Events

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12 August 2024

UK - Visitors to this year’s PLASA Show (1-3 September, Olympia London) can once again get up close to vintage technology used by iconic recording artists and theatre productions, courtesy of lighting designer and LSi journalist Rob Halliday, and Chris Hewitt of CH Vintage Audio.

In a special area of the show named after the popular, long-running LSi column, archive equipment will be showcased via a display of vintage consoles and fixtures. Additionally, a range of guest experts set to join Halliday and Hewitt on-stand throughout the event to share memories of tech-gone-by.

Kit set to be displayed includes:

• The custom Cadac mixing console created for Starlight Express in 1984, which pioneered the computer-controlled VCA mixing approach followed by all theatre shows since.
• The Strand Galaxy lighting console, which i

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05 August 2024

UK - 22live has become one of the first suppliers to achieve the AGF (A Greener Future) Greener Supplier certification. This certification underscores the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability and its proactive efforts to reduce emissions and waste across operations and services.

The AGF certification is an independently verified acknowledgment of green credentials, helping events, venues, festivals, and tours easily identify green suppliers. This recognition will save both suppliers and clients time and resources in evidencing their commitment to sustainability.

The journey to certification involved a thorough assessment of 22Live’s practices in various key areas of environmental sustainability, including energy management, food & beverage sustainability,

transportation efficiency, waste management practices, water con

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05 August 2024

Germany - Neumann & Müller Veranstaltungstechnik has been certified to the ISO 14001 and 45001 international standards in the fields of environmental management and occupational health and safety management. The criteria the company had to meet represent a further milestone in the implementation of a comprehensive sustainability concept.

Martin Hartmann-Schüler, sustainability manager at N&M: "These certifications mark a significant step for Neumann & Müller. They underline our commitment to sustainable business practices and protecting our staff. But they will also spur us on to constantly intensify and advance our efforts in these fields."

Sustainable procurement that makes efficient use of resources, optimised transport logistics, regional crews and supplies, and less negative impact on the environment – these are just a few of th

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02 August 2024

UK - For one glorious day, on 11 July, the industry came together at the Backup Village Fete to raise much needed funds for supporting those working in the industry when they need it most. This year’s event smashed all expectations, raising a record-breaking £56,300 on the day. Even the weather could not resist a day out, as un-forecast sunshine made a welcome appearance for the duration of the event. “The Parish of Backup has its own micro-climate,” suggests chair of Backup and Mayor of the Parish Fete, Lee Dennison.

The Backup Village Fete is the natural evolution of KartFest into a more inclusive and engaging day out for the industry. Ten years after the first racing helmet was donned, straw hats are now a key item of apparel.

Since the event’s inception, the charity has benefitted from extraordinary donations and the industry has enjoyed

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31 July 2024

UK - An innovative event power solution was deployed by Energy Management Solutions to run the whole site from a large battery for the first time in the UK, reducing carbon emissions at Brighton’s series of On The Beach shows this month.

Sixty thousand people attended the concert series, featuring artists ranging from Bicep, Underworld, The Kooks, Sub-Focus, Carl Cox and The Libertines.

NW Live delivered the site planning and management and production, their project lead Joe Nichols, comments: “Having worked with Gerhard and James at Energy MS to introduce the solar panels for the production village last year, we were delighted to work with them again and be the first large event to run all of our site off a giant battery and be able to extend our carbon reduction protocols.”

Energy MS invested in a 275kVA battery with 500 kWh

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30 July 2024

UK - The countdown is on for the 2024 PLASA Awards for Innovation, with the early bird submission deadline fast approaching. Industry innovators are encouraged to enter their groundbreaking products by Friday, 2 August, to benefit from a 20% discount on the entry fee.

In partnership with LSi, the PLASA Awards celebrate products that exemplify new thinking, enhance technical practice or safety, introduce novel materials or techniques, or offer new commercial advantages within the live entertainment technology sector.

An independent panel of industry experts will evaluate each entry, with up to eight awards available. One of these may be elevated to the prestigious Gold Award, recognising an outstanding new product. All nominated products will be prominently featured in the Innovation Gallery at the heart of the PLASA Show floor and in

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25 July 2024

Europe - Neg Earth Lights has announced their partnership with British Ukrainian Aid (BUA), a UK registered charity. As part of their ongoing commitment to giving back, Neg Earth will be donating a truck through the donation scheme to support the work of this charity.

