Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024
Leeds - Main Banner - Apr24

General

Details
Eurovision 2024 - Olly Alexander will represent the United Kingdom at next year's Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden. The former Years and Years frontman will hope to improve on the UK's disappointing performance this year, when Mae Muller came second to last. Alexander is already known around Europe for hits including Desire, King and If You're Over Me.
The star's participation was revealed during the final of Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday, months before the BBC usually confirms its Eurovision plans. "I love Eurovision so much, it's a dream come true," he told host Claudia Winkleman. "I'm just so, so excited." In a press release, he added: "I really can't believe I'm going to be a part of such a special legacy and fly the flag for the UK in the gayest way possible. I'm determined to give it everything I've got and put on an excellent and unfor

Details
UK - As the year draws to a close, Backup Tech warmly acknowledges the exceptional individuals whose unwavering dedication and adventurous spirit have helped to bolster the charity's fundraising efforts.
"We extend our heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has gone above and beyond to support our cause, from the passionate participants to the generous donors and committed supporters,” says Backup’s Jess Allan. “Together, we can truly impact the lives of individuals within our industry."
November saw artistic creation, Black Hole - End of Time, conceived by award-winning lighting designer and musician, Paul Alty, return in spectacular fashion, captivating audiences with its immersive experience. Over three nights, the event raised funds for Backup Tech as well as the host venue, Old Christ Church in Liverpool. Paul's dedication to fundraising resulted in
Leeds - Main Banner - Apr24

Details
UK - Following on from the ABTT’s inaugural Make A Difference conference held earlier this year at the Albany in Deptford, the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) has announced the launch of the second edition of this annual proactive conference day - committed to finding solutions to current industry issues.
The 2024 conference will be held on Friday 12 April 2024 at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama’s Embassy Theatre in London. The theme for this year’s discussion is ‘Bridging the gap between Education and Industry’,
The conference is designed to be more than simply talking, say the organisers. There is no passive sitting and listening at the conference, if you attend, your thoughts, views and ideas are welcome, and you will spend the day developing ideas. By asking attendees to commit to taking action and developing strategies, de

Details
UK - Peerless-AV has presented a fundraising cheque to Young Lives vs Cancer after the third annual charity golf day on 28 September, held this year at Foxhills in Surrey. In previous years, the company has supported Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and Ruth Strauss Foundation; charities close to the hearts of Peerless-AV’s management team, employees and their families.
Young Lives vs Cancer is a UK cancer charity whose care teams provide specialist support for children, young people and their families across the country. It is shocking that an average 12 children and young people a day are diagnosed with cancer. Twelve families will receive this devastating news today and Young Lives vs Cancer will be able to use this £13,500 donation to support those families in their time of greatest need.
Clare Moulder, a parent whose life has been directly affected by c

Details
Ticket To Ride - Taylor Swift's concert tour brought in about $1.04bn (£829m) in gross sales across its first 60 shows, a new record, trade publication Pollstar said. Swift’s success came during a bumper year for a concert business. Overall, the top 100 global tours brought in more than $9bn (£7.17bn) this year in gross sales, up 46% from 2022, which had itself seen record-setting spending, Pollstar said.
Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen rounded out the top three concerts of the year. However, Swift, whose tour started in Arizona in March, did not just bring in more money than anyone else. She also did it faster, Pollstar said, and her mass popularity meant she played exclusively to stadiums - which seat bigger crowds. By contrast, it took previous record-setter Elton John 328 shows to bring in $939m (£749m) during his five-year farewell tour, which spanned the pan

Details
USA - EFM Global has promoted former Kuehne + Nagel lynchpin Mattias Becker to vice-president for North America, with immediate effect. Becker, who joined EFM from Fluence, a Siemens and AES company in Alpharetta, Georgia, brings more than 30 years of logistics experience to the VP role.
Based in the US since 2003, Becker has also worked in Europe and Asia for companies including Schenker and Birkhart Fairs + Events.
Mattias Becker comments: “I watched EFM’s reach and reputation grow in the United States and I wanted to be a part of it. The mix of EFM infrastructure and people, coast to coast, has so much history and so much potential, across the event sector and beyond, it’s a really exciting opportunity.”
Gary Morter, EFM Global’s group COO & CEO North America, said: “Mattias has been with us since January 2023 and his immense knowledge about

