Sweden - Slovakia's Leader Light was a key official supplier to this year's Eurovision Song Contest, with 160 units of LL stage beam were located directly on the stage.

"For the company this was a new experience which we much appreciate," says managing director Julius Szaraz. "Leader Light constantly tries to improve technology and I think this is an evidence of the quality of our products."

LL stage beam is a LED fixture which is designed for graphic back/front stage lighting effects for the entertainment market. This cool white light is compatible with DMX and it offers quick installation with camlocs.

(Jim Evans)

Sweden - A total of 11 x grandMA2 light consoles were used for running lighting and video at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, staged at the Malmö Arena, Sweden.

Four grandMA2 light consoles, plus four as backup, were controlling around 1,400 fixtures. The three video grandMA2 light, one as backup, were playing back content stored on 22 media servers via MA-Net2 feeding 28 x Barco HDQ-2K40 projectors. They had 94m video pixels in the show and were running up to 16 video layers on the media servers. 4 x MA onPC command wing were used as well for technical support purposes.

The 2013 event took production, presentation and visual imagination to new heights of style, ambition and excellence under the technical direction of Ola Melzig. This was created by a carefully crafted blend of Fredrik Jönsson's lighting, Mikki Kunttu's video and the set designed by Viktor Brattstrom and Fr

China - ADJ has opened a sales and distribution facility in the world's most populous nation. Located in the city of Pan Yu, the new Guangzhou ADJ China will sell ADJ products exclusively to the Chinese market.

According to Toby Velazquez, president of the ADJ Group, the company's move into China was prompted by feedback from Chinese consumers, club owners and concert managers. "End users in China have been exposed to our lighting products in other countries whether in Asia or elsewhere; and have been impressed by their performance as well as by our branding. Over the past few years, more of these end-users have been asking where they can get our products in China. Our new operation in Pan You was started in response to this demand."

The ADJ products offered by the new operation will be similar to the lighting ADJ has marketed successfully in other parts of the world

Canada - When Canadian television company Eastlink TV contacted DiGiCo distributor Gerr Audio to talk about an intercom system for the company's new HD mobile unit, it ended up with more than it bargained for. This new, state-of-the-art facility not only features the originally requested intercom, but a DiGiCo SD10B broadcast specific digital mixing console, which has already more than proved its worth.

"Historically, we've supplied Eastlink with Clearcomm intercoms," explains Gerr's Andrew Hope. "So when they were kitting out the new HD mobile, which is a big step up for them as a regional television provider, they came to talk to us about it.

"Of course, I looked around and said 'so what else are you going to put in this truck...?'. We ended up supplying a large part of the audio system, with CEV in Montreal handling the integration. The centrepiece is th

USA - Located in rural southern Michigan, Hillsdale College is an independent, coeducational, residential, liberal arts college with a student body of about 1,400. With the February opening of the Margot V. Biermann Athletic Centre, the college has a new 76,000sq.ft state-of-the-art facility that primarily serves the track and tennis programmes while providing additional space for general physical fitness.

As part of this new addition to the campus, sound reinforcement takes on a new dimension with the installation of a sound system drawn from the Aero Series 2, Artec, and Arco catalogues of Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.

Battle Creek MI-based AVTEK, a design / build and special events firm with a focus on AV installations for the commercial, education, and worship markets, was contracted to design and deploy the college's new sound system. Andrew Walker, who handles both

UK - West Midlands-based technical solutions specialist Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) has been appointed as the preferred technical supplier for Stoneleigh Events.

Stoneleigh Events' venue, Stoneleigh Park, is set in theWarwickshire countryside just 30 minutes outside the commercial hub of Birmingham and also in close proximity to CPL's HQ. CPL will be offering all the sound, lighting, video and AV equipment, and technical support required for corporate and live events, plus exhibitions.

CPL was invited to tender for the position after Stoneleigh Events had learned of the company's fresh and innovative approach, especially with regard to visual presentation of all types.

CPL's Richard Burrow, said: "We are really proud to be working so closely with the team at Stoneleigh Events and look forward to a long and productive working relationship with the venue."

Burr

Bulgaria - The second leg of Bon Jovi's current tour opened in Bulgaria earlier this month, revealing an exquisite Americana-themed set, designed by PEDG's Spike Brant. Serving as production / lighting designer / show director for the tour, Brant turned to Tait to create the 30m inflatable 1959 Buick Electra, which spans the length of the main stage.

