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Proteus on track for Dubai World Cup lighting

The creative team delivered a spectacle with pyro glider planes, drones, lighting, video and fireworks

Details: 06 July 2023

UAE - Lighting designer Aaron Russ of ARLD turned to Elation Professional’s Proteus Excalibur and Proteus Maximus as the building blocks of a lighting design for the closing ceremony of the 2023 Dubai World Cup, a Thoroughbred horse race held at Meydan Racecourse each March and the world's richest horse race.
The brief for the large-scale production called for something spectacular and different, a show that highlighted the horse race, its creators and Dubai as the host city. The creative team delivered a spectacle with pyro glider planes, drones, lighting, video and fireworks all working as one choreographed scene to the delight of onlookers both live and on television across the globe.
Technology solutions provider Creative Technology Middle East (CTME) worked as a

Biirdperson performing an immersive audio mix on the Soundstorm VIP stage

L-Acoustics L-ISA immerses VIP stage at Soundstorm

Details: 06 July 2023

Saudi Arabia - Since 2016 when the Saudi government opened the doors to public events, MDLBeast has been at the vanguard of nurturing local musical talent, hosting live and online events, producing artists on its MDLBeast Records label, and establishing XP Music Futures to accelerate the growth of MENA’s music industry.
Since 2019, MDLBeast has also curated Soundstorm Festival, the Middle East region’s largest gathering of artists and fans with over 200 acts and three quarters of a million visitors over four days. For the most recent edition, the push to offer innovative experiences saw Soundstorm invite Polygon Live and their L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal technology to create and curate a stage for VIP audiences.
Polygon Live is a 360°, immersive sonic experience where speakers play spatialised sound synchronised with an immersive light installation, whi

Dray Fowler - joining the DWR sales team

DWR Distribution grows sales team

Details: 05 July 2023

South Africa - Andrea ‘Dray’ Fowler has joined DWR Distribution’s sales team in Johannesburg.
For the past nine years, Dray has worked for a company that specialises in signage lighting while her career has seen her operate in business finance, office automation and sales.
“I knew about DWR Distribution from my husband Clint who also works in the live events industry, and from our friend Kyle Robson who works at DWR,” said Dray. “It always sounded like a vibey organisation where I've heard they work hard, play hard and fight hard. To me it seemed like a company where if I looked after them, they would look after me.”
“It’s wonderful to be able to expand the sales team and we are already impressed with Dray’s energy and the way she so easily fits into the team, almost as if she has always been part of it,” said Robert Izzett, sales director

PLASA Show 2023: Innovate Audio debuts panLab Console

Details: 05 July 2023

UK - Innovate Audio, creator of the panLab software, will show its latest spatial audio solution at the PLASA Show in London (3-5 September, Olympia). The new development, called panLab Console, is a software solution that adds spatial audio functionality to a range of live mixing consoles.
Cost and time constraints currently put spatial audio technology out of reach of smaller applications. Now, however, panLab Console presents a straightforward solution for more users than ever before. Put simply, panLab Console takes the proven panLab algorithm and applies it directly to the mixing console itself. It allows audio to be spatialised through existing hardware, without requiring expensive, dedicated processors. The solution is designed to be so simple to setup, users can be up and running in under five minutes.
“It enables people to deploy amplitude-based panning wit

The team will focus on the festival and touring side of the business

VDC creates technical consultation department

Details: 05 July 2023

UK - VDC Trading has announced that it has promoted three employees to head up a new technical team, officially formalising its technical consultation service offering to customers.
The new department is spearheaded by Jim Bulbeck, technical support manager, and David Barnard, customer services manager, both supported by technical assistant Dan Tompkins.
Via an ‘added-value consultative sales approach’, VDC customers have always had access to experienced advisors helping them overcome any technical issues. The new team just makes it easier for them to have a dedicated and named point person to deal with their enquiries, says the company.
Niall Holden, founder and CEO of VDC Trading comments: “We’ve always had a technical support department but this year as we lurch back into ‘normal’ busy times we have seen a huge increase in technical enquiries so

‘Drone light shows are a significant growth market’

