UK - Glasgow's newest bridge, Finnieston Bridge at Pacific Quay, is lit up using LEDs from Dialight Lumidrives, the UK based LED technology provider. Carmichael Lighting Ltd used colour changing LEDs, controlled by 40 Colourdriver 36 modules, to create a dramatic effect on the new 169m long road bridge across the River Clyde.

The £20.3m Finnieston Bridge is a dramatic new landmark for Glasgow, featuring a central arch span which crosses the river at an angle between the roundabout atBroomielaw/Finnieston Street and the south side of the river.

The bridge accommodates four lanes; two dedicated to public transport and two for private and commercial traffic, with additional pedestrian and cyclist paths. It has a main span of 96m (314.9ft) with two end spans of 36.5m (119.7ft).

Gordon Routledge, managing director at Dialight Lumidrives says: "LEDs provide a superb lig

Russia - MTV Russia has invested in new Robe moving lights for an upgrade to their busy Moscow Studios. This produces a host of different programmes, from news to assorted music shows, including the Chart Show and popular talent competition, Total Contact.

The Robes were specified by MTV Russia's lighting designer Ruslan Makliatsou and head of lighting Igor Korbeineko, following a collective decision made by all the studio's lighting operators and technicians. The fixtures are primarily concentrated in the ceiling lighting rig at the main Studio 1, run by a Jands Hog console, although they can be moved to other studios and locations as needed.

"We chose Robe because it offered us the most flexibility and best value for money for our available budget, "states Makliatsou, adding that they already knew that Robe was a robust and reliable product - essential for a

UK - The first official training sessions for ETC's newest full size lighting control system, Eos, have been released by the lighting, dimming and control system manufacturer.

Sessions specifically for Strand 500 users are to be held on 9 January, 6 February and 26 March 2008, while sessions for operators and programmers with or without previous experience will be on 10 January, 20 February and 5 March. Class, which is free, is from 10am to 5.30pm, with lunch and breaks included. However, there is a limit of just six people at the sessions, which are to be held at ETC's west London office, known as the Playhouse at Gypsy Corner. Students will learn basic Eos functionality, and both experienced and novice programmers will find the session a useful introduction to the powerful programming style offered by the control system.

Working with pre-visualisation software, attend

Egypt - Wireless Solution Sweden recently helped make a concert at the Pyramids of Giza worthy of a Pharaoh. Beladi - A Night at the Pyramids was the first "made for television "concert ever recorded at this historical site and it will air worldwide this winter. The concert featured Quebec singing superstar Chantal Chamandy, accompanied by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra performing for thousands of spectators, with the pyramids and the Great Sphinx providing a spectacular backdrop.

Lighting designer Matthieu Larivée of Luz Lighting Design and assistant LD Valy Tremblay of Proluxon designed a colourful array of effects on the massive structures using almost 600 fixtures to achieve the perfect look to accompany this historical event. The landscape provided the biggest challenge, the shortest distance from console to fixture was approximately 1000m (.6 miles) a

Australia - Miss Saigon is one of the most successful musicals in the world - seen by over 33 million people, in over 25 countries and played in 12 different languages. This time around producer Cameron Mackintosh has created an entirely new version of Miss Saigon which is just as exciting and even more emotionally involving than the original production.

The original Australian production of Miss Saigon ran for 16 sold out months in 1995 but only in Sydney as the show was simply too large to fit into any other Australian theatre. Rather than cut the show down in size, Cameron Mackintosh decide to meet the challenge of creating something new.

This new version of Miss Saigon uses cutting edge visual techniques and a new set which vividly recreates the streets of Vietnam and Bangkok. The memorable final helicopter flight from the roof of the American Embassy is achi

USA - Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions, the new entity formed by Philips' acquisition of Color Kinetics, has completed its new 50,000sq.ft corporate headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts - merging the principles of "green" design with innovative uses of its LED lighting technology throughout. As the global R&D centre for Philips' entire LED luminaires business, the new space is both a testing ground and showplace for the future of light, the company says.

"The unveiling of our new multi-million dollar headquarters is a fitting end to our 10th and brightest year in the business. We've brought a whole new category of industry-changing technology to the famed 'tech corridor' of Massachusetts' Route 128, and we're well equipped to grow and foster on-going innovation in our one-of-a-kind showplace. It's truly a canvas for the future of light that LEDs will en

UAE - The second Middle East Lightign Design Awards will take place during the PALME Middle East show (Dubai's International Exhibition Centre, 27-29 April 2008). Outstanding lighting design achievements in the GCC territories will be celebrated at an Awards Gala dinner on 27 April at The Dusit Hotel, Dubai, UAE.

