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17 May 2024

UK - A celebration of the remarkable life of Richard Pilbrow - lighting designer, theatre consultant, producer, author, educator, mentor, friend, and so much more – is being held today (17 May) at the Dorfman - formerly Cottesloe - at the National Theatre.

The Pilbrow family, along with the ALPD and the ABTT invite those who knew Richard to join them at the venue from 1.30pm. “All are welcome,” a statement says. Like the great producer Richard sometimes was, we want a sold-out event, maybe even bursting a little at the seams - but not to end up with people unable to get in.”

Anyone who can’t make it but would still like to commemorate Richard is asked to do so by supporting the entertainment charities Backup Tech (in the UK) or Behind The Scenes (in the US).

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17 May 2024

Poland - Void Acoustics has announced a partnership with Phono Media as its distributor in Poland, the latest addition to Void’s rapidly expanding network of professional AV dealers.

Founded in 2010, Phono Media delivers visual and sound solutions across a wide range of commercial sectors, including hotels, restaurants and multipurpose venues. Void chose Phono Media as its regional distributor to help grow its business opportunities in the emerging Eastern European market and raise Void’s profile in the wider hospitality market in the region.

Phono Media has already begun installing Void’s products in venues in Poland. As Void’s Polish distributor, the company’s showrooms are equipped with Void Acoustics’ speaker range, enabling prospective buyers to experience the products up close.

Jacek Stanisławski, CEO at Phono Media, said:

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17 May 2024

Europe - Simple Minds are back on the road for their 2024 Global Tour, playing arenas and proving perennially popular to both old and new generations of music fans.

The production has also been growing and developing in size and dynamics with Robe iForte and BMFL moving lights assisting show and lighting designer Mark Wynn-Edwards to produce a colourful show supporting the band’s powerful up-tempo set.

The show design is new but contains some threads inspired by the 2020 arena tour which was abruptly halted due to the pandemic. Mark has been working with the band since 2018, initially coming onboard to look after media servers.

The tour features 14 x iForte in the floor package and three iForte for followspot duties plus 37 x BMFLs in the flown rig which are the main hard edge and workhorse lights of the design. All kit is supplied by Solot

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17 May 2024

Italy - Tenax, a beacon of the underground club scene in Florence, recently underwent a sonic upgrade with the installation of a new sound system from K-array. Boasting 43 years of continuous activity and a star-studded roster of performers including the likes of Daft Punk, Ben Harper, and Dream Theater, Tenax required a system that would live up to the club’s reputation whilst honouring the requirements for low frequencies in a built-up urban area.

The team at K-array worked directly with the in-house technicians at Tenax to design and implement the updated system. “Our headquarters are located just outside of Florence city, so we have strong connections with the nightclub and with the underground music culture that has evolved from Tenax over the decades,” explains Daniel Strasserra, global business development manager at K-array. “Whilst a key goa

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17 May 2024

Qatar/UAE - The inaugural Qatar-UAE Super Cup football tournament kicked off in Doha, Qatar on April 12, 2024, showcasing talent from both nations, then continued the next day with the UAE-Qatar Super Cup Shield match in Dubai.

Qvision (Qatar Vision), the Doha-based event production and management company, was charged with bringing the organising committee’s vision to life in spectacular opening ceremonies featuring a large complement of Claypaky lighting fixtures.    

For the opening ceremony’s show, Qvision artistic director and executive producer, Sharif Hashisho, devised a mesmerising display at Al Thumama World Cup stadium where storytelling laser animation highlighted the development of football in the GCC region and the significance of the newly established championship. A massive array of Claypaky beams lit up the night sky, sweeping

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17 May 2024

South Africa - Theatre and professional rental specialist, Gearhouse Splitbeam of Johannesburg, has made its first investment in Ayrton, purchasing a consignment of new Ayrton Rivale Profile fixtures from Ayrton’s South African distribution partner, Planetworld.

The decision came after a concerted post-pandemic fact-finding mission to secure the best new LED moving lights with which to update Splitbeam’s aging lighting stock, spurred on by the impending requirements of Showtime Management’s production of Mamma Mia! later in the year and a need to increase its stock of LED moving lights. Departing from its traditional manufacturers, Splitbeam decided in favour of Ayrton Rivale Profile following a shoot-out between major manufacturers’ products and a visit to the Ayrton factory just ahead of the launch of Rivale Profile.

“We are essentially a

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17 May 2024

France - La Planète Rouge, a team of 3D and VFX set designers as well as colourists, set out to create The Next Stage. Housed within Provence Studios, the largest filmmaking infrastructure in southern France, it is situated in the heart of the French filmmaking industry near Marseille. The Next Stage has been designed to be ‘the ultimate in virtual production studios’, featuring a custom-made LED screen from French manufacturer, ArtBox, and is powered by Brompton LED video processing.