Tait supplied all the staging for the tour, including a 34m wide main stage, a band riser and a 30m rounded b-stage catwalk. The Buick Electra's hood sits above the band and is made of three, cold-air inflatable pieces. The three separate pieces measure 30m in total length, and are capable of full inflation in 30 minutes. The inflatable surface has been scenically airbrushed and UV treated for the outdoor shows. It is externally lit from various lighting positions during the show, creating many different looks.

To complete the Bui

UK - Celebrating their 30th anniversary at Firex International, Baldwin Boxall commissioned a bespoke label for a bottle of ale from their local brewery - Harveys of Lewes. There was a great atmosphere on the stand with visitors enjoying the hospitality they have come to expect from the company's staff.

Baldwin Boxall was formed in 1982 by four directors - Terry & Patricia Baldwin and Dave & Dawn Boxall - in 1982 in a shed at the bottom of Terry's garden and Dave's home. A direct 'communication link' was set up between to two properties - an unofficial product invention!

They proved to be a great team and, within a couple of years, the shed was upgraded to a railway cottage near Crowborough rail station. A short while later a 'sales office' (caravan) was added to the site for Terry and Neil Jarvis. This was followed by the addition of a small mobile style building, for storage

Belgium - Belgian sound engineer Joris Verniest, from betterliVe.be, has been introducing DPA Microphones' new d:facto II Vocal Microphone to some of the country's top bands after being blown away by the natural sound quality it delivers on the live stage.

DPA's Belgian distributor Amptec gave Verniest the first DPA d:facto II Vocal Microphone in the country to demo and since then he has been using it for a wide variety of gigs and with many different artists.

"It doesn't matter what situation I put it in - whether it is a small club, a big outside stage such as the Pukkelpop festival, with wedges or in-ear - I have consistently got great results," Verniest explains. "The vocals are incredibly clear through my mix and there is very little crosstalk from the drums or guitar amps. I even recorded some gigs in multitrack to compare the d:facto with other microphone

Canada - The Music Industries Association of Canada (MIAC) has announced the preliminary details for the 12th annual PAL Show. This year's show will take place 8-9 September, 2013, at the International Centre in Toronto, and will feature a number of new initiatives to enhance the overall experience and return on investment for visitors and exhibitors alike.

Exhibits will feature the latest in recording, live sound, broadcast, contracting, video, and lighting products and services. Both days of the show will feature a broad range of educational seminars as well as networking events, industry approved training programs, show specials, and live demonstrations.

"We are extremely excited about The PAL Show 2013," comments Dale Kroke, Sr. VP & GM, B&J Music and chairman of the Board of Directors, MIAC. "Our recent membership survey generated a lot of great feedback ab

USA - Having participated in last year's event, Cadac is an official sponsor of this year's Broadway Sound Master Classes, in association with its US distributor Lift Distribution and RF Production's Tom Benson, its US theatre sound consultant.

Addressing what is for it a traditional customer base, this year Cadac is focusing on the opportunities offered to smaller performance venues and productions by its latest compact LIVE1 analogue console series and CDC Four digital mix system.

Commenting on this year's approach, international sales manager, Ben Millson, says, "With the focus on the LIVE1 and CDC Four we are illustrating that, with its new console range, Cadac has a Broadway quality board for everyone, all offering cost competitive, high quality sound design capabilities. Once Cadac sound and engineering was only available to the biggest theatre productions, now ther

UK - Roland Systems Group (RSG) is joining with some of their biggest dealers to put on a series of one day training events across the UK - starting on 20 June at SFL Group in Reading, followed by 3 July at Wigwam Acoustics in Heywood.

The events, which are free to attend, give those present unlimited access to the RSG audio and video product range and the chance for some 'one to one' training with RSG experts. The core functionality of the V-Mixing System will be the main focus of the training - with a spotlight on the new iPad controllable M-200i, the M-480 and M-300 Digital Live Mixing Consoles - both of which have recently launched new iPad Apps - as well as the range of Digital Snakes.

The range of video products such as the new V-4EX 4 Channel Video Mixer, the V-800HD Multi Format Video Switcher and the V-40HD Multi format Video Switcher will also be demonstrated. The da

Indonesia - Clay Paky has unveiled its latest luminaires to major Asian rental companies and TV stations at a demo Jakarta in Indonesia.