Submissions are now being accepted and those eligible for entry are any projects completed between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2007 within the Middle East Region, including the GCC, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and Egypt. The deadline for entries is 31 January 2008.

The categories include: Public Buildings (historic buildings, museums, galleries, airports, places of worship and government buildings); Exterior (building facades, bridges, structures, public spaces, landscaped areas and street lighting); Hospitality & Leisure (hotels, entertainment centres, the

UK - A.C. Lighting presented the prestigious British Racing Drivers' Club's Richard Seaman Trophy to F1 driver Lewis Hamilton at the 2007 BRDC Annual Awards Luncheon at the Savoy in London.

Taking place on the eve of the 80th Anniversary of the British Racing Drivers' Club, the Awards celebrate the achievements of the international racing season. Over 400 people gathered in The Savoy's Lancaster Ballroom for the star-studded event, which was packed with motor racing's finest heroes from past and present.

The Richard Seaman Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Club's Gold Star points scoring system. Lewis Hamilton's 2007 F1 achievements led him to top the Club's Gold Star table by a margin of 34 points at the end of his maiden season.

A.C. Lighting's UK sales director, Phil Capstick, presented the award to Lewis Hamilton along with BRDC President Damon Hill. Once on stage,

UK - Maidstone Studios switched on their Christmas lights on Saturday 1 December in partnership with Martin Professional and Richard Martin Lighting (RML). The lighting will be in place until 31 December and everyone is welcome to go and have a look at them.

The whole of the front of the studio was lit by RML with Martin Professional's new LC Videowalls in reception. The Martin lighting that RML supplied included LC 2140 Video panels, Maxedia Compact, Exterior 200 Wash and an Exterior 1200 Image Projector.

Kenton Oxley from Maidstone Studios commented: "It's about showing what the local area can achieve with the efforts of two local businesses; we hope that our Christmas lights will become a local landmark for years to come." Nationally it's about launching the LC panels in readiness for a number of light entertainment projects booked for 2008 for a range of internat

Germany - Housed on the premises of former cult disco Soul City, a new experience in disco, the Max & Moritz opened at the end of August. With a prime location on Munich's Maximiliansplatz, the club has been lavishly renovated by its operators, M5 Gastronomie, bringing it fully up-to-date in terms of ambience and equipment. When Weidenberg-based company TC-Promotion was commissioned to provide perfect sound coverage for the 800sq.m location (the Club Max and the Club Moritz), a team led by graduate engineer Michael Jobst decided to use systems from Dynacord.

The centrepiece of this tailor-made sound reinforcement design is formed by loudspeakers from Dynacord's VariLine series. Both the Max and Moritz clubs feature four VL152 and four VL122 speaker systems, providing powerful sound. "The VariLine is ideally suited to clubs of this size," explains Jobst. "These lou

UK - Lighting Technology Projects has supplied, installed and commissioned an architectural lighting scheme for the iconic new Sidings Bridge near Swansea.

The graceful 71m (232ft) span contemporary construction provides a new gateway into the city, with express bus and cycle lanes. It runs parallel to the famous Fabian Way and its elegant lines are based around a 45m (147ft) high mast and a series of 24 steel cable stays.

LTP was asked to quote on the project by Swansea Council. Being locally-based was one advantage, and the Council also became aware of their work on the London Eye lighting scheme and on other bridge schemes including the London Millennium Footbridge and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Newcastle. LTP's project manager was Jonathan Adkins, who co-ordinated site work and installation working closely with consulting engineers, Flint & Neil.

LTP was initially

UK - The first Pearl Tiger console on tour in the UK was put through its paces on the road by Colour Sound Experiment's Dave "Fletch" Fletcher, lighting designer for Ian Brown's The World Is Yours tour.

The console is being run with a wing, and has proved "totally reliable" reports Fletch. He's been using the Tiger Wing for all his specials and any lights that he uses regularly during the show - so they are right to hand. "It's a great desk and an excellent version of a Pearl which is small enough to take as carry-on baggage on the plane - very handy at times" he enthuses. He's also certain that he'll be doing just this when it comes to Brown's forthcoming European and South East Asian shows in early 2008.