Electric Airshows wins funding for growth

Details: 05 July 2023

UK - Electric Airshows has announced its success in winning funding from The Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) for ongoing innovation projects. The specialist provider of drone light show services to the UK’s outdoor events market, which launched last year, made its application for funding as part of the UK government’s Create Growth programme.
Designed to help creative businesses explore new innovation projects as a stimulus for growth, the Create Growth programme provides targeted support for SMEs in the creative industries in six appointed UK regions outside of London. Run by Innovate UK EDGE, part of UK Research and Innovation, it makes significant sums available for such projects. To be successful, eligible businesses must demonstrate both a clear growth opportunity and their proposed innovation which will address it.
Electric Airshows, founded by e

The Skylos searchlights created dense, solid beams of light

Claypaky Skylos light up Glastonbury sky

Details: 05 July 2023

UK - At Glastonbury 2023, one dozen Claypaky Skylos seachlights held their own against headlining acts on the Pyramid Stage, including the UK’s last live touring performance of Sir Elton John. Placed on the ground and producing super-concentrated beams of lights, the Skylos searchlights showed themselves to be extremely versatile fixtures that are more than simple searchlights, creating dense, solid beams of light and ever-greater light output.
Terry Cook, partner and principal designer for Woodroffe Bassett Design, was committed as lighting designer for Guns N' Roses and Sir Elton John. He recalls seeing Skylos for the first time in Italy and recognising that “this was a fixture that would cut through the summer twilight sky at Glastonbury. We knew we wanted an ultra-bright, large beam fixture that would sit behind the iconic Pyramid stage creating fingers of light shi

The Bootleg Beatles play Glastonbury’s Acoustic Stage

EM Acoustics powers Glastonbury Acoustic Stage

Details: 05 July 2023

UK - British loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics returned to Glastonbury’s Acoustic Stage, following the success of last year's outing.
Housed inside a large bright red tent, the Acoustic Stage is said to be a ‘festival within a festival’. Blues, folk, contemporary and country music are the order of the day. This year’s line-up included the Magic Numbers, Seth Lakeman, Badly Drawn Boy, Richard Thompson, Newton Faulkner, Paul Carrack, Steve Earle, and Rumer, among others. In conjunction with De Brabant Audio, EM supplied the full PA package for the Acoustic Stage.
“We are thrilled to have returned to the Acoustic Stage for the 2023 festival,” says Mike Wheeler, operations director at EM Acoustics. “Returning to Glastonbury for a second year confirms our belief in the capabilities of the HALO-A system. The feedback we’ve received has yet again been univ

Genelec named Finland’s ‘Brand of the Year’

Details: 05 July 2023

Finland - Genelec has been chosen as Finland’s Brand of the Year. Organised by Finland’s Chamber of Commerce, the annual competition is focused on fostering Finnish brand expertise and long-term brand development work, with the results being announced during the recent Great Brand Day at Helsinki’s Music Centre.
With a shortlist that also included the celebrated Finnish brands Lumene, Niemi and Siili, a jury of brand and intellectual property professionals evaluated many criteria - including brand story, customer experience, innovation, intellectual property protection, communication strategy, brand book and brand image. Additionally, members of the Finnish public were also able to play a part in the shortlisting process by nominating their favourite brand.
“The Genelec brand is built on the company's core values and is based on competence and enabling people t

Celebrating the arrival of Fenix in South East Asia

Fenix Stage confirms SE Asia distribution

Details: 05 July 2023

Singapore - Acoustic & Lighting System has joined the international network of Fenix Stage distributors.
Discussions began at ISE Barcelona 2023. Acoustic & Lighting will add Fenix Stage's lifting towers, ground support towers and display support solutions to its product offering for the Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore markets.
“We are delighted with this partnership, as our international expansion efforts are paying off and our network is growing rapidly,” says Fenix.
Fenix Stage sales director Alex Bryan has already presented training sessions at Acoustic and Lighting bases in in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) and Bangkok (Thailand).
These training sessions marked Fenix's official welcome to Acoustic & Lighting System. “We thank the attendees and our new distributor for their support and are excited to a

Ecler Video's product range includes video distribution over IP and wireless conferencing switchers