Since it was permitted from 15 March, British Ukrainian Aid (BUA) is operating the donation scheme with Transport for London (TfL) to donate vehicles to Ukraine through the ULEZ programme, where they would be used for medical and humanitarian purposes.

“Whilst Neg Earth Lights is not eligible for the for the scrappage scheme, they have decided to purely donate a vehicle through the charity,” says the company. “The donated vehicle is a Renault 16T rigid truck, the first of its kind to be contributed through this scheme.

“Our truck’s journey so far has been an adventurou

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23 July 2024

Europe - Showlight 2025 has sparked considerable interest. The papers committee is meeting to discuss the first raft of papers submissions for the central programme, the first sponsors are already signed up and visible on the Showlight website (www.showlight.org/our-sponsors), and 60% of the exhibition spaces have already been sold.

If you want to become part of Showlight 2025 as an exhibitor, don’t delay in contacting us to secure your space.

The exhibition area is the place to meet lighting designers, directors and delegates across all disciplines, in a relaxed and informal atmosphere, at morning, afternoon and lunchtime breaks. These breaks are a key part of Showlight’s networking opportunities and allow much closer contact with entertainment lighting users and specifiers than any of the lar

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19 July 2024

UK - The panel topics and first speakers at Vision: 2025’s Sustainable Events Summit (SES) have been confirmed, returning to the Showman’s Show for its ninth edition, on Wednesday 23 October 2024.

Supported by title sponsor Festival Republic and hosted by The Showman’s Show, the action-focused summit will present the latest research, tools and knowledge, and brings together leading outdoor event organisers, local authorities, suppliers, and sustainability experts, to shape the future of climate action in the industry - this summit will include roundtables on sector strategy for 2030.

The SES 24 morning is an invitation-only industry roundtable session, where green leaders will focus on national policy priorities and sector strategy. A sustainable lunch is being supplied by Eat to The Beat, which will frame later conversations around food impact

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17 July 2024

UK - The Arcadia stage at Glastonbury Festival, presented annually by a collective of creatives, engineers, programmers and technicians, is one of the most recognised festival stages in the world.

This year, in place of its celebrated flame-throwing, laser-packed Spider, engineered from recycled heavy machinery, Arcadia unveiled The Dragonfly. The sculpture, which was built from a retired military helicopter and scrapped excavators, saw artists including Fat Boy Slim and Eric Prydz perform from its dazzling head. This, in turn, featured a pair of glittering compound eyes moulded from a tangram of video screens.

Video Illusions, as one of the Arcadia team’s long-term collaborators, was invited to design and manufacture a bespoke LED panel featuring a near-invisible structural framework and control. The brief further demanded that the screens be low-

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09 July 2024

UK - PLASA and LSi are calling for nominations for this year’s Gottelier Award. Named after the late lighting designer and innovator Tony Gottelier, the revered award recognises the invaluable contributions of the people behind the products.

Launched in 2007, the Gottelier Award aims to recognise product developers who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the advancement of entertainment, presentation, or installation technology over many years.

Last year’s winner was Howard Eaton whose self-named company, Howard Eaton Lighting Ltd, is known for delivering bespoke solutions to countless theatrical productions around the world – from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s flying car, to the crashing chandelier in the Phantom of the Opera, to the flying Olympic rings at London 2012.

After his win, Eaton said: “It is quite somethin

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09 July 2024

USA - One of the premier roots festivals in the US, DelFest has steadily evolved the technical infrastructure at its Allegany County Fairgrounds site in Cumberland, MD, since the event was originally established 17 years ago.

Supporting the multi-stage event with sound reinforcement from the beginning has been Martin Audio partner Southard Audio. This year they fielded three Wavefront Precision systems - a WPL rig and two WPS hangs.

“We only switched to WPL and other Martin Audio systems at DelFest post-COVID (from 2022) and it really shines for these applications,” notes Southard managing partner, Jason Misterka.