The Ian Brown rig was asymmetrical, consisting of a front truss and two back trusses (higher and lower). Fletcher incorporated JTE Pixel

UK - Bandit Lites UK supplied lighting equipment and crew to Production North for the recent McFly Greatest Hits arena tour, which featured striking lighting and visual design by Dan Hardiman.

Bandit has serviced McFly since 2004, and Bandit UK's chief executive, Lester Cobrin comments: "We are very fortunate to get the opportunity to work with McFly and their entire production team each year. Under the direction of Prod North's Iain Whitehead and LD Dan Hardiman you can tell that all parties involved take a good deal of pride in making sure that the final product is of the highest quality."

McFly's management and Iain Whitehead all have active input into the lighting design. It is important to them that each tour looks and feels completely different from the last.

For this tour, McFly's set is essentially rocky and energetic from start to finish and the pac

UK - PRG Europe has worked with creative agency Greenspace to help light an authentic 19th century Christmas experience inside London's new St Pancras International station.

Just a day after the station's high profile official opening on 14 November - on which PRG Europe worked with Flux Events - crews were back, this time installing the world's largest advent calendar. PRG Europe organised all the kit, including bringing in Unusual Rigging, to make sure everything went without a hitch.

"Specifically designed to occupy the façade inside the station, the calendar exceeds 1,000sq.m," explains Unusual's David Mayo. "Following the removal of the substantial rig we installed for the re-opening of the station, our eight-person crews went back into night shift mode to begin installing the calendar."

During the day, a giant drape printed with an image of the end

New Zealand - Two new Selecon Acclaim Fresnel luminaires blend the advantages of discharge light source efficiency and life hours with all the features that have made the original 500W version so popular.

The new Acclaim CST 250 Fresnel with Hot Restrike capability (no fans) has been designed specifically for high output, high intensity architectural/specialised display lighting and for smaller studio or production applications where energy saving and cool light are important. The CST 250W HR discharge light source with its 3200°K colour temperature is interchangeable in this luminaire with the Philips MSR 250 HR discharge lamp (6000°K), offering designers a choice of either tungsten or 'daylight' colour temperatures.

The second new addition to this range is a high intensity display Fresnel luminaire with an adjustable 7°-60° soft edge beam for controlled illum

UK - The Centre for Life (CFL) educational science museum and exhibition centre in Newcastle, North east England, was first opened as one of the regional Millennium Projects and, thanks to Light Perceptions, has just been given a new lease of life. With lighting designer Bruce Kirk at the helm, the centre has recently undergone a programme of gallery upgrades.

Our Origins and Our Futures depicts man's journey through evolution and is lit exclusively with low energy lighting sources including ETC Source Four HID luminaires, various LEDs and high frequency fluorescents. By employing Source Four HIDs with their long-life, 150W metal halide lamps, lamp maintenance is reduced to a minimum.

Source Four HIDs offer comprehensive lighting solutions. Kirk comments: "The Source Fours HIDs were chosen for their aesthetic benefits as well as beam control and the wide ran

South Africa - Robe's South African distributor DWR Distribution staged a special technical workshop covering Robe's Digital Series at their Johannesburg base. This was organised in conjunction with Robe Lighting, whose technical sales manager Ales Grivac was on hand to demonstrate the products and discuss all things technical with interested parties.

The workshops were attended by a selection of designers and engineers actively involved in working with these products, and those included DigitalSpots, MediaHUB and StageQubes.

DWR sold the first Robe DigitalSpots into Africa earlier this year, purchased by Mike Jones of MJ Event Gear, also based in Johannesburg. The busy rental company covers a host of corporate and TV work with some rock 'n' roll.

This was the second Robe DigitalSpot workshop in South Africa this year. The first followed soon after the initial DigitalSpots a

The Netherlands - The 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest was a colourful success, thanks in part to High End Systems' Showgun and Studio Command automated luminaires. The show was held at Ahoy Stadium in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and was broadcast live to millions of viewers via Dutch broadcaster AVRO.

The show is a spin-off of the Eurovision Song Contest, produced by the European Broadcast Union (EBU). This was the fifth year for the programme, showcasing performances by 17 countries. Each act consists of performers aged 10-15, who must compose their own music and lyrics.

This year's theme was Make a Splash! and was reflected creatively in each of the stage elements, which included water screens, an onstage waterfall and large water drop props hung from the arena ceiling. Five 8m tall moving video screens projecting images of water and rain completed the look.

