South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa supplied full technical production for the FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert, staged at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg.

The show was broadcast to tens of millions of music and football fans worldwide on 10 June, the night before the first match.

The eclectic mix of African and international artists was executive-produced by Los Angeles-based Control Room whose technical director, Jim Baggott, and Gearhouse's project manager Bill Lawford oversaw all technical disciplines offered by the Gearhouse Group.

Gearhouse Audio supplied all audio equipment along with Britannia Row with whom Gearhouse has a long-standing relationship. These elements included racks-and-stacks for the main stage and B stage, with Britannia Row supplying front-of-house and monitor consoles, all the RF equipment - mics and IEMs - plus a crew of

UK - The Forestry Commission's 2010 Live Music Tour kicked off earlier this month with power, lighting and audio specialists Pearce Hire making a concerted effort to reduce its carbon footprint.

The tour consists of 22 shows running for six consecutive weekends in June & July, bringing live music to seven forest locations for an evening of entertainment for all the family. This year's broad spectrum of acts includes Keane, Simply Red, Blondie, JLS and The Saturdays.

Pearce Hire works across the whole tour, coordinating two teams and sets of equipment to provide all the site power and both site & stage lighting. This year has seen a significant change in the lighting design for the stage with the company utilising i-Pix BB4 LED Washlights instead of the PARcans previously used, halving the power consumption of the lighting rig from previous years. The rig also includes MAC 700

UK - Specialist manufacturers of plain & printed, tapes & labels, Le Mark Self-Adhesive has just re-supplied Birmingham based PRG Lighting with their PAL Road Case Labels.

"The PAL Road case labels are an essential part of our flight case management and distribution, being able to easily write on each case/label with the case contents, stage position, show dates and any other relevant information is a must," says PRG Lighting's Mark Gosling

" Plus the fact any information we write remains unaffected by water, bumps and scrapes is brilliant. We then clean the ink away with a special label wipe and they're ready to re-use for the next job. The Labels are i robust and last a considerable amount of time."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Revamped conference sessions, networking opportunities that include a Thames riverboat cruise, and the launch of the Live Music Business Awards are all features of the fourth LIVE UK Summit, set for 6-7 October.

The awards event will cover around 20 categories, ranging from Best Venue Teamwork - Arena/Concert/Club, Promoter of the Year and Best Media Campaign, to Agent of the Year, Breaking the Mould (live show innovation) and Best Record Company Partner.

The winners will be selected through votes cast by groups of carefully selected professionals with direct experience in the respective categories, supplemented by open voting online.

Meanwhile, The Summit itself will feature conference sessions covering vital topics affecting the industry, keynote presentations, a celebrity Q&A session and an afternoon of special panels devoted to the unsigned and emerging artiste sect

South Africa - Johannesburg- based DWR Distribution has appointed three new staff members - two joining the technical support crew, and one new face for the office and admin team.

The company has expanded after an extremely strong start to 2010, plus additional activity generated by the 2010 World Cup, which has seen a flurry of business for the lighting sales company.

Judd Harrison comes onboard as technical support, where he joins DWR's Bruce Riley, Nick Britz and Eazy Moketsi. A key element of DWR's success is the after sales support and technical back-up. It also means that the warehouse will be fully staffed allowing Britz to take an increasingly active role in onsite technical training and product support, while Riley covers all the on-site and on-the-road tech support requirements.

Harrison has considerable experience in electronics engineering. He previously worked f

UK - The 2010 ABTT Theatre Show saw the launch of a new online store for the entertainment industry - oubiance.co.uk. The idea behind the website is that the goods available are not simply uploaded from a product database; each item is input by one of the experienced technicians on the team.

Barclay Dakers, who heads up oubiance.co.uk, said: "Traditionally, online shopping for theatrical consumables can take up a considerable amount of time, wading through difficult to understand codes and product descriptions. We wanted to offer a completely different way of doing things. This site is run by techs, for techs."