“We started with a blank sheet,” says La Planète Rouge’s Morgann Brun. “The infrastructure needed to be as immersive as possible because our aim was for production companies to be able to create content for feature films there.”

The result is a studio that features a U-shaped volume with an LED ceiling, plus a mobile set up. As Brun puts it, it is a Swis

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17 May 2024

USA - ACT Entertainment will present PK Sound’s new Robotic Line Source System at InfoComm 2024. Comprised of the T8 robotic line source element and T18 intelligent subwoofer.

Featuring PK’s patented multi-axis robotics, T8’s output - with peak SPLs reaching 143.5 dB - is precisely controlled down to 400 Hz in both the vertical and horizontal planes. The result is a high degree of flexibility and precision in system dispersion for designers or operators in virtually any application.

Used in tandem with the accompanying T18 intelligent subwoofer, PK Cell modular touring rack and PK .dynamics control software, the T8 system delivers PK Sound’s patented remote and real-time multi-axis robotic coverage control to a wider range of users and applications in the touring and rental, performance installation, theatrical, worship, nightlife and corpora

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17 May 2024

USA - Bandit Lites has announced that Kelly Feild has joined the team as the director of touring personnel.

In addition, Feild will also head expanding Bandit’s college outreach as well as interviewing and hiring additional touring personnel of all experience levels and backgrounds.

Feild’s background in live events began early, in high school. She then earned a BBA in Music Business from Belmont University. Following graduation, she worked at Belmont’s event services as their Coordinator of Scheduling before joining Bandit Lites as a lighting technician. She worked on multiple tours and eventually set out as a freelancer.

“I started at Bandit with a business degree and almost no technical experience,” Feild says. “Bandit taught me everything I needed to know to successfully tour as lighting tech. I know how to do the office part

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16 May 2024

UK - Vision: 2025 has launched a crowdfunder to create the third edition of the Show Must Go On report and ‘shape a new climate strategy and practices towards 2030’. Research and authoring by an inclusive industry-wide collaboration is underway to collate a comprehensive free-to-access resource.

The initiative supported by Festival Republic, The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), Arts Council England, Earth Percent, aims to raise £50,000 from organisations working in the festival and outdoor events space to be matched with grant funds.

This collaborative project is being hosted by Julie’s Bicycle, chaired by Jon Collins, (LIVE) and convenes a working group of organisations and specialists from across the sector.

The Show Must Go On state of the industry reports (edition #1 & #2) provided early benchmarks and a 10-

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16 May 2024

India - Smato Technologies has been appointed 1 Sound distributor for India. Smato Technologies, an AV distribution company with full engineering and technology design services, is based in Kolkata, West Bengal.

“We're thrilled to bring 1 Sound to India. This partnership goes beyond brand expansion; it's about broadening horizons,” says Shreyans Chowdhary, director and CEO of Smato Technologies. “It means offering our dealers and customers an exceptional experience, not just through outstanding professional audio products, but also through superior pre-sales design and post-sales service support.

“With premium materials, customisable options, and cutting-edge technology, 1 Sound offers a compelling package tailored for the Indian market. We're eager to embark on this journey of lasting success together.”

Smato Technologies recently

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16 May 2024

USA - On his recent arena tour of the US, Israeli superstar Eden Hason worked closely with lighting designer, Alon Shnaiderman.

“The concept of the performance design was built by me together with my client,” said Shnaiderman. “We meet and began to bring his personal place onto the stage. There was a hopeful, positive message he wanted to say to the audience, we broadcast this through the design.”

In keeping with this vision, the singer and his lighting designer sought to create an uplifting mood. “We wanted to give the impression of levitation, that the whole element floats and gives a feeling in space,” said Shnaiderman. “This was key to the story Eden wanted to tell.”

Relying on 20 automated hoists, Shnaiderman created multiple layers of light to change perspectives during the two-hour concert. Over 340 lighting fixtures, 1

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16 May 2024

New Zealand - Audio Progress is an audio, lighting and staging company based in Palmerston North, about 150km from capital city Wellington.

The enterprise is run by Malcolm McKinnon, who founded it back in the 1980s, originally as an audio specialist, and since then, he and the team have built a solid reputation for delivering quality productions for all types of shows and events, concerts, and festivals.

A recent investment in 16 x Robe LEDBeam 350s sees the first Robe moving lights to join the Audio Progress inventory.

The new fixtures – delivered by distributor Jands New Zealand – are being used effectively and efficiently to light an increasing array of televised and streamed events serviced by Audio Progress.

Malcolm was aware of Robe as a brand already and had hired some LEDWash 600s for a Kapa Haka festival from Grouse Ligh

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16 May 2024

The Netherlands - Villa Ananas hosted a tropical disco party on King’s Night and King’s Day in Beek en Donk. Featuring an impressive array of lighting equipment including Infinity and Showtec fixtures supplied by Dito Rental B.V., the event lit up the night with retro beats and vibrant hues.