Details
Sustainable Theatre - Bristol Old Vic has installed solar panels on its roof as part of its commitment to sustainability. A redevelopment in 2019 allowed the installation to happen, which was carried out by Solarsense. Productions and operations director David Harraway said: "The phase of refurbishment we completed five years ago helped ensure our building was working hard to be as sustainable as possible, but this was a missing piece until now."
He explained that previous renovations have seen the building install LED lighting, a community greenhouse, automated building management systems and passive ventilation, which all contributed to the venue’s commitment to sustainability.
Stephen Barratt at Bristol’s Solarsense said: "We pride ourselves on a solution-focused approach to buildings like the Bristol Old Vic. Working around an entire theatre set that arrived a

Details
UK - In its 25th year, live event production workers charity Stagehand, has launched the Christmas fundraiser, #I Love Live 3.
This year's campaign recognises the immense challenges faced by the live event production industry and aims to provide crucial support to UK-based touring and festival crews dealing with serious physical or mental ill health. #I Love Live 3 launched on Friday 1 December, with tickets available now.
Previous I Love Live events have featured Liam Gallagher’s Les Paul guitar, Glastonbury Festival tickets, and Dave Grohl's signed DW ICON snare drum, raising over £900,000 for stage crew impacted by the pandemic.
This year, #I Love Live 3 will see signed set lists from a star-studded line-up including Paolo Nutini, Prodigy, Nile Rodgers, Bring Me The Horizon, Duran Duran, James Bay, New Order, Natalie Imbruglia, Everything Everything, Bloss

Details
USA - Behind the Scenes has announced that AC Power Distribution (ACPD), a brand of ACT Entertainment, has joined the Pledge-of-Support Programme. ACPD will contribute a portion of the profits from their new LunchBoxPD data and power distribution system to the charity.
ACT Entertainment is a leading supplier of entertainment industry products across six different end markets, including professional lighting and control equipment; audio, video, fibre and power distribution; cables; connectivity; metalwork; custom manufacturing; and design.
ACPD’s LunchBoxPD integrates power and data distribution into one device without compromising either. The LunchBoxPD nodes offer four DMX ports to break out from an Ethernet data network, while still allowing data to pass through. In doing so, it delivers CRMX wireless DMX data directly to a traditional lunchbox power solution, pro

Details
Palace News - Chaka Khan is celebrating 50 years in the music business with a concert at Blenheim Palace. The 10-time Grammy winner, who turned 70 in March, will appear on a triple bill alongside Sister Sledge and The Fatback Band on 13 June. The concert is part of Blenheim's five-night Nocturne Live concert series, which takes place from 12 to 16 June. Crowded House, Sheryl Crow and Turin Brakes are already confirmed to appear at Blenheim on the closing night.
Crazy Prices - Dominic West has criticised “crazy” ticket prices in the West End, claiming theatre is “more tangible” outside of London. The actor, who will play Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge at Ustinov Studio in Bath next year, said high ticket prices were a “bad thing”. His statement comes after David Tennant also hit out at the “ludicrous” cost of West End t

Details
Europe - Following a record-breaking 2023 ride, BikeFest returns to Spain for the third year from 26-28 January 2024, cycling 360km towards ISE in Barcelona. Last year, the BikeFest team raised an incredible £50,000 for industry charity Backup Tech, and they hope to go even further this year.
Organised by PLASA, #WeMakeEvents and AFIAL, BikeFest is seeking new members to join them for the upcoming ride, as well as sponsors who are interested in aligning with important industry values.
The three-day route will begin in Valencia and travel along the stunning Mediterranean coast via Peñiscola and Salou toward Barcelona. Once at ISE, the BikeFest team will be presented with their medals at a drinks reception, where they can celebrate their achievement.
Team members will receive meals and accommodation as part of the entry fee. Plus, a support vehicle will on-hand

Details
UK - PLASA recently hosted the 2023 Member AGM at the Victory Services Club in London, for an afternoon of friendly networking and business insights.
PLASA chair Adam Blaxill kicked off proceedings by sharing the association’s activities and plans. Plus, new board members and board positions were announced.
Following the official AGM, attendees enjoyed a virtual presentation from renowned behavioural economist, Roger Martin-Fagg. During which, Roger detailed the current economic position of the UK and provided his expert financial forecast for the year ahead.
Then record-breaking mountaineer Kenton Cool took to the stage for an invigorating talk in which he shared harrowing stories of survival and unbelievable feats.
To round off the event, members and guests enjoyed drinks and canapes into the evening, sharing industry experiences and anecdotes.
PL

