashioned crowd blinders, and the Rogue R2X washes are in three sets of four fixtures on the floor, one set behind each band riser,” detailed Dudley. “As everyone knows, there’s a lot of crowd participation in a UB40 show, so the blinders help the audience become part of things, in addition to helping the band see who they are singing to.

“On this tour, the Rogue washes do a lot of traditional ACL-style looks from the floor. Of course, with the Rogues, we’re able

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28 November 2024

USA - Located within walking distance of the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall Expansion, a new resort is gaining popularity. The resort has over 3,600 rooms and suites, a 170,000 sq.ft casino, 550,000sq.ft of meeting space, 36 bars and restaurants, spa, 3,800-seat theatre, a nightclub, and 90,000sq.ft of retail space.

Early in the construction process, resort staff contacted Richard Reisig, owner of Technology West Group, to design and install the AV throughout the massive property.

“It was a struggle during the pandemic to get products from anyone,” said Reisig. “We were far down the installation path when we discovered the originally specified amps couldn’t be delivered on time. Everything was on the network already, so we needed network-based amplifiers. There was no going back, so we pivoted to LEA. It was our first time working with

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27 November 2024

The Netherlands - The Dutch National Opera & Ballet has selected 13 ETC Prodigy P2 stage machinery hoists and 32 ColorSource V fixtures for its Studio Boekman theatre.

ETC dealer Ampco Flashlight Sales worked on the installation and supplied the equipment, which includes P2-300kg hoists and ColorSource V luminaires; 20 ColorSource Spot V and 12 ColorSource Fresnel V fixtures.

The Dutch National Opera & Ballet – the largest theatre production house in the Netherlands – transformed a former municipality space into Studio Boekman, a premier black box theatre in Amsterdam. The Dutch National Opera & Ballet has a reputation for excellence and a commitment to innovation. Its investment in ETC’s products aligns with the venue’s efforts to use advanced technology and improve their efficiency.

Technical director at the National Ope

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27 November 2024

China - When DND Club opened its doors in Maoming, it wasn’t just the impressive 3000sq.m design or the $7.7m investment that caught people’s attention. Instead, it was the immersive audio experience that established DND as a destination in the nightlife scene. At the core of this auditory experience is KV2 Audio’s flagship VHD5 system, a high-definition, point-source system.

"Our goal was to create an atmosphere where every beat and every note feels alive,” says Peter Chen from YueShun Entertainment Company, the club's investors. “We needed a system that could deliver not just volume, but clarity, even at peak energy levels."

Nestled at 328 Maoming Avenue, DND Club’s mission goes beyond conventional clubbing. The space aims to provide an unforgettable, high-energy environment where patrons can truly feel the music. “From day one, we kn

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27 November 2024

France - The closing ceremony of the 2024 WorldSkills Competition was staged in the 60,000-capacity Parc Olympique Lyonnais (OL Stadium) at the Eurexpo complex, Lyon, with Paris-based creative agency Concept K providing full scenography, lighting design, laser effects, video and art direction plus show calling.

Concept K’s artistic director Frédéric ‘Aldo’ Fayard was the closing ceremony’s show director, working closely on the lighting side with Theo Cannone who programmed and took on a lighting DoP role, ensuring that everything worked on camera for the broadcast and livestream channels.

The lighting specification included 72 iForte LTX and 150 MegaPointe moving lights among other fixtures, chosen for their power and versatility.

The Concept K team collaborated closely with event production company La Franco European Image

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27 November 2024

UK - The spectacular new production of the musical Mary Poppins is currently embarking on a UK and Ireland tour. Presented by Cameron Mackintosh and Disney Theatrical Group, this record-breaking show recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and continues to dazzle audiences on a nightly basis. Starring Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers as Mary Poppins and Bert, it features a lighting design by Hugh Vanstone who approached White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to supply his touring lighting rig; with the company having also supplied the show’s first UK tour back in 2008.

As lighting designer, Vanstone finds himself returning to the show once again, having first lit a West End run five years ago. He comments: “When I first became involved in 2019 at the Prince Edward Theatre, it was in a ‘revival schedule’ so I had to tailor my ambitio

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27 November 2024

UK - RecodeXR provides turnkey services from its virtual production studio in Manchester. With over two decades of expertise, it creates world-class game engine and VFX-based content for clients like ITV, Sky, Netflix, Manchester City FC and various advertising agencies. Its advanced LED volume, powered by Brompton Technology LED processing, is what makes this possible.

RecodeXR was co-founded by technical director Gareth Turner and virtual production director Paul McHugh, who are passionate about producing high-fidelity visuals. “We can do anything from real-time content creation, a fully serviced virtual production shoot, through to world-class visual effects and post-production. Being a full-service virtual production facility means we can offer an efficient and agile, integrated service to suit our clients’ production requirements,” McHugh notes.

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27 November 2024

Denmark - Grand Joanne Hotel, just a short walk from Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens, reopened with a fresh vision from hospitality specialists Midstar AB. The hotel blends heritage, lifestyle, fashion, and design within a restored 19th-century building. At the heart of its new chapter is a Smart IP loudspeaker solution from Genelec that delivers bespoke sound to every corner.

Consultancy and integration firm, Effektgruppen was tasked with bringing yet another ambitious vision to life for Midstar. The brief was for ‘uncompromised sound quality with a sleek design’. “We always begin by understanding the client’s expectations for both the aesthetics and functionality of the sound system,” explains Fredrik Nordström, project manager at Effektgruppen.