Clay Paky area manager Alberico D'Amato and the Italian LD Giovanni Zucchinali collaborated with Clay Paky's Malaysia-based Asian distributor Acoustic & Lighting System for the show, with their newly opened Indonesian branch, which offered end users in the region the opportunity to experience the company's latest breakthroughs in lighting technology.

On show were Clay Paky's A.Leda K10 and K20, the Alpha Spot QWO 800, the Alpha Spot 700 HPE, the Alpha Wash 1500, the Sharpy, and - making its debut in Asia - the new Sharpy Wash.

"The 60 or so rentals companies and TV representatives were incredibly impressed with the quality and features of all of Clay Paky's new luminaires," says Acoustic & Lighting System's Eugene Yeo. "We re

Italy - Leading Italian lighting manufacturer iGuzzini, has revamped its headquarters in Recanati to include a multifunctional space boasting a Christie Mirage projector for 3D screening capabilities as well as a Christie DWU670-E projector.

iGuzzini manufactures lighting fixtures for architecture and street lighting. The family business, which was established more than 50 years ago, has a sales network reaching 64 countries. Its products are celebrated for their innovation, design and eco-sustainability. Continuing in this vein, the company decided to upgrade its offices.

The 150,000sqm headquarters office has a new four-storey light laboratory, designed by Genoa architect Maurizio Varratta under the banner of sustainability and energy efficiency. The building's ecological performance received a rating of 3.5 on the Sustainable Building Challenge Protocol, the highest receive

UK - Continuing a long-running working relationship, XL Video is supplying LED screens, cameras and control for Muse's current The 2nd Law world tour featuring another innovative collaboration between stage & visual designer, Oli Metcalf and video director Tom Kirk.

The tour began in October 2012 in the UK. It stormed through Europe, Japan and US and is now back in the UK, this time playing stadium shows.

Muse are renowned for their visually spectacular live performances. XL's project manager Phil Mercer enthuses, "It is always interesting working with Oli and Tom, and the results of their work is another entertaining, impressive and thought-provoking show."

To achieve a combination of the highest resolution and lightest weight LED video screen surfaces, XL Video is supplying its Pixled F-12 product to the tour.

The front of the stage and drum riser are cl

UK - As the nail biting Champions League Final came to an end at Wembley Stadium, Bluman Associates was hard at work at the Natural History Museum setting the scene for the official after party for German football team Borussia Dortmund this Saturday (25th March).

Bluman Associates managed the technical production for a mapped building projection onto the front of the historic building for creative agency Unspun Ltd.

The highly anticipated final saw German rivals Borussia Dortmund take on Bayern Munich where victory was clenched in the 89th minute for Bayern Munich, with a goal from Arjen Robben making the final score 2 - 1.

On arrival at the Natural History Museum, the Dortmund players, their management, friends and VIP supports of the club were all greeted by the club logo projected onto the outside of the building. Video services production agency Bluman Associates worked

Estonia - Renowned for producing some of the best theatre in Europe, Vanemuine Teater in Tartu, Estonia, launches its new production of Grease directed by Georg Malvius, featuring a vibrant lighting design by Palle Palmé who is utilising over 100 Robe moving lights.

These are part of a new installation at Vanemuine in the theatre's 660 seater Big House venue.

The installation is part of a much wider upgrade programme which has seen all eight Estonian state supported arts and culture venues receive a major lighting refit - with Robe moving lights deployed across all sites.

Involving over 500 fixtures distributed around the country, this has been co-ordinated by Robe's Estonian distributor, Tallinn based E&T Ltd.

Palle Palmé is based in Stockholm and works internationally on a wide variety of shows across theatre, live music and corporate event sectors.<

Europe - Avolites' powerful yet compact Titan Mobile console will be working alongside the Ai Media Server for the first time on the latest Skunk Anansie European festival tour this summer. Video-heavy, it's a visual feast of light, colour and movement backed up with epic rock show lighting. This has seen LD Andy 'Foxy' Smyth harnessing the power of Titan 7 in its most concentrated form.

Smyth has been working with Skunk Anansie since the beginning of summer 2011 and has used an Avolites Pearl Expert control console for the venues tour for the last two years. He describes the desk as 'incredible' following its boost from the new Titan Software.