Their three-stage Martin Audio deployment was headed by the large-format WPL line array. The Grandstand system used 24 WPL for main PA (12 a-side) with eight WPL out-fill stage right (to cover the grandstands), four XD15 front-f

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08 July 2024

Thailand - Powersoft has announced its participation in InfoComm Asia 2024. This marks the first time Powersoft will independently exhibit at the event. Show attendees can explore all the latest Powersoft technologies, including the new Maritime Kit for Unica amplifiers, Dolby Atmos Connect patching, the latest updates to its MyUniverso cloud and more, in Bangkok from 17 to 19 July.

First shown at InfoComm Las Vegas, Powersoft will introduce to the Asian market the new Maritime Kit for its all-in-one Unica amplifier platform, designed specifically for use on cruise ships and other marine vessels. Following rigorous testing to ensure compliance with key marine safety standards (IEC 60945 and IACS E10), the Maritime Kit, comprising an external A/C filter kit with ferrite components, offers robust performance and high-quality audio in maritime environments, add

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04 July 2024

UK/USA - Stage Precision, has announced its 2024 schedule of education training days. The sessions, open to users from a variety of industries and taking place in locations in both the UK and USA, cater for both complete newcomers to Stage Precision software, and those who have previously completed a Core Skills workshop in the past.

“Training is important to us,” confirms Kevin Li, technical solutions specialist at Stage Precision. “Not only does it help us to spread the knowledge of software such as SP and grow our user base, but it also creates an opportunity for Stage Precision to develop the skills of our users and strengthen our community.”

SP by Stage Precision is the brand’s most popular product, a ‘Swiss Army knife’ that can be integrated with leading production technology to unify workflows on even the most complex projects. H

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03 July 2024

UK - With over 4,000 registrations, this year’s ABTT Theatre Show at Alexandra Palace was busier than ever. This industry event drew a broad range of attendees at all stages of their careers alongside an ever-increasing list of exhibitors from all areas of the industry, say the organisers.

“Running once again over two days, the ABTT Theatre Show gave the industry an opportunity to meet face-to-face in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The ABTT would like to thank all those exhibitors who returned, along with the many new exhibitors joining us for the first time. With a 10% increase of exhibitors on the show floor, this year’s event gave attendees over 165 brands with whom to speak, catch up and discuss new projects with.”

New exhibitors for 2024 included 2scale.shop, Acoustic Design & Architecture, Ascender, Cameo, Cell Pack Solutions, C

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03 July 2024

Europe - Peerless-AV has announced it is embarking on a dvLED Roadshow in partnership with 7thSense, Absen and NovaStar touring across Europe this September.

Taking place at Midwich Group country locations and Absen regional showrooms, the roadshow will incorporate specialist training and hands-on practical sessions on all the elements of a dvLED video wall installation, from mounting structures to display specifications to content control and image configuration. The objective, in one day, is to educate and equip dealers, system integrators and consultants with all the tools and skills necessary to install a fully operational dvLED video wall system, with ease.

Starting in the UK at Absen’s new regional showroom, located in Theale, Berkshire, the roadshow will continue to the North West of England, before moving to Absen’s German showroom in Fra

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02 July 2024

UK - Pixl Evolution, provider of event technology and production services, has recently achieved ISO 27001 certification. This significant milestone underscores the company's dedication to ensuring the security and privacy of client data.

In today's digital events landscape, ensuring data security is crucial for both event organisers and their chosen suppliers. Pixl Evolution, who achieved the certification as part of the Entertainment Technology Partners (ETP) family of brands, is proud to be one of the few technical production companies to achieve ISO 27001 certification.

The ISO 27001 certification process is rigorous and demanding. It requires companies to establish a comprehensive framework for managing information security risks. This includes identifying vulnerabilities, implementing robust security controls, and maintaining a culture of secur

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28 June 2024

UK - BPM Show, originally re-scheduled for 9-10 November 2024, is now postponed to a date to be confirmed in 2025.

This decision, taken in collaboration with PLASA, Headliner, SEDA, Mastermix, AVSL, Chauvet DJ, NADJ, Paladin Innovations and Promo Only, reflects our commitment to providing an unmatched experience for our attendees.

The team at PLASA – alongside our esteemed partners – have decided to take this extra time to completely revamp the BPM Show, including a brand-new venue. This is so that we can deliver a world-class event that sets new standards in the UK for the DJ and electronic music community.

BPM Show 2025 will focus on several key areas:

Music: Featuring some of the biggest names in the electronic music industry.