AUX Import to distribute Ecler Video in UK

Details: 05 July 2023

UK - AUX Import has announced its expansion into video solutions with its appointment as the exclusive distributor of Ecler Video in the UK.
"This is a significant milestone in the growth and development of AUX Import as we expand our range of products and services to meet our customers' needs," said Mike Newman, sales director at AUX Import. "With Ecler Video on board, we will be able to offer a complete and comprehensive AV solution that further strengthens AUX Import's position as a leading supplier of Pro AV solutions in the UK."
Ecler Video's product range includes video distribution over IP, wireless conferencing switchers and other advanced video solutions that will meet the requirements of clients in various sectors, including corporate, hospitality, education, and retail.
"We are thrilled to have AUX Import on board as our exclusive video solutions dis

Frank Oestrem - ‘we will be running competitive promotions over coming months’

Prism Sound appoints Matrix Pro Audio in Norway

Details: 05 July 2023

Norway - Prism Sound has appointed Matrix Pro Audio as its distributor in Norway, with responsibility for its entire range of audio conversion products including the recently launched Dream ADA-128 modular system.
Based in Rykkinn, near Oslo, Matrix has over 20 years’ experience of providing pro audio equipment to the Norwegian market and specialises in supporting all market sectors, including project studio owners, singer/songwriters, sound designers, educational establishments and science and research academies. As well as handling Prism Sound, the company also retails products from manufacturers such as PMC, Dangerous Music, Wes Audio, Tegeler Audio Manufaktur, Manultec, Rockruepel, Flock Audio, Elysia, Gainlab Audio, Buzz Audio and more.
The company’s owner, Frank Oestrem, says he is delighted to represent an established brand with a range of products that fit

The Week in Light & Sound

Details: 04 July 2023

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 £29.9m compared with 2019, prior to the pandemic. In the year ending October 2021, turnover was just £8.2m. According to the accounts, profit for the financial period in 2022 was £6.7m
The accounts state that "a major aspect of the strong performance was the successful run of the shows in the ye

Roger Fox and John Whitaker retire

Details: 04 July 2023

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, Liverpool, and the Victoria Hall and Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, which was one of his first, and biggest projects, involving the repurposing of a 1928 cinema into a modern touring theatre.
Fox also worked as project leader for the technical installations at the St. Luke’s Centre for th

Unite 180 Church's new 2,500-seat capacity space in Pretoria

SAW illuminates Unite 180 Church

Details: 04 July 2023

South Africa - Stage Audio Works recently completed a successful installation of a new house lighting system at Unite 180 Church's new 2,500-seat capacity space in Pretoria. The project, which commenced in April 2023, aimed to provide the space with a controllable RGBW house lighting solution that would enhance the ambiance and overall experience of the congregation.
The decision to specify Stage Audio Works' Stage Plus house lighting solution was driven by the client’s desire to achieve superior control, zoning capabilities, and a wide range of colour options to create dynamic lighting effects within their budget.
"We are thrilled to have partnered with Unite 180 Church to deliver a cutting-edge house lighting system for their new venue," says Lee Thomson, sales manager at Stage Audio Works. "Our team has been working closely with Unite 180 on a number of projects o

Access The Festival EDM dance party (photo: Eddy Hubble)

WPS makes Access The Festival debut

Details: 04 July 2023

UK - Facing their third year of providing technical services for Access The Festival (ATF), the three-day EDM dance party in Warwick’s Sherbourne Park, events specialist Sound Access turned for the first time to Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision (WPS) for the sound reinforcement.
The festival, organised by DJs Will Darley and Alex Neidhardt, continues to evolve its concept (this year adding a third day). But mindful that with three stages in close proximity, and a lot of low-frequency energy to contain, Sound Access owner Joe Baker’s rationale was simple. “The organisers wanted to upgrade the audio this year because we all felt that the listening experience was the most important.”
In order to mitigate sound spillage, tight control was required. “Last year, noise rejection out the back was quite bad with the system we used,” acknowledged Baker. But there

The extensive new lighting system was installed as part of a major sound and lighting upgrade