Lig

USA - Bandit wrapped up 2007 with annual Angel Tree charities. Each of the company's locations recently put up an Angel Tree in the lobby for employees who would like to help the less fortunate. The tree includes toy and clothing suggestions for foster children and local families who are unable to provide holiday gifts for their kids this year.

"The office Angel Tree is a great opportunity for Bandit employees to give back to people in their own community," explains Bandit human resources coordinator Cori Link. "The employees are not required to donate, but the majority of them do. I'm really proud to be involved with such a caring group of people."

Bandit employees also participate in the Salvation Army Angel Tree Programme. In this programme, a company such as Wal-Mart or Target (among others) places a Christmas tree in a pedestrian high-traffic ar

Singapore - Last month, MA Lighting Asia Pacific held its first workshops in Singapore dedicated to operators, lighting designers and system integrators alike. The first three days of the workshop catered to the operators and lighting designers who wanted to get a closer look at the wide range of lighting control equipment that MA Lighting has to offer. The following two days focussed on grandMA video and networking.

The attendees had the chance to familiarise themselves with the whole MA Lighting console range and gain the confidence on how to operate the consoles in a hectic show environment.The workshop was heavily subscribed and 32 attendees from eight different countries came together at MA Lighting's office at Ubi Techpark to get a very detailed insight into the world of programming on the grandMA.

The event, which included evening dinners, was a great opportunity for ev

UK - Following its £1.3 million revamp the Wyvern Theatre Swindon is opening its doors on 4 February 2008 for a special Venue Technology Day. Coordinated by Stage Electrics the day promises the opportunity to explore some of the latest in venue technology in an operational setting.

On 25 September 2007 the Wyvern, a busy receiving venue, reopened after nearly a year in the dark following the discovery of asbestos in the auditorium roof (see Lighting&Sound International magazine November 2007). Stage Electrics was contracted by Swindon Borough Council to design, install and supply technical infrastructure and equipment to the venue.

The Wyvern Theatre is a truly multifunctional venue hosting everything from Shakespeare to ballet, live music to comedy and conferences to cinema. With a reasonably small team of staf

UK - For Mika's Mika Dodgy Holiday tour, lighting designer Ian Tomlinson wanted to inject a more rock and roll element into the theatrical performance. The rig included a battery of Martin moving lights providing a beam look to the show, whilst PixelPars and PixelArt added effects.

Tomlinson comments: "PixelArt achieved the look I was hoping for and more. When I first saw the demo in the warehouse I knew they would integrate with the design and add the desired effect. They were also a big hit with Mika."

The PixelArts created a wall behind the band and featured a mixture of homemade video content provided by system tech Andy Rowe and stock footage. The lighting was controlled by a Roadhog and the PixelArts controlled by a Catalyst media server. All the lighting was supplied by Adlib.

(Jim Evans)

China - One of the year's largest events took place in early October in Shanghai, China and like all events of this magnitude the numbers were staggering. Perhaps the most impressive figure though was 950. That was the number of MAC luminaires that American lighting designer Bob Dickinson used to support his lighting design for the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics World Summer Games.

Held from 2-11 October, the Special Olympics World Summer Games saw 7,500 athletes from 160 countries compete beneath the Olympic Flame of Hope. An army of 40,000 volunteers were called upon to make sure the Games ran smoothly.

Perhaps bigger and better than anything staged before in China - until next year's Summer Olympic Games that is - 80,000 spectators at the Opening Ceremony in Shanghai Stadium witnessed an awe-inspiring display of traditional dance, music, lighting and pyrotechnics.

South Africa - MA Lighting initially made its entry into South Africa a couple of years ago. Gearhouse had spent a lengthy period of time deciding which desk would be the best way forward for them as the largest rental company in Africa. They finally decided on the grandMA. Michael Althaus, managing director of MA Lighting, travelled to South Africa to visit Ofer Lapid, Tim Dunn and Bill Lawford from Gearhouse and was introduced to Duncan Riley, who had just started his own company called DWR Distribution. By February 2007, an agreement was formed, making DWR Distribution the agents for MA Lighting.

"MA Lighting is very precise and they do everything properly," commented Duncan. "If they say it's going to happen on this day, you can be assured that it will. The desks have proved themselves as reliable above all else, which does effect how they are seen by the ente

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