“Initially, we designed custom loudspeakers that blended with the décor, but it quickly beca

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27 November 2024

Germany - St. Laurentius Church in Westerwiehe has unveiled a new lighting installation that enhances the spiritual experience with adaptable and dynamic illumination. This transformation, coined ‘Lichterkirche’, integrates advanced Prolights technologies to redefine how visitors engage with the sacred space.

After a year-long renovation, the church now features a state-of-the-art media system by MediaKi, enabling visitors to control personalised lighting and soundscapes via a touchscreen terminal. Spearheaded by Schröder & Partner engineering firm, the project harnesses Prolights' LED fixtures to create effects that range from serene to celebratory.

Key Prolights products deployed in this project include ArcPod 15Q LED floodlights for vibrant sidewall and ceiling washes and ArcPod 27Q LED floodlights illuminating the altar dome.

Arc

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27 November 2024

France - Arbane Groupe is exhibiting at the JTSE trade fair in Paris (27-28 November, Dock Pullman stand #094). The French audio manufacturer will unveil its new line array, specifically designed for large shows and events, alongside a new APG subwoofer and a design method technology.

APG, a brand of Arbane Groupe, will showcase the new Uniline Max line array system, a high-performance audio system dedicated to large-scale events and concerts. The system features the UM210 2x10” line array speaker and the UM121 1x21” subwoofer, both of which deliver exceptional audio clarity and power for audiences of up to 10,000 people. The Uniline Max is the result of over 40 years of constant innovation, collaboration and listening to the needs of the live events industry. The easy-to-use solution meets the highest level of requirements from rental companies, live pe

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27 November 2024

USA - Elation invites lighting professionals to Experience Tomorrow at Booth 2224 at LDI in Las Vegas, where visitors can ‘embark on a journey through lighting’s next frontier’. Elation is providing an immersive booth experience that will transport them to a retro-futuristic spaceport lounge of discovery – ‘a gateway to new worlds where visitors can explore Elation’s latest advancements in professional lighting’.

The spaceport-styled booth balances cutting-edge technology with mid-century aesthetics, evoking an era when excitement for the future was at its peak. Elation product experts will be on hand to help visitors explore Elation’s latest technologies via immersive product demonstrations while ‘an otherworldly light show will dazzle every hour’.

The latest innovations across the Proteus, Fuze, KL, Pulse, Limelight, S

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27 November 2024

UK - INFiLED has announced the expansion of its UK and Ireland team with the appointment of a new vice-president of sales, Nick Shaw, and a sales manager Lee Holland. This growth is in line with INFiLED’s commitment to expand the UK and Ireland market and build its relationships with potential and existing clients and stakeholders.

Nick Shaw, the newly appointed vice-president of sales, brings a wealth of knowledge with his previously held senior roles in sales, business development and operational delivery at companies including Roe Visual, Samsung, NEC and Prysm.

“I was immediately attracted to INFiLED because of its business ethos, and the camaraderie I experienced throughout the interview process. It made the decision to run the UK business easy,” says Shaw. “Given my background in establishing and growing UK operations for similar compan

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26 November 2024

Egypt - 64 Digital Projection Titan 37000 WUXGA laser projectors were at the heart of a 3D projection mapping show, which took place on 26 October at the newly constructed New Administrative Capital Stadium in Egypt.

Located 30 miles east of Cairo, the stadium, aimed to be the centrepiece of the Olympic City, is the largest sports arena in Egypt and the second largest in Africa, seating 93,940 spectators.

For the show, HiLights Group installed an edge-to-edge 3D projection technique that integrated the stadium's floor and walls, into a cohesive display. “The immersive visuals, achieved through meticulous planning and cutting-edge technology, brought a 3D experience to life in a way that had never been attempted in the region,” says Yara Mahran, senior digital marketing specialist at HiLights Group.

The project aimed to create an unforgett

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26 November 2024

UK - Recent changes in product marking regulations have raised questions across industries, particularly for businesses navigating the dual requirements of CE and UKCA markings. On behalf of PLASA, consultant Roland Hemming provides an overview of what these changes mean and offers practical advice for compliance:

For 'Normal Products’ – meaning most products in our industry under the EMC and LV directives: in August 2023, the previous UK government announced indefinite recognition of the CE mark. This means CE-marked products can continue to be used and sold without issue. 

While it remains optional, I recommend companies consider also applying the UKCA mark. The process is minimal – typically just a few additional words in documentation – and provides futureproofing. Should legislation change, having both marks ensures you’re prepared wi

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26 November 2024

France - Amadeus and Holophonix were chosen to design and install a new sound system for the Amphitheater d'O, part of the Domaine d'O – a multidisciplinary arts and entertainment complex in Montpellier, South of France. Because the open-air theatre accommodates up to 1,800 people in a semi-circle of nearly 180°, this presented an electroacoustic challenge for audience coverage and directivity control.

The Amphitheater d'O hosts four major festivals during the spring and summer seasons, including Le Printemps des Comédiens (a theatre festival held throughout June), Folies d'O (a musical theatre festival held in early July), and the Radio France Occitanie Festival (July).

Over the 15 past years, the Amphitheater d'O has been equipped with various traditional front-of-house reinforcement systems, from Amadeus, L-Acoustics