Prolights shines at Kazakh State Theatre

Details: 04 July 2023

Kazakhstan - The Kazakh State Academic Musical Drama Theatre has upgraded its performance credentials with a new venue and an extensive new lighting rig, including 32 fixtures from Italian manufacturer, Prolights. The extensive new lighting system was installed as part of a major sound and lighting upgrade, provided by leading entertainment technology consultant, and Prolights' partner for Kazakhstan, Samat Show Technic.
Named after one of the country's best-known actors, Kalibek Kuanyshbayev (1893-1968), the K.Kuanyshbayev Theatre first opened its doors in 1991 and has been an award-winning focal point for Kazakhstan's art and culture ever since. While the original building remains a pearl of Astana's artistic heritage as the headquarters of the Youth Theatre, in 2020 the go-ahead was given for a new, secondary auditorium to be built, to serve as the Kazakh State Academic M

The Rave Jam Music Carnival combines electro, rap and pop music

KV2 parties at the Rave Jam Music Carnival

Details: 04 July 2023

China - Hosted by the Entertainment Times and co-organised by the Longjoin Group - who are also the creators of the event - the Rave Jam Music Carnival is a massive outdoor music festival that combines a spread of electro, rap and pop music to appeal to a wide audience.
The first edition took place in Linjiang’s Cherry Blossom Park over the May Day holiday weekend and welcomed nearly 24,000 festival-goers over the course of the two days. To cover such a vast area, the Longjoin Group provided a front-to-back KV2 Audio system based on the flagship VHD5 Constant Power Point Source system supplemented by smaller VHD systems for side-fill and front-fill, plus a full complement of ESSeries DJ monitors and ESM stage monitors.
The festival boasted a line-up of Chinese and Asian artists including Aryue Zheng Yue, one of the world’s top 100 DJs in 2022, DJ KAKA-the first Ch

The production was staged at the Bucharest National Opera House

Claypaky lights Phantom in Bucharest

Details: 04 July 2023

Romania - The Bucharest Opera recently staged The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway’s longest-running musical, with a wide array of Claypaky fixtures illuminating the action.
The production at the Bucharest National Opera House ran from 31 March to 14 May, with the first performances selling out hours after tickets went on sale. The show’s staff worked with teams from Broadway and London’s West End to ensure a high artistic level was achieved.
Lighting designer Bogumił Palewicz selected the Claypaky fixtures, which were supplied by Bucharest’s Marbo Trade, Claypaky’s distributor in Romania. The package consisted of 33 Scenius Profiles, 20 HY B-EYE K15 and three HY B-EYE K25 moving head washes, four Arolla Profile HPs and four Sharpy X Frame compact hybrid fixtures.
“Claypaky represents good quality and innovative solutions,” says Palewicz. “T

‘What started with an orchestra of eight and just four singers, quickly tripled and grew again’

DiGiCo blends Harmony of the Worlds

Details: 04 July 2023

UK - Several years in the making, Harmony of The Worlds, composed by Satya Hinduja, began as a visionary notion of spatialising and immersing sound all around an audience. What started with an orchestra of eight and just four singers, quickly tripled and grew again, artistically combining the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a choir, and hundreds of pre-recorded sounds to totally immerse its audience in 360 degrees of musical wellness.
The DiGiCo Quantum 7 was the only digital mixing console on the market with the flexibility and technical capabilities to handle such a project, and controlled by sound engineer, Mark Rogers, it delivered.
Harmony of The Worlds, conducted by David Murphy, was a free concert held at St Mary’s Church, Luton, created and composed by Satya Hinduja to explore the connection between music and human wellness. The arrangement of H

Chauvet’s products were used to add extra colour and excitement to 17 of the festival’s stages

Chauvet lights Lizzo and more at Glastonbury

Details: 04 July 2023

UK - They might not have been as common as flags at Glastonbury, but Chauvet Professional fixtures were widely deployed at Worthy Farm. The company’s products were used to add extra colour and excitement to 17 of the festival’s stages.
Included in the group were main attractions like the Pyramid, Greenpeace, Flying Bus and new Levels stages, as well as more specialised attractions like the Avalon Stage, nightclub-like Salon Carousel, The Hive Stage, Outside Circus Stage, and the San Remo Stage.
At the Pyramid Stage, John Luke Roles used 30 of the Color Strike M motorised strobe/blinders, supplied by Solotech, UK Group, in his floor package for Lizzo’s performance. A collection of 14 Color Strike Ms lined the base of the central stage riser, which had a sliding backdrop that the Detroit singer exited the stage through, while 16 other units lined stage left and r

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