Details
Backstage Roles - Venues around the UK - including Chichester Festival Theatre and the Lyric Theatre Belfast - are partnering to offer a total of 20 people full-time backstage roles as part of a scheme that aims to stem the exodus of talent in the sector during the pandemic. It is part of a £1.5m two-year pilot programme, previously announced by Sam Mendes in 2021, as part of the Theatre Artists Fund. Mendes said at the time that Theatre Artists Fund was to be developed into a two-year pilot bursary programme to provide long-term support to theatre freelancers.
It has been created to address the shifts in the creative workforce after the pandemic and will investigate support for mid-career artists by creating full-time positions in arts organisations across the UK.
Twenty people will be offered full-time two-year positions in backstage roles in the industry, with up t

Details
USA - As part of the Behind the Scenes (BTS) Mental Health Initiative, BTS and LDI are bringing the Wellness Lounge to LDI 2023, (3-5 December) in Las Vegas. The Wellness Lounge offers attendees a safe space to learn about mental and physical health through daily presentations, activities, and one-on-one consultations.
Each morning will start with Cup of Coffee Yoga where no experience, equipment, or special attire is required for a brief yoga practice with ETC’s VP of marketing, David Lincecum. Immediately following, participants can sample the benefits of breathing and meditation with University of Tennessee lighting professor and licensed meditation instructor Kenton Yeager.
In the afternoons, all attendees are invited to experience short presentations by industry colleagues on a range of topics that can improve your mental and physical wellbeing.
E

Details
UK - This year, the Association of British Theatre Technicians’ annual general meeting and council election announcement took place at the landmark venue Woolwich Works, London on the 31October.
Three vacancies on the ABTT Council came into being at the time of the AGM. The council, which is made up of 11 trustee-directors, each elected by the membership maintains the running of the ABTT Group, is responsible for the overall management of the ABTT and provides vital support in steering and advising the association’s work.
The ABTT received nominations for election as a trustee-director from Alexander Cann, senior lighting tutor at Mountview and Anton Woodword, managing director - AVW Controls (who had both completed their current three-year term of office and wished to reapply) and from Suzy Somerville, head of production at Birmingham Rep.
As three nominati

Details
Island Life - Plans for a new film and television studio on the Isle of Wight are still live a year after they were announced, the council has insisted. Medina Studios unveiled proposals to construct the complex on the banks of the Medina River, East Cowes, in November 2022. The council said designs were being worked up but no planning application has yet been put forward. It said the US writers' strike had affected demand for UK studio space.
Medina Studios said last year the facility would have four sound stages totalling 70,000sq.ft and be the island's "first screen-based media hub". Production workshops, offices and other related facilities could also be built, creating nearly 1,000 jobs. It added it would benefit from "copious amounts of filming locations on its doorstep" on the island.
Festival Funding - Edinburgh’s annual arts festivals will receive mor

Details
Crisis Grants - The Royal Theatrical Fund has launched a one-off Emergency Crisis Grant Award to assist struggling workers in the industry during the cost-of-living crisis. The grant, open for applications from 1 November, is intended to help those who are "unable to meet their essential needs" due to an unexpected change in circumstances.
The non-profit organisation cited the continuing cost-of-living crisis as a factor behind the initiative, and suggested grants could be used to pay phone bills, buy school uniform and for food. Eligible applicants must derive their main income from the entertainment business and have worked professionally in the industry for seven years, with professional training included within that time.
The RTF launched a similar small crisis grant scheme, the Fleabag Support Fund, in 2021. The scheme awarded more than £1.7m to theatre industry

Details
UK - HireHop, the cloud equipment rental software, has been adding new features at a rapid pace and has just released their supercharged scanning module, that can also be run as a progressive web app on any device.
This new addition is free to all users, even the users using the free version of HireHop.
HireHop’s product manager, Daniel Shenker, said: “HireHop’s ethos is not just doing the minimum to say we have “a feature”, we always strive to implement features never seen or tried before and, with our new scanning app, we have invented new technology to give users more scanning functionality than ever before to further boost their warehouse productivity and accuracy. We are so proud to give our users all of these world class features, and at no extra cost.”
The new scanning app is fully adaptive and works on all mobile devices, including mobile P