"The Pearl control surface has been a favourite of mine since I started in the industry, so it was an easy choice to make for the tour. The Expert additions, such as the extra five playback faders, split roller page and fixture exc

UAE - Adamson and Thomsun (United Arab Emirates) are teaming up to offer their first seminar in Dubai from 30 May through 1 June. The event will bring in top production companies, partners and FOH engineers to the Traders Hotel in Deira, Dubai. Adamson applications engineer, David Dohrmann, will lead the event and work through topics including Adamson core technologies and products, line array theory and best array design practices.

The presentation allows industry professionals a chance to hear playback and live music on multiple Adamson products including: SpekTrix, Metrix and the Point Series. The seminar will include additional presentations introducing the Energia Series, a Blueprint software overview as well as loudspeaker measurement techniques and system alignment.

There is still an opportunity to attend this seminar and interested parties are encouraged to contact dav

China - The newly reopened Yau Ma Tei Theatre has put a modern twist on traditional Cantonese opera. The historic 300 seat venue in Kowloon, Hong Kong, features the latest ETC technology, with layers of the highest quality conventional and LED light.

Originally opened as a cinema in 1930, the Yau Ma Tei Theatre screened films from a variety of genres until it closed in 1998. Nearly a decade later, the building was saved from being bulldozed when it was declared an architectural and cultural landmark. The government decided to revitalise the area, beginning conservation work to transform the former cinema into a performing arts venue that would become home to a Cantonese opera troupe.

During the renovation, power consumption in the theatre was a big concern. The aging building has limited electrical capacity, so the lighting system had to be green. The staff decided to install

USA - After a hugely successful debut show in February 2012, the trail-blazing PLASA Focus regional event series is returning to Austin, where it all began! This year's show is bigger and better and is taking place at a new venue, the Palmer Events Centre in downtown Austin, just 20 minutes from Austin Airport, on 10-11 September 2013.

"PLASA Focus: Austin 2012 was the first event to be launched under the PLASA Focus banner in North America, and it proved to be very popular, with both visitors and exhibitors, which is why we have decided to return to the region this September. Over 40 companies have already signed up to exhibit, and we expect to see both previous and new visitors, all of whom want to experience and interact with the latest products without having to travel far from home" says Jackie Tien, director of media, sales & marketing at PLASA.

PLASA Focus pro

UK - A substantial lighting rig featuring over 150 Robe fixtures was used by 'house' lighting designer and TV lighting director Tim Routledge to create a production design for the 1xtra / In New Music We Trust Arena at BBC Radio One's 2013 'Big Weekend' event.

The high-profile three day musical extravaganza staged in Ebrington Square, Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland, kicked off the UK festival season in style.

The lighting equipment for this stage was supplied by the HSL Group incorporating PSI who provided all rigging and support. The two companies have recently merged offering even more comprehensive rental operations throughout the UK and Ireland.

The 1xtra / In New Music We Trust stage was located inside The Venue, a 5000 capacity multi-purpose temporary structure erected for Derry's 2013 year as European Capital of Culture. The house lighting rig in here also contai

UK - MediaCityUK-based media services provider, dock10, has formalised the appointment of technical support firm Gallowglass to fulfil the vast majority of its labour requirements at The Studios - the studio complex at the heart of MediaCityUK.

One of the largest television studios in the UK and home to the BBC and, progressively, ITV, the new complex offers the largest high definition facilities in Europe. Operated by dock10, The Studios contain seven HDTV studios, two audio studios, digital post production cloud media management services.

Gallowglass will provide a workforce of technical support staff, including carpenters, scenic artists, gaffers and stage-hands, to work at The Studios - and also at production base The Pie Factory, home to three large sound stages, and location for a wide range of productions, from feature films to sofa commercials.

Gallowglass regional m

UK - Award-winning lighting designer James Thompson is using pure beam Clay Paky Sharpys to throw laser like beams across the audience in his show design for The Script's current sell-out world tour.

Thompson - who was presented with a Knight of Illumination Award in the category of Concert Touring and Events for his work with The Script in 2011 - has praised the impact the Sharpys can have in a lighting design.

The Script show, which has been designed to reflect the name of the Tour - '#3', features a huge video backdrop with three parallel video fingers that reach out into the audience, both along the floor and overhead. Although Thompson uses the Sharpy's sparingly he has worked them into his design seamlessly, using them to deliver high impact, audience-embracing effects. Where they are used each look exploits the sharp parallel beam acting to punctuate the music and the v

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