The site utilises easy to navigate menus and aims to cut through the confusion by offering simpler methods of finding the desired item. For example, the range of replacement lamps is illustrated to enable users to compare what's in their hand with what's on th

Rock & Royal - This year's Glastonbury will be remembered for the unusually sunny weather and the number of surprise guests. U2 guitarist The Edge joined Muse, Kylie Minogue sang with Scissor Sisters, Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood played an unannounced set and Lou Reed was among those on stage with Gorillaz on Friday. Prince Charles also surprised fans when he went on a walkabout and trod the Pyramid Stage boards during the festival's first royal visit on Thursday. Organiser Michael Eavis said his event had "finally got the royal seal of approval" on its 40th anniversary.

Stevie Wonder helped the festival celebrate its 40th anniversary with a crowd-pleasing set to close this year's event. He brought Michael Eavis on to the stage to help sing a version of Happy Birthday.

In The Sale Room (1) - A crystal-studded glove belonging to the late po

UK - The drpgroup has completed another of its 30 Corporate Social Responsibility projects in honour of its anniversary year. The group embarked on the Believe Programme in conjunction with national charity Springboard UK and provided a group of unemployed individuals with the chance to undergo a training programme designed to prepare them for work in the hospitality, leisure and events industries.

The group had a special announcement to make at its 30th anniversary celebrations on 19 June, held at West Midlands Safari Park. It was an emotional moment as one member of the programme was offered the surprise opportunity to become a drpteam member as an events assistant.

The Believe programme began in April with 30 potential candidates joining the scheme. These individuals received expert training in computer skills, administration skills and a basic understanding of what it is l

Hungary - ARX, the Australian based manufacturer of USB, Digital & Analogue interface and signal processors has appointed Budapest based Interton Electroacoustics as their new distributor for Hungary.

ARX managing director Colin Park recently finalised the new distribution agreement with Interton's Geza Balogh after an initial meeting at the Frankfurt Pro Light & Sound earlier this year.

Founded in 1990, Interton Electroacoustics also represents QSC, Community, Toa and Yamaha Commercial.

(Jim Evans)

South Africa - Philips Vari-Lite's South African distributor, DWR Distribution has recently delivered 120 Vari-Lite fixtures to Gearhouse Splitbeam, the specialist theatre lighting division of the Gearhouse South Africa Group of Companies.

The deal was co-ordinated by Gearhouse Splitbeam's Alistair Kilbee and DWR's Duncan Riley and is the largest sale of Vari-Lites yet to date in South Africa, and also the first purchase of the premium brand by Gearhouse.

The units were delivered to Gearhouse Splitbeam's Johannesburg office. Some will be immediately deployed on the Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Soccer World Cup taking place at Soccer City stadium, Soweto, on 11 July (LD Hugh Turner), and a substantial quantity will go straight onto the upcoming Asian tour of High School Musical (LD Declan Randall) for which Splitbeam is supplying the full lighting production.

The fixtu

UK - Following the success of the Wootton Bassett Bike Ride and the tribute made by the Bikers to the people of Wootton Bassett earlier this year, the charity Afghan Heroes organised and executed their inaugural Thunder Rally, with help from Stage Electrics Live Events Team.

The event which took place at Chepstow Racecourse provided the charity with the opportunity to thank the Bikers, the public and the Armed Forces for their support, with all proceeds from the event donated to the Afghan Heroes Charity, in support of the armed forces. For this event Stage Electrics supplied a full technical solution which included staging, lighting and audio.

Within this package Stage Electrics supplied the two-day event with a Prolyte 8m x 6m Arc roof system complete with a stage. This was equipped with lighting, PA and backline equipment and used for all the live performances from a variet

UK - PLASA 2010 is to gain a host of new features this year as the list of exhibitors in audio, video, lighting and staging technologies continues to grow.

There are over 43 new exhibitors who weren't at the show last year, including Ateis, Baldwin Boxall, Bosch, Bose, Christie, Chroma-Q, EAW, Electro-Voice, Intertek, Korg, Lighthouse Technologies, Line 6, Mackie, Martin Audio, M Studio, Penton, Turbosound, Stageco, Sundrax, Taiden, Tomcat, Wasp and Zero 88.

These will add to an already comprehensive line-up of leading manufacturers and industry specialists underscoring PLASA's position as the place to see new products and major industry brands.

