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14 March 2016

Linda joins PLASA from Stage Electrics where she has held the position of head of sales and marketing for the past 11 years and been a key member of the team that successfully developed the company into one of the leading players in the installation and events markets.

Linda already has considerable knowledge of the PLASA organisation having served for five years on PLASA's Executive Committee - the governing body of the organisation - and will bring extensive international sales and marketing experience to her new role.

Her appointment to the team of Directors comes at a key time for PLASA, which is currently delivering an ambitious strategy across its membership, events, media, profe

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14 March 2016

This will be fully operational from the start of 2010 and will be utilised to expand and streamline the current manufacturing process.

The new building has become necessary to meet the demand for products and orders that has continued throughout 2009, and this expansion has been financed entirely from existing cashflow, says the company.

Milos is known for its fast turnarounds. The additional space will ensure that even more efficiency and speed can be applied to deliveries, and it will also create more space for the construction of special and custom projects.

Milos' facility is designed to provide the space and the latest technologies to deal with all manufacturing needs in-house.

Facili

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14 March 2016

From February 2010, Creative & Cultural Skills will work with Job Centre Plus and regional partners throughout England and Wales to secure employment in creative and cultural venues and organisations which are members of the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills. The jobs will be open to people aged 18-24 who have been claiming benefits. The jobs on offer will include theatre technician, costume and wardrobe assistant, community arts officer and business administrator. All will include a level of accredited trai

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14 March 2016

The UK Competition Commission revised its opinion that the deal could lead to music fans paying more for tickets to see live performances. The regulator found that it would not be in the new merged company's interest to shut out competition. The new company "would suffer significant and immediate losses, with very uncertain prospects for long-term gain," the Competition Commission said.

The reg

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14 March 2016

During 2009, the team at LSI Online have delivered over 3,500 news stories to an audience of entertainment technology professionals in no fewer than 177 countries across the world. It's been a record year for online traffic.

This was also the year we passed our first decade of delivering online news to the industry: Lighting&Sound International's first online news feed, via the PLASA website, appeared on 10 September 1999. On that day, we reported that Britannia Row Productions had invested in 48 stacks of Turbosound Flashlight at the PLASA Show, and that Martin Professional had opened a new UK-based manufacturing facility in Louth, Lincolnshire.

Since then, we have added more than 27,000 news stories to our online database - which remains f

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14 March 2016

CHAS is a non-commercial scheme available to suppliers and to organisations looking for suitably competent suppliers. Qualifying for recognition is a three stage process involving paperwork, review and a health and safety audit. "With more and more of our work involving being on site at the building stage it is a vital qualification, and we are proud to have been accredited," says David Green.

CSCS was set up to help the construction industry to improve quality and reduce accidents. CSCS cards are increasingly demanded on site as proof as occupational competence by contractors as well as public and private clients. Special Projects has been awarded Platinum r

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14 March 2016

Since January, HMV and MAMA have been partners in their Mean Fiddler joint venture, which runs venues in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

HMV chief executive Simon Fox said: "Our joint venture has worked well since its formation and the full combination of HMV and MAMA will enable us to accelerate our growth into live music.

HMV's takeover offer for MAMA, which is still subject to approval from shareholders, comes after the group rejected earlier bids from Luxemb

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14 March 2016

Show Business - Recently honoured Status Quo are the hardest-working band in British music, according to a list compiled by the Performing Rights Society (PRS). The band performed to more than 250,000 fans at 27 arenas in 2009 - more than any other band. "Performing in

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14 March 2016

Established in 2007 as Light Relief Day and now renamed By Design Day, 24 April is the day that, each year, people in the professional lighting design business give back to help others less fortunate than themselves. The first 'joint venture' between Light Relief and Behind the Scenes raised £7,500 - £3450 for Light Relief and $5,700 for Behind the Scenes. The money came through a variety of channels, including a bucket collection among the audience of the London production of Hairspray o

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14 March 2016

EcoXpress is a touch-screen based software solution installed on to DB Systems' hardware, either kiosks or regular PCs and screens. The terminals allow event delegates to browse exhibitors' literature onscreen, select what is most relevant to them and then email that information to themselves.

At present, delegates who attend events and exhibitions inevitably collect a library of brochures and various forms of corporate literature. Very often these items are lost, damaged, left behind, thrown away or don't contain the information that the delegate wants.

Oliver Richardson, DB Systems' sales director, says, "As a service supplier, DB understands that budgets are tight. One of the benef

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14 March 2016

The largest mirror ball used on the show, which was broadcast by the BBC during autumn 2009, is a 54" (1.4m) diameter which has 92,350 mirrors measuring 8mm square. The company has two of these 54" mirror balls, and six 48" mirror balls, available for hire, as well as a large number of smaller models from 32" down to 8"as well as a series of unique mirror sculptures which can be seen on the company's website.

David Fitch warns: "It's important to remember how big these mirrorballs are, and to measure the get-in door and the route. And remember the flightcase. You would be surprised how many people forget and find that their mirrorball won't fit!"

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

VSI is a specialist in sound, lighting and AV design, specification installation and integration. The PAI Group also includes sister companies Lighting Technology Projects, PA Installations and Link-AV.

SAFEcontractor is a leading-edge accreditation scheme that assesses the health & safety competency of contractors and service providers, designed to help industry improve its safety record. The SAFEcontractor programme recognises the very high standards of health and safety practice existing amongst UK contractors.

