China - Chang'an Dream was the name of a performance held recently in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A traditional Tang Dynasty welcome ceremony awaited the Prime Minister, where he was greeted by Chinese president, Xi Jinping at the watchtower of the south city wall, before the two leaders enjoyed the specially staged event in the ancient city's gate tower. This was rich in colour from more than 300 lighting fixtures provided by PR Lighting.

Mostly installed at the top of the old wall, they were made up from a mixture of the popular XL moving head series, and comprised a combination of XL 1500 Spot; XL 1500 Wash; XL 1500 Wash/Beam and XL 1500 Beam. Ranging from 250W up to the powerful 1500W lamp sources, the series comes with a choice of magnetic or electronic ballast, and boasts features such as advanced

UK - Lighting control expert Avolites will debut its new Arena console and Optical Titan Net Switch to UK theatre professionals at the ABTT Theatre Show this month.

The new Avolites Arena - which has already caused a buzz at Prolight + Sound and PLASA Focus Leeds - hits stand B34 at Alexandra Palace, 24-25 June.

"With Arena you have the creative tools you need to make your mark on theatrical productions," says Avolites sales director Koy Neminathan. "With 40 precision playbacks, a secondary touch screen with adjacent rotary encoders, six LCD legend displays, and an in-built four-port Gigabit network switch, Arena is ideal for theatres and larger venues."

The theatre-specific features in Titan have been revamped for Version 9, with substantial improvements to the tracking and move in dark tools. Syntax users will find that this functionality is vastly enha

UK - As part of The Royal Albert Hall hall's continued development, in 2013 Richard Martin Lighting (RML) installed a lighting rig to the Elgar Rooms - a relaxed self contained function room that holds 350 people located on the third floor of the building. The room regularly plays host to jazz and comedy nights. It is now so established in it's our right that it holds annual events such as the Bluesfest and Red Christmas Cabaret.

RML has been working with the Hall and its technical team for years and the Elgar Rooms has been a good way to cement this relationship. As the 'Official Sponsor of the Elgar Rooms' RML provides a mix of Alpha Spot and Wash to help enhance atmosphere and enrich the mood of the specific performance or simply as a dining room.

"To be associated with such a prestigious venue as the Royal Albert Hall is extremely exciting and it has been wonderful to

Austria - Rental and production company MartinKames.com has added Elation's award-winning Sniper multi-effect light as well as Elation Cuepix WW blinders to its rental inventory. "We chose to stock the Sniper because we are always looking for new effects as our aim is to offer our clients something unique that has never been seen or done before," stated Martin Kames, owner of the company that he founded in 2009. "In general, we are very sceptical when buying new gear. Elation however offers several innovative ideas which we can relate to while maintaining reasonable pricing."

The Sniper, a hybrid beam, scanner and laser simulator in one, is striking a chord with lighting designers and rental companies who seek a creative new tool to work with. It won a PLASA Award for Innovation last year and is finding service on a growing number of shows and events, as well

USA - In 2013, Blue Valley Baptist Church concluded that the best way to fulfill its mission of reaching more followers would be, not to expand its existing 650-seat facility, but to become a multi-site church comprised of a family of smaller congregations. A big step toward this goal was taken last year when BVBC acquired a second church in nearby Olathe, Kansas. Two hundred and fifty parishioners from the original Antioch campus agreed to switch locations, giving the new site, known as the Ridgeview campus, a ready-made congregation from day one.

But although attendance wasn't an issue, the 1980s-construction Ridgeview building presented its own set of challenges. Desperately in need of an overhaul, it was remodelled and repurposed to resemble the church's original Antioch facility, giving BVBC a consistent look across campuses. As part of this renovation project, the lighting

UK - International lighting designer Hartley T A Kemp has turned to the versatile colour changing of Philips Selecon's LED range of luminaires for the world premiere of Peter Gill's new play As Good a Time As Any.

Shown at the Print Room at the Coronet, Gill's play is centred upon eight London-based women and comprises five choruses in which they recount their life experiences through interwoven monologues.

Kemp specified 12 Selecon RAMA LED Fresnel, four PLprofile1 and eight PLcyc1 luminaires to complement the tungsten-halogen rig, giving the opportunity to fade between colors and from saturated to tint.

"During each chorus, the actors speaking sat facing the audience, while the others sat facing upstage. In between each chorus they changed position," explains Kemp. "The set, designed by Bruce McLean, was a 9.5m-wide painting that hinted at the journey

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) 's Lighting division has supplied a range of LumenRadio products to Edinburgh-based Black Light, to create a wireless DMX connection for lighting up the city's Melville Monument as part of the recent International Science Festival.

The event, called Light Fantastic, took place from sunset to sunrise between12 March and 28 April 2015. It invited visitors to Change the face of the Edinburgh skyline with a Tweet! Organisers encouraged the public to Tweet their favourite colours using the hashtag #lightfantastic, which would then change the lighting state at the Melville Monument automatically.

Black Light invested in a LumenRadio CRMX Nova TX2 RDM transmitter, four CRMX Nova transmitters and four outdoor-rated receivers, plus ancillary antennae and cables which were utilised on this event.

Heading up the team on the pro

Luxembourg - The Philharmonie - home to the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra - is located on the Kirchberg plateau in the City of Luxembourg and is one of the highest profile cultural venues in Europe as well as a masterpiece of modern design by architect Christian de Portzamparc, its 823 white steel column façade creating a natural filter for those entering a world of music.

The Grand Auditorium can accommodate between 1250 and 1500; a Chamber Music Hall (Salle de Musique de Chambre) has a 313 capacity and a smaller Espace Découverte (Discovery Space) theatre seats 180. All things technical throughout the Philharmonie - including stage lighting, audio, video, staging and rigging and all productions - are co-ordinated by stage manager Frank Reinard.

The Philharmonie purchased 16 x Robe LEDWash 300s in 2014 with which they are delighted.

Staging around 430 shows and

UK - Since its unveiling at Prolight+Sound in April this year, the new dot2 range of consoles from MA Lighting has been establishing itself as yet another of the MA family of consoles that ticks all the right boxes for all the right reasons, as Matt Cowles of Ambersphere Solutions' technical sales explains, "We always knew that there was a gap in the MA range that needed filling and so far it looks as though dot2 fits the bill perfectly. Its size, just 420mm x 550mm, its weight of only 7kg and its simplicity of operation are just some of the reasons that customers have been placing orders with us since its arrival in the Spring."

Graeme Sewell of Vortex Lighting reports, "Vortex has a long history of using MA consoles. We had the first MA1 Light console available for rent in the UK (Serial 2) and subsequently purchased both MA1 Micro Light and Full Size consoles.

UK - How do you turn common but necessary stage gear into an integral part of the set design? Lighting designer Steven Douglas solved the dilemma by creatively mounting Solaris LED Mozarts, the versatile pixel-mapping RGBW fixtures, on key equipment for The Killers lead singer Brandon Flowers' Desired Effects tour.

"We mounted Mozarts on the downstage edge of Brandon's floor monitors," explains Douglas, "as well as attaching them to mic stands and the back line. We used iPad holders to rotate them into a diamond orientation."

Douglas adds, "After using