The PLASA Innovation Gallery, which profiles all the launch products nominated for a PLASA Innovation Award, will showcase a new format on Sunday 12 September, when entrants will publicly demonstrate their products to the Awards judg

USA - One of Broadway's recent hits, American Idiot, received the honours of 'Best Scenic Design of a Musical' and 'Best Lighting Design of a Musical' at this year's Tony Awards Show. The award-winning scenic elements of the show centre around numerous video displays and projections, driven by a system comprising a total of 17 Hippotizer HD media servers.

With a musical score based on Green Day's album of the same name, American Idiot debuted on Broadway in April under the direction of Michael Mayer. Mayer led a creative team that included scenic design by Christine Jones, lighting design by Kevin Adams, and video and projection design by Darrel Maloney. SenovvA implemented the designers' vision, and provided the show's custom video system.

Twelve of the Hippotizer HDs on American Idiot are specially configured machines, outputting up to four 720p video feeds to

USA - PRG Distribution North America has announced its distribution partnership for North America, Mexico, Central America and South America with electric chain hoist manufacturer ChainMaster.

Manufacturing motors for the entertainment industry since 1993, ChainMaster introduced the first variable speed VarioLift motor in 1998. Their product line spans from 1/4 to 12 ton motors, 2-32 channel control boxes, their XYZ computer control for large jobs, and trolleys. ChainMaster was recently awarded the rigging contract for the Qatar Convention Center in Doha and is supplying that venue with nearly 1,800 VarioLifts and seven 256-channel control systems.

"We are very happy to partner with ChainMaster," said Tim Brennan, vice president of PRG Distribution. "When I saw the precision placement and the low noise level of the VarioLift at the Prolight+Sound show, I knew th

UK - The recently launched oubiance.co.uk website reports that it has received a deluge of online feedback praising the extremely reasonably prices of the products within the consumables range.

Barclay Dakers, who heads up the online resource for theatrical supplies, said, "We have been overwhelmed with positive feedback and suggestions since the launch of the site two weeks ago - it has exceeded all expectations."

The site - which prides itself on ease of use and relevance of information - is an exclusively online service. This ensures that overheads are kept to a minimum and pricing can be reduced accordingly.

Dakers continued: "Essentially, efficiency is the name of the game at oubiance.co.uk. We have worked hard to ensure that the site is easy to navigate and this helps customers to quickly find what they are looking for. In turn, processing an online orde

UK - On 5th June 2010 a group of bikers, hailing from all sectors of the entertainment technology industry, swapped their blacks for leathers and their hard hats for helmets and embarked on an eight-day sponsored motorbike tour of UK theatres to raise money for The Theatrical Guild (TTG).

David Edelstein, who co-organised of the event with his wife Brenda, comments: "We set out from the National Theatre following a hearty breakfast. In total we rode over 1600 miles and on the way visited 16 fascinating and unique theatres. We've been welcomed by some wonderfully hospitable and generous theatre staff and are hugely grateful for all the brilliant support we received. Sponsorship came from all sectors of the entertainment industry, we certainly couldn't have done it without them."

Those who took to the road were: Rob Barnard, Neil Collins, David Edelstein, Charles Haine

USA - PRG Distribution North America has announced its exclusive distribution partnership for North America, Mexico, Central America and South America with Eurotruss. Eurotruss has been manufacturing truss since 1993 and was the first to implement the conical connection system. Their wide range of aluminium truss systems covers all aspects of the entertainment industry.

"We are very excited about this relationship and have already begun selling Eurotruss systems into permanent installations through our dealer network," stated Eric Mueller, director of sales for PRG Distribution NA. "It is evident to me that that our friends at Eurotruss have the same mindset for support and responsiveness as we do in any situation. They are very responsive to our needs for our customers and we look forward to working together with them for some time to come."

(Jim Evans)

UK - The Nomination Phase for the prestigious Gottelier Award, due to be presented for the fourth time at this year's PLASA Show, is now open and will continue until Friday 23 July. Industry professionals are invited to put forward their choices, identifying the specific product contributions that make their nominee a worthy contender for this award.

Named in honour of the late designer, developer and commentator Tony Gottelier, this award aims to recognise the product developers who have made a significant contribution to the development of the equipment and tools that enable our entertainment technology practitioners to continually push the boundaries of event production, presentation and installation.

