Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

Events

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Live events have become more and more important as marketing ‘tools’ in recent years and The Showman’s Show 2002, with its unique outdoor setting, will showcase the best new entertainment and production companies for event professionals organizing these events.

For any marketing manager wishing to include events in their plans, the Showman’s Show is a good place to source specialist event suppliers, whether for a product launch, road show or music event.

Star’s of the recent Zurich Financial's TV commercial - the flying pigs - will be putting in a ‘celebrity appearance’ at the show, courtesy of Judy Hancox at the Butts Farm, in Cirencester, highlighting the creative possibilities marketers can achieve through understanding the potential of the events world. Other ‘entertaining’ companies exhibiting at the show include fairground r

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Messe Frankfurt and Intex Shanghai have announced their collaboration of a new international exhibition in China for the professional audio and entertainment lighting industry. ProLight+Sound Shanghai will make its debut at the Intex exhibition centre and the Shanghaimart in 15-18 October, 2003. The show will be positioned as a professional marketing platform for manufacturers of audio, lighting, staging, laser and effects technology, and will feature live performances and special events, including a DJ competition.

Messe Frankfurt adds ProLight+Sound Shanghai to a portfolio of two existing trade fairs for the pro-audio and lighting sector, including ProLight+Sound in Frankfurt, Germany, and Musikmesse/ProLight+Sound in St Petersburg, Russia. ProLight+Sound Shanghai will be held in conjunction with Music China, a new international exhibition for musical instruments, which debuts this

Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

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In response to feedback from the industry that the PLASA show, at 25 years old, was in need of re-energizing, exciting new plans for the exhibition were unveiled to both exhibitors and press at PLASA 2002.

We took time out with Matthew Griffiths, managing director of show-owners the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) and Nicola Rowland, acting show director for organizer Clarion Events, to hear about the plans and their implementation. Matthew Griffiths expands on the background to the decision: "The PLASA show is the leading entertainment, communication and presentation technology show in the world. To maintain this position, the Association realises that the show needs to be a pioneer in adapting to industry change. It also needs to ensure that the visitor experience is kept vibrant, fresh and business-focused.

"After ongoing discussions and regular feedb

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Some of Europe’s leading event industry professionals gathered at The Showman’s Show 2002 this October, where the weather and business were brisk, reflecting the vibrant nature of the industry at the moment.

This year’s Showman’s Show continued to widen its appeal as 3,829 visitors from all walks of event management and show organizing visited Newbury Showground to view the products and services that will shape next year’s events. Over 300 companies exhibited to create the largest outdoor event exhibition ever seen in Europe. The organizers altered the site layout to accommodate the show’s growth and made improvements to the site that meant that visitors were oblivious to the fact that exhibitors had built their stands in torrential rain through the previous two days.

The very nature of the Showman’s Show enables outdoor event practitioners t

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The first Music China in Shanghai was an unequivocal success, attracting 18,072 trade buyers and public visitors through its doors over four days, according to organizers Messe Frankfurt. Far exceeding expectations, the show attracted hundreds of visitors from far beyond Shanghai’s provincial borders, with visitors traveling from as far away as Guangzhou in the south and Harbin in the north, plus an estimated 1,500 visitors from overseas (approx. 8% of total) including a 20-strong buying mission from the UK and a large delegation of Japanese importers and distributors.

A total of 274 exhibitors took part in this ground-breaking event, covering a gross exhibition space of 15,000sq.m. Feedback from both exhibitors and buyers was excellent overall, and many commented on how the dynamism of the market and the Chinese peoples’ appetite for music could be clearly felt within the

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The Event Show, formerly Event Expo, has a new name, a new look and a new venue. Running on 28-30 January 2003, the show sets out to cater for the needs of event professionals from a broad variety of backgrounds including production companies, event management companies, corporates, charities, local authorities and sales promotion agencies.

The event has been completely redesigned and rejuvenated, by organizer, Inside Communications, whose business manager, Clair Whitecross, explains: "We are very excited about the new developments, which so far have been received very well . . . We can promise January 2003 will see a spectacular event."