As the Netherlands geared up for its vibrant King’s Day celebrations, Villa Ananas welcomed party-goers to immerse themselves in two days of retro beats and disco vibes on King’s Night and King’s Day. Held in the historic village of Beek en Donk near Eindhoven, Villa Ananas offered a tropical disco paradise.

Dito rental B.V. supplied an impressive array of lighting equipment, including 36 Infinity Furion B401 Beam moving heads, 28 Infinity iW-741 RDM RGBW wash moving heads and 10 Infinity iW-1941 RDM RGBW wash moving heads, creating an electrifying atmo

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16 May 2024

South Africa - Sound engineer Simphiwe ‘Smooth’ Mhlanga has become the first choice for some of South Africa’s most promising talents, including the likes of Jabulani ‘Sjava’ Hadebe, a singer, rapper and actor, as well as Kiernan Forbes, the late rapper and producer known as AKA. As Sub-Saharan African music has recently seen an impressive surge in sales and an increase in streams on all popular music platforms, Smooth’s experience is increasingly in demand.

When Smooth gets tasked with miking live shows, the engineer knows he needs a high-quality solution that highlights both his and the performers’ skills. Whether performing for 2,000 people or 10,000, the artists require a mic that offers pristine sound replication and the versatility to problem-solve on the spot. Working with DPA Specialist Keith Karimi from ApexPro in South Africa, Smooth

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16 May 2024

Spain - As part of its Presidency of the European Commission, Spain has recently played host to several high-level European events. The 134th Europol Meeting of the Management Board in Zaragoza was a standout amongst these, due to the scale of the conferencing solution required.

The Europol Management event is a gathering of all the European police force representatives to talk about international coordination and actions to ensure security within Europe.  

Having provided the AV solution for the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid, Ditec Comunicaciones was well placed to support El Cuerpo Nacional de Policía (Spain’s national police corps) in delivering this similar event. With the large number of delegates and variety of languages required, the Ditec team chose the comprehensive Dicentis conference system from Bosch Building Technologies.  

D

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16 May 2024

USA - Obsidian Control Systems is offering offer the Netron CLU, an easy-to-navigate central utility interface useful in discovering and managing Netron data distribution devices across a lighting network. Especially helpful when deploying networks that use multiple nodes, or when working with nodes that lack integrated screens, the Netron CLU makes Netron data signal devices even easier to configure, eliminating the need to physically access the devices themselves, says Obsidian.

Netron devices can be discovered regardless of their current IP address, and all Netron features can be centrally configured, or reconfigured, without the need to access individual web pages or the device displays. Whether you're setting up a handful of nodes for a live event or 50 nodes for an install, remote access to all device functions straight from a computer makes device set

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15 May 2024

UK - LED display brand Absen has announced the opening of its first UK showroom, in Theale, Berkshire, serving as a hub for Absen’s European operations.

The new showroom boasts Absen’s comprehensive range of solutions which cater to an array of markets, including rental & staging, virtual production, commercial, conference, DOOH, and data visualisation as well as providing essential office space for its team. The European hub also presents a display experience through its collaborations with ecosystem partners, including:

Designer and manufacturer of AV solutions, Peerless-AV providing essential bracket solutions specifically designed for the Clear Cobalt (CL) Series, which redefines LED capabilities for data visualisation. The showroom features groundbreaking collaborative displays like the CL0.9 v2 and NX 1.8 proAV solutions.

Intera

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15 May 2024

Italy – This year, Claypaky once again played host to the students enrolled in the Master in Lighting Design and LED Technology, organised by the Polytechnic University of Milan. This course has long been devoted to nurturing the talents of aspiring young lighting professionals.

The course aims to equip them with the skills they need for diverse applications such as entertainment venues, interior architecture, urban landscapes, museum exhibitions and temporary installations and residential spaces. The curriculum focuses on the analysis and synthesis of lighting design methods, covering conception, organisation, and rigging.

Among the esteemed instructors who teach on the course is Giovanni Pinna, a renowned lighting designer in Italy, known for his work with artists like Vasco Rossi. Pinna runs the Lighting Design for Entertainment module,

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15 May 2024

Europe - Within Temptation has sold close to 200,000 tickets for their European co-headlining Worlds Collide Tour, on which they played alongside US rock band, Evanescence. It also saw their monitor engineer of 17 years, Bennie Veenstra, deploying a KLANG immersive in-ear monitor system to add control and spatial quality.

Formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt, Within Temptation is a popular Dutch symphonic metal band. Over the years, they have garnered a massive following thanks to their fusion of symphonic elements, heavy guitars, and haunting vocals, resulting in more than four million record sales and numerous international awards, including a World Music Award, MTV Europe Music Awards, and a Metal Hammer Award. They have also headlined major European festivals such as Download, Hellfest, Wacken Open Air and Grasp