Once the shortlist of nominees is decided, the Voting Phase will begin. This year, to help ensure that only legitimate industry professionals can cast a vote, voting for the n

Money Matters - British music fans spent £1.45bn on tickets for gigs and festivals in 2009 Concert and festival promoters have warned that ticket prices could go up as songwriters consider requesting a greater share of live music takings. Currently, 3% of all gig ticket money goes to PRS For Music, which passes it on to writers and composers. It is reviewing that rate, saying it needs to ensure a "fair balance" between music fans and creators.

Melvin Benn, who runs the Reading, Leeds and Latitude festivals, described it as "blatant money-grabbing". He told BBC News, "The quantum leap in what the PRS are being paid by live music promoters is very, very substantial compared to what it was 10 years ago. Live music is so much stronger than it was, and therefore the receipts the PRS are getting are substantially more than they were. Instead of being ple

UK - Stage Management student David Baldwin tightened the symbolic last bolt on the roof structure of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama's new Concert Hall at the Topping Out ceremony to mark the completion of the concrete shell of the £22.5 million building project.

Baldwin joined fellow students and leading figures from the College, the board of Governors, architects BFLS, project managers Davis Langdon and construction team Willmott Dixon to celebrate this symbolic moment in the building project. Work will begin shortly on the roof structure, the final construction phase of what will be an important new gateway to Cardiff.

"It'll make such a difference to us as students to have everything all together in one building at last, and on this scale, and not to have to travel to other venues to do our work,' said Baldwin. 'I can't wait to get in there and start s

UK - R&B Group, has just completed a successful conference project for the Chartered Institute of Housing. The event, held in Harrogate in June, represents one of the largest gatherings of housing professionals in Europe, as they come together to debate and discuss the very real issues faced by the sector.

During the week thousands of delegates, presenters, exhibitors and visitors descend on the Harrogate International Centre. To facilitate the audio-visual aspects of the conference, R&B provided a team of 30 engineers who work closely with the event organisers, Ocean Media Group and the venue technical staff. 2010 was the 9th year that R&B have provided support for this event, which is always a highlight of the year.

As well as AV support in five conference rooms, R&B Group also supplied numerous plasma screens to exhibition stands and produced a daily in-house/web TV program

UK - Prospective stage managers, lighting technicians, sound engineers and set designers can now turn to a North college to get the training and experience needed to start their career.

The Sector Skills Council for creative and cultural industries has named Gateshead College as the only college in the North East and one of only a few in the country to lead on new training opportunities.

This will mean that the college, in partnership with international music venue, The Sage Gateshead, will now work as the founder college of the National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills (NSA) to ensure it continues to provide the best possible learning opportunities by bringing together education and industry.

The NSA, along with the national network of 20 founder Further Education colleges, is also working in partnership with over 200 theatre and live music employers. Gateshe

UK - Black Light reports that it has achieved the Investors in People Standard (IIP). The company, which provides light, stage, sound and AV solutions, was assessed in May and passed all the scheme's critical requirements along with its main optional extras.

Investors in People is a national standard which helps organisations transform their business performance. Preparing for the IIP assessment (which took over a year) has involved all of the Black Light team and has led to a business-wide rebranding, improvements in its business systems and a number of changes in staff roles and responsibilities. Together, these have streamlined the company's operations and improved customer service.

"IIP has helped me, as the business owner, focus on what is important for Black Light and start rolling that out," says Gavin Stewart, Black Light's managing director. "I hope tha

UK - During the summer months of August, Edinburgh transforms into one of the biggest performance spaces for the world's largest and most illustrious arts festival. Edinburgh Festival which takes place from 29 July through to 5 September presents artists and performers from around the globe.

Stage Electrics is one of the biggest suppliers of technical equipment to the Edinburgh International Festival and Festival Fringe.

This year, Stage Electrics will be celebrating its 25th anniversary of successfully supplying the prestigious Assembly Rooms.

Along side this, the company is supplying more venues than ever before, with over 55 performance spaces in total including the Gilded Balloon, Underbelly, Universal Arts, The World Festival and many other shows and venues around the city.

Adrian Searle head of technical and hire comments, "This year sees the Assembly Rooms cele

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