VSI's application for SAFEcontractor accreditation was driven by the need to establish a uniform standard across its business. It is expected to enhance the company's ability to win new contracts, and the commitment to

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14 March 2016

Based in Blackburn, near to EDC's original site, Quick Discs has been launched by Grant Mitchell, who had worked at the company for more than 20 years. When, earlier this year, the decision was taken to close EDC's Blackburn facility and to move all operations to Germany, Grant recognised that many UK music producers - one of the company's primary customer groups - would be left without a specialist supplier. He therefore resolved to create a new bu

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14 March 2016

The 2000 capacity seating stand - supplied by Havaseat (a Gearhouse company) - was on dry land. The three weeks of the event spanned the peak festive holiday season, and included the resident AquaCircus, a special daily performance devised by Zip-Zap, a local circus school dedicated to developing the skills and potential of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Other highlights included the H2Opera, AquaJazz, AquaBallet and concerts by a wide range of artists

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14 March 2016

Following the highly upbeat reaction to PLASA09, with exhibitors expressing delight at the quality of visitors despite the financial climate, expectations for PLASA 2010 are also high.

Early exhibitor news includes confirmation by Martin Professional; a doubling of stand space by Nexo; and the return after a one-year absence of Zero 88.

PLASA's Events manager Sophie Atkinson said, "Last year the free registration offer helped boost exhibitors' confidence in the show's compelling drawing power by attracting thousands of ear

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14 March 2016

The new look website contains up to the minute information on Hawthorns' services and hire stock.

Hawthorn's general manager, Simon Wood, commented, "Our new website will be updated with news, blogs, case studies, photographs and additions to our hire stock. In line with the trend towards new media, we want the site to be much more interactive and for it to evolve with us throughout 2010."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

"NAMM recognises the importance of the live audio, house of worship and stage and lighting industries to the music products industry and welcomes these music industry professionals to the 2010 NAMM Show," says Kevin Johnstone, director of trade shows, NAMM. "This year, we're working closely with a number of partner organisations and media outlets that serve these segments to create a new and valuable education track to meet their needs and giving them even more reasons to attend this year's NAMM Show."

More than 15 industry partners, publishers, organisations and associations will offer a seri

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14 March 2016

"We were delighted to be invited to join the Clothes Show Live team once again," commented Steve Dolan, Account Director, Stage One. "Having worked with Paul and the team for over 10 years now it is testament to the hard work we have put into developing and maintaining a close working relationship."

The 400m2 stage was constructed using over 200 of Stage One's stock staging units and was completed with a PVC flooring effect, designed to resemble snow. Thrusting out from the stage was a 16m long catwalk and performance

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14 March 2016

TAO was brought in 21 days before show day by Creative Entertainment Groups CEO Peter Brightman to assist with one of Egypt's biggest concerts at the new resort of Port Ghalib on the Red Sea coast. The event included a support show of aerial performance art supplied by Newsubstance Creative Agency from the UK.

CEG initially required production consultancy from TAO, with Andy Cotton fly to Egypt. The first issue was the staging structures which had been newly purchased by the Egyptian production company Golden Show from Eurotruss. Although the stage roof had sufficient weight loading for the Beyonce rig, globally there was a requirement for a 7.5 tonne touring video wall to be flown from the rear arch.

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14 March 2016

"Bryan has the perfect combination of sales experience with hands-on touring and theatrical experience," says Linda McDonald, TMB NY sales manager. "His career path is ideal for TMB Sales: First doing shows, then supporting shows, and now servicing those who support the shows."

"My early years on the road were a great boot camp," says Reiss. "Dealing with various personalities - designers, stagehands, actors - taught me how to listen."

(Jim Eva

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14 March 2016

The IEC-lock is an IEC female line plug with an integral locking system that is backwardly compatible with existing IEC male inlet sockets. An internal latch clamps the earth pin, making it resistant to accidental disconnection and vibration. The IEC-lock is used just like a normal power cable, except to unplug it, the user simply pulls back a red button on the underside of the connector to release the lock.

This makes the IEC-lock's locking mechanism suitable for protecting entertainment technology electrical appliances, including computer equipment and data communications applications that require a secure power source.

The IEC-lock is availab

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14 March 2016

Dreamland Aqua Park contacted Jean-Paul Jeannet, director of The Brain Concepts company - a special effects design company working for the entertainment industry - to be the show designer and constructor of the newly-built Volcano Dreamland attraction.

The Brain Concepts selected Medialon to be the main show and media control system of the attraction which is located in the water park and offers visitors a special experience inside the volcano itself.

When coming to the Volcano, visitors can watch a spectacular three-minute show filled with fire and water explosions, roar sounds and many other special effects.

One Medialon Manager V5 Pro license embedded i

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14 March 2016

The new company will be lead by Frederic Opsomer, who assumes the position of CEO of Tait Technologies. The company will have its headquarters in Waardamme, Belgium.

By setting up Tait Technologies, both parties have taken a strategic decision to refine their focus on the converging video and scenic industry. The company will develop and supply standard and bespoke mechanical and automation solutions that allow easy and seamless integration of video and scenic products.

Backed by long-standing reputations in the live entertainment design industries, Tait Technologies will focus on providing the entertainment and event design ind

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14 March 2016

Six candidates from across the membership put themselves forward for the four available places, creating an election campaign which generated one of the highest number of votes cast in the organisation's history.

Joining the Executive for the first time are Duncan Bell of Autograph Sound and Murray Gellatly of Artistic Licence who take seats on the committee following the departure of Adrian Brooks of LiteStructures, who stepped down in December after serving six years, and the death earlier in the year of long-serving committee member David Hopkins OBE.

Existing committee membe