For 2003 The Event Show has moved to the professional, easily accessible National Hall, Olympia, in the heart of London, where over 250 companies including AV and lighting contractors, marquee and temporary structure suppliers and productio

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Le Maitre are set to stage a spectacular firework and pyrotechnic display from the roof of Harrods to mark the switching on of the Christmas Lights on 3 November. The display will go ahead despite the proposed fire strikes. As the strike is due to start on 2 November for 48 hours, Le Maitre’s events director Karen Haddon has employed private fire crews to cover the event. This will be in addition to the British Army’s Green Goddesses, already covering the strike nationally, and Harrods’ own fire officers stationed on the roof itself. Although it is extremely expensive to bring in private fire engines and crew, ensuring safety at the event is paramount, and the decision to go ahead with the show has been welcomed.

The display is very complex, and will be fired with a pyro digital system. It runs just under 15 minutes and is set to the James Bond theme tune. It will beg

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From 10-13 October, Moscow was home to Russia’s largest music trade fair. ‘Music Moscow 2002’ attracted visitors and exhibitors from all over the world. One of the highlights was provided by Ruton S - the Russian distributor for Electro-Voice, with its dynamic yet business-like presentation.

As well as introducing visitors to a whole series of products drawn from the current Electro-Voice range, such as the Eliminator Double, the Eliminator kW, the EVID speaker and the new Co-11 and Re510 condenser microphones, the team, led by Gregory Ronin, had laid on a rock band, ‘The Vinyl Steam Locomotive’, whose powerful sound quickly established them as one of the biggest draws at the show. The band - all dedicated EV users - were showcasing the EV Eliminator Double and Eliminator kW enclosures, as well as the new Fri-2082 monitors. This allowed music dealers as we

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Leisure Industry Week (8-10 October, NEC, Birmingham) reaffirmed the position it occupies in the calendar for its industry: an increased audited audience of over 14,250 (Independently audited figures from CTS) visitors from across the out-of-home leisure industry - from theme parks to themed restaurants, nightclubs to fitness clubs - attended LIW 2002. They came to see over 350 exhibiting companies showcasing their latest products and services, and to socialise with their peers from their own industry sector, as well as with their contemporaries from across the broader industry through the activities of the 20 leisure industry trade associations supporting LIW 2002.

LIW 2002 featured five individual shows covering all of the out-of-home leisure industry: Body & Soul - a health, fitness and beauty event; FamilyLand - the family fun event for parks and attractions; Food For Leisure - ded

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It may have been costly and controversial, but Switzerland’s most ambitious Expo to date has also been hailed as one of its most creative and successful. Steve Moles selects two projects which illustrate why . . .

The revered publication Architects Journal headlined a feature ‘Swiss Expo shames Dome failings’. Intended to occur approximately every 40 years, Swiss Expo is a project in the public domain and yet staged without Lottery funding. Which begs the question - is free money a curse or a kindness?

Look at what else has been in these pages of late: The Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, the Pageant of the Horse, the Commonwealth Games and the Jubilee concerts at Buckingham Palace - all without Lottery money and all successfully realized. These examples have, of course, all received finance from the commercial sector, but without the political interference

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You know you’re at a West Coast AES Convention when you’re standing in a rooftop bar at sunset, surrounded by skyscrapers, and listening to Sheryl Crow-alike Dana Glover singing through Audio-Technica’s Artist Elite microphones. One of many PLASA repeats, the product at least gave the excuse for the party, and where Earls Court ends, as Phil Ward discovers, California begins.

QSC Audio began by reinventing itself. OK, the new logo is "a relatively small change in terms of effort," but, said CEO Barry Andrews, "it’s an important one symbolically and technically. It signifies the transformation of our company from an amplifier specialist to an integrated systems supplier."

‘Integrated systems’ in this case means QSC products in signal processing, network audio transport, control systems, loudspeakers and - not least - amplifiers.

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Event Pro Forum, the conference for event production professionals, will be held 17-20 February 2003, at Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa in Las Vegas. The conference targets top professionals responsible for producing events for amphitheaters, arenas, auditoriums, concerts, fairs, corporate functions, festivals, sporting events, theme parks and touring entertainment.

The 2002 premiere conference attracted 150-plus attendees from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, Nashville to New York and even London to Moscow. EventPro Forum 2003 will feature industry speakers, professional development panels and the Production Pow-Wow, a series of round-table discussions. Special events, including a golf tournament, welcome reception, wrap party and backstage tour of Las Vegas venues will provide attendees with the opportunity to have fun while networking and expanding their professional contacts, say the org

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The sixth annual New Horizon event on the campus of Coleraine University attracted over 20,000 visitors to the Christian-based Gospel presentation over a seven-day period. For the second year running, the sound was produced by local company Light & Sound FX (LSFX).