Technology: Creating a hands-on tech playground with cutting-edge DJ equipme

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28 June 2024

UK - The Isle of Wight Festival 2024 is setting a benchmark in sustainability by integrating hydrogen-powered generators into its power infrastructure. GeoPura's hydrogen powered generators (HPUs) replaced traditional diesel fuel to power crew and artist catering and part of the guest village; supplying zero-emission electricity from hydrogen for the first time at the festival.

This initiative is part of the festival's commitment to becoming the most sustainable in the UK. By introducing hydrogen power, the festival is making a significant leap towards reducing its carbon footprint and setting an example for other events.

Caroline Giddings, director at The Isle of Wight Festival, said: "By introducing hydrogen-powered generators, we are taking a proactive step towards our goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. This initiative is jus

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25 June 2024

UK - PLASA Show, the UK’s international event for live entertainment technology, will take up residence under the roof of Olympia London once again from 1-3 September 2024.

Free registration is now open, providing 5,000+ visitors unlimited access to 200+ global brands, a packed educational programme, and endless opportunities to get up close and hands on with the latest generation of professional products.

Featuring a who’s-who of the live sector, the vibrant show floor is 10% bigger than last year, with exhibitors still signing up for stands. PLASA Show welcomes back Robe as headline sponsor, along with an impressive raft of manufacturers, distributors, and service providers. 

Lighting professionals can meet all the big names, including Beamz, Chauvet Professional, Claypaky, ETC, GLP, Goboplus, Highlite International, Prolight, Lumos Li

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24 June 2024

UK - As we approach the UK General Election on 4 July, The Power of Events is eager to understand the key event industry issues influencing #EVENTPROFS at the ballots. “We believe your audience can significantly contribute to this crucial discussion by engaging with us on the Event Industry Insight App,” says the group.

“From Monday 24 June to Friday 28 June, The Power of Events is conducting a lightning-fast pulse check on the Events Industry Insight App as part of our ongoing testing of the app - it will take less than a minute to complete. The insights gathered will help understand the priorities and concerns impacting the UK Events Industry and will be shared publicly on Monday 1 July.

“By promoting this pulse check, you will be helping the industry gain a strong understanding of the issues most influencing event professionals and their o

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19 June 2024

UK - Creative climate non-profit Julie’s Bicycle, host of festival industry project Vision: 2025, is collaborating with 10 local authorities and more than 60 festivals to test how a Green Events Code of Practice (GECoP) can be adopted nationally.

Vision: 2025 chair and Shamabla Festival director Chris Johnson states: “I’m very proud that our industry is making the environment a key priority to deliver more sustainable festivals in the future. I’m surprised that we’ve heard so little about environmental issues during this election campaign so far, given the scale of the climate emergency we’re in. I hope our pioneering sector can continue to highlight and inspire positive actions to make a significant difference for future generations.

“The Green Events Code of Practice has been developed to avoid a lottery of expectations across England

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18 June 2024

Europe - Showlight 2025 is calling for speakers to present papers at the next Showlight, slated for 19-22 May 2025 at Le Parc des Expositions et Congrès de Dijon, France.

The Papers Programme is the heart and soul of Showlight and we want to present our delegates with a wide variety of interesting subjects to educate and entertain. This will be the first in-person Showlight since 2017 and we are looking for exciting new projects from all disciplines of lighting and lighting design to include in the 2025 Papers Programme.

Have you worked on a fabulous new project recently? Have you tried out some new technology and got something to share? Does your design really cut the mustard? We want to hear from you in Dijon! 

The papers committee has already begun the process of selecting papers for the programme. If you have an idea, a story or an expe

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18 June 2024

UK - Robe UK enjoyed a busy, successful, and positive ABTT (Association of British Theatre Technicians) expo, staged at Alexandra Palace in London, where the company presented two dynamic exhibition areas – a stand upstairs in the main hall, together with a large demo area located downstairs in the venue’s Palace Suite.

Robe also delivered four presentations that were integral to the ABTT’s extended 2024 seminar and discussion programme, which touched on topics related to sustainability and creative lighting.

The main Robe booth occupied a prime position in the main exhibition hall and featured some of Robe’s newest lighting technologies designed for theatre, performance, TV, and broadcast scenarios, together with selected Anolis, Avolites and Artistic Licence products. Atmosphere and haze specialist MDG, which is distributed in the UK by Rob