Details
UK - Staged at the conclusion of its recent On Tour event at Production Park in Wakefield, this year’s expanded format Production Futures Breakthrough Awards proved to be a major success.
The Awards recognise and mark the achievements of young talent within the production industries, with a mission to inspire the next generation. Designed in cooperation with Awards sponsors, the 2023 edition based the ‘prize’ around ‘opportunity and access’ in contrast to the customary ‘glass trophy recognition.
More than 200 people from countries including Germany, USA, Dubai and the Netherlands in attendance to witness 18 winners receive their awards in 20 categories.
Chief executive Hannah Eakins was thrilled with the response to the updated format: “It was hands-down the best thing we could have done. We loved the new concept because the recipients got so much m

Details
Europe - Business West, one of the UK’s largest Chambers of Commerce, and EFM Global, international logistics consultant for live events and special projects, have successfully transported camera equipment from Heathrow to Brussels and back using a digital carnet. This is claimed to be the world’s first demonstration of a digital carnet in action.
When commercial goods, such as musical equipment for a touring band, are exported temporarily, it is typically by way of ATA Carnets. Referred to as ‘passports for goods’, ATA Carnets can contain more than one hundred pieces of paper, requiring numerous physical authorisation stamps.
For a large-scale movement of goods, such as those involved in an international tour, there could be suitcases full of paper-based ATA Carnets, which need to be kept and looked after, as loss or incorrect use can incur significant delays

Details
UK - PLASA’s Member AGM returns to the Victory Services Club in London on 22 November. The friendly members-only event is a great way to meet like-minded industry professionals and learn more about the association’s activities.
Plus, the AGM features special guest speakers and updates from PLASA members. This year’s keynote speaker is record-breaking mountaineer Kenton Cool, who has climbed Mount Everest an astonishing 17 times.
As well as soaking up inspiration from Cool, attendees can learn from renowned behavioural economist Roger Martin-Fagg, who will deliver a virtual financial forecast.
PLASA members will also report on the most pertinent industry issues, including SIC codes, carbon reduction and Europe activities.
The AGM begins at 2.30pm, opening with an official AGM presentation, and will continue into the evening with drinks and canapes. A

Details
Full-Blown Crisis - The UK's small music venues are experiencing a "full-blown crisis" - with many forced to close over the last year, a music charity has said. The Music Venue Trust says the future of "world-beating" artists is under threat and has asked the chancellor for an extension of the 75% business rates relief introduced in April this year. It is due to come to an end in March 2024.
In an open letter to Jeremy Hunt, the charity said: "The grassroots music sector is in the middle of a full-blown crisis. One hundred and twenty-five venues have shut their doors for live music in the last 12 months, 15.7% of all such spaces in the UK. It represents the loss of 4,000 jobs, 14,250 events, 193,230 performance opportunities, £9m of income for musicians, and £59m in lost direct economic activity."
Calling the closures "an immediate economic, social, and cultural blow

Details
UK - A new chapter for The Purple Guide was announced at Vision 2025’s Sustainable Event Summit on 18 October 2023. The new chapter concerns Environmental Sustainability for Events and offers a concise overview of the subject, signposting areas of best practice for outdoor events to enable the industry to assess national environmental standards by local authorities, with an aim of reaching Net Zero by 2030.
Chris Johnson, Vision: 2025 chair, and Steve Heap, event industry forum chair, took to the stage in front of a packed marquee of event professionals, to announce The Purple Guide’s latest chapter. Heap explains: “There is a collective voice within our industry that agrees action must be taken, which is why it felt right for the EIF to commission Vision: 2025 to coordinate the writing of this new chapter, to provide consistent, national guidance to benchmark s

Details
World News - The MTV Europe Music Awards have been cancelled over "devastating events in Israel and Gaza". Organisers Paramount said this was "out of an abundance of caution". "Given the volatility of world events, we have decided not to move forward," a statement said.
The show was scheduled to take place in Paris on 5 November, with performances from BTS's Jung Kook and former Little Mix star Leigh-Anne. Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj were nominated for best artist. Paramount describes the MTV EMAs as "an annual celebration of global music," but said as "events in Israel and Gaza continue to unfold, this does not feel like a moment for a global celebration.”
"Given the volatility of world events, we have decided not to move forward with the 2023 MTV EMAs out of an abundance of caution for the thousands of employees, crew me
  1. The Week in Light & Sound
  2. Change of ownership at 5 Star Cases
  3. The Week in Light & Sound
  4. The Week in Light & Sound
  5. Friend MTS opens Singapore office
  6. AHG Defender supports Rockharz accessibility
Page 3 of 237
Robe - Large MPU
GLP - MPU - May-June 2024
Leeds - MPU - Apr24

Latest Issue. . .