For the main tented area, LSFX used four stacks of Mackie Fussion, two each side of the stage configured in four Fussion 3000 mid/high boxes, four 1800 subs and four 1800A subs, all driven by Mackie M1400 amps. For the stage monitoring, Mackie C300 speakers and a Mackie SR40:8 mixer were spec’d. Around the rest of the site were 14 Mackie SRM 450s, whilst for the FOH mix, LSFX used the Crest VCA 32:4 FOH console.

Running alongside all of this, Upstream Recording had a live recording unit in action, for a forthcoming CD. The unit utilised a Mackie D8B digital mixer, a Mackie HDR 24/96 hard disc recorder and a pair of M

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Pro Audio Light Middle East (PALME), the region’s first dedicated professional sound and lighting communications exhibition being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates next year, has expanded its portfolio to include systems integration solutions.

The move has been spurred by exhibitor demand, according to organizers IIR Exhibitions. With the rapid development in digital technologies, and the advent of converged communications, entire entertainment showcases are able to be controlled using centralised interfaces. "We are seeing the industry moving to a converged environment where everything from sound and lighting to audiovisual offerings are being integrated into a singular infrastructure," said Iain McLean, project manager PALME, IIR Exhibitions.

According to McLean, the move has been well received by the industry, both regionally and internationally, with key Gulf pl

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Music Live 2002, held recently at the NEC, consolidated its reputation as one of the UK’s leading public music shows, with a strong programme of acts and demos underlining the event’s increasing popularity. With a billing which included an acoustic set by Simon Fowler and Oscar Harrison of top UK rock band Ocean Colour Scene, HK Audio’s comprehensive range of pro audio systems was once again the preferred choice of show organizers, Mammoth Events. HK Audio systems were placed in a wide variety of show applications, right from the 7.2kW 12 x box R-Series main stage rig to a number of PA applications across the show.

As a result of HK Audio’s performance at Music Live 2002, HK has been confirmed once again as the sound reinforcement marque of choice for Music Live 2003. Additionally, another music show has been introduced to the annual show rota, this time it&rsqu

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Thursday 12th December will see audio experts John Woodgate and Peter Mapp deliver keynote lectures on two important current issues - Electromagnetic Compatibility and speech intelligibility. John Woodgate's ‘New Creatures in the EMC and Safety Jungle’ introduces some strange new animals to an already crowded zoo, whilst Peter Mapp uses ‘Everything You Wanted to Ask About RaSTI but were Afraid to Know! or How Accurate Really are RaSTI and STI Measurements?’ to illustrate his many years of research into all aspects of speech intelligibility.

The event, which is being organized by the ISCE, will take at Brooklands College in Weybridge. There is a special entrance rate for PLASA Members of £25. Further details are available from Cathy Mackenzie on +44 151 639 5211.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Theatrical sound design and rental specialist Autograph Sound Recording has recently been involved in a concert tour of Les Misérables across Scandinavia - the first time that the concert production of the world-famous musical has toured multiple cities. The concert, which captured the atmosphere of the stage production by using giant cinema screens, live video and stills from the production, commenced in late October and ran throughout November, taking in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland along the way.

Autograph has been involved with Les Misérables since chairman Andrew Bruce designed the original London production in 1985. To address the scale of the tour, the company supplied an extensive Meyer Sound M3D Line Array Loudspeaker System in a sound design realised by Autograph's Nick Lidster, who also mixed the shows. Lidster was a member of the original sound team on the London p

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Screenco provided a huge backdrop for this year’s Smash Hits T4 Pollwinners Party at London Arena, which was broadcast live on Channel 4. The event, co-hosted by Vernon Kay, June Sarpong and special guest host Kelly Osbourne, was celebrating its 15th year, and included performances by Liberty X, Sugababes, Atomic Kitten and Holly Valance.

Contracted by production company Nine Yards, Screenco’s vast 156-module, 25mm screen, all supplied from the company’s UK stock, measured 21.13m wide by 7.32m high, making it the biggest indoor LED high-brightness display ever seen in Europe. It thus provided an exciting solution for Hamish Hamilton’s Done & Dusted, who were responsible for the television production and design.

With all the risers set behind the screen, a large 8.1m x 4.88m door, positioned in the centre, raised and lowered on varispeed dual-brake motor hoists

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The seventh World Lighting Fair was held at Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall in early October. 50 companies from across Japan were joined by 21 international companies at the show, and the show enjoyed high visitor levels from the start, say the organizers.

Exhibits covered not only lighting products for stage and TV markets, but also new software and hardware were presented addressing their broad applications in markets such as retail, architecture, video projection, advertisement and promotion, design and presentation. The seminar programme included a broad range of topics from the latest on control protocols, education systems for theatre technology, opera productions and lighting design for theatres to a model of the lighting designer for the 21st century.

The next WLF will be held at the same venue from June 24 to 26, 2004.

(Lee Baldock)

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PCM’s famous Lodestar Motor School continues its on-going world tour, with the first, highly successful event to be held in Dublin. The School was co-ordinated by top Dublin-based lighting sales and installation company Stage Lighting Centre, run by the charismatic Pat Walsh, assisted by Paddy Farrell. It was held in the prestigious Abbey Theatre in central Dublin - the National Theatre of Ireland.

28 people attended the School, presented by PCM’s tutor-in-chief Tony Dickson. They came from all areas of the professional entertainment industry from across the country. The two-day Motor School covered many topics. A king pin of the PCM course is the complete stripping down and re-assembling of a Lodestar motor, enabling students to learn about the role and significance of the machine’s electrical and mechanical components, and how they inter-relate. Working in pairs, st

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The World Rally Championships were recently staged in Cardiff, and Stage Electrics was on hand to provide significant resources over a number of key sites for this major sporting event.

The Network Q Rally started on the 14 November and was timed to coincide with the switching on of Cardiff’s Christmas Lights. The main high street in Cardiff was closed to traffic from 10am, and there then followed a race against time to ensure all of the production was in place by 5pm. Stage Electrics provided main stage lighting on a Star Hire Mk1 Stage, as well as lighting to other areas.

The biggest focus of the Rally for spectators was the Super Special Stage, hosted in a purpose- built arena in Cardiff’s Docks. Stage Electrics powered the majority of all site services, as well as all spectator and emergency lighting. A total of 24 generators supplied through Power Electrics of Bristo

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Could LDI capitalize on the renewed focus on business demonstrated at PLASA just a few weeks earlier?Ruth Rossington headed to Vegas to find out.

With PLASA providing a much needed fillip to the business, the question everyone wanted answering about LDI was whether it could pick up the baton and continue where PLASA left off. Well the jury’s marginally out on that one - certainly, the first day got off to a blistering start, but there were definitely times when things felt quiet on the show floor. That said, all the exhibitors I spoke to reported good levels of business and that’s the only yardstick a trade show should be measured by.

Much of the product on display had already made its presence felt at PLASA, but there were some real innovations and some noticeable trends. The undiminished homage to all things LED continues, to the point where Ellen Lampert-Greaux, part o

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L&SI’s series of industry networking events got off to a flying start on 10 October when 58 delegates joined the PLASA Media team and the technical production crew at the London Palladium for a backstage tour of the world’s most technically-advanced musical production, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

After a welcome drink in the Palladium’s Cinderella Bar, delegates were welcomed to the theatre by L&SI editor Ruth Rossington, before being given a fascinating potted history of the site and the venue by theatre manager Nick Bromley. Following this, the delegates were split into groups to begin the behind the scenes tour, which took in the automation control position, the lighting control room, the lighting rig, FOH sound desk, the under-stage engineering and the radio racks, plus a chance to view the amazing car itself, built by Howard Eaton Lighting Ltd. At each point, deleg

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You have until 12 January to visit the most exciting event in theatre design for years, the 2D>3D show at Sheffield’s Millennium Galleries. If you can, you should allow a whole day for your visit - I could have used a week to roam the tightly packed exhibition space, reading every label, browsing every sketchbook and scanning every storyboard in this fascinating display.

More than 150 set, costume and lighting designers, plus a distinguished band of theatre architects, are showing some of their best work produced over the last three years. Organizers Peter Ruthven Hall and Kate Burnett have prepared an excellent catalogue of the show (available from SBTD at £18), replete with sumptuous colour illustrations, but the very 2D nature of the book explains why you should, if at all possible, see the real 3D thing: the catalogue has a careful sketch from Nancy Surman of her costumes fo

  1. MTV Staying Alive concert
  2. Women do business with Canegreen Commercial
  3. The Event Show, January 2003
  4. APRS - Export/ASIA Event: 11 February 2003
  5. The 2003 Selecon Lighting Masterclass
  6. Glasgow Regional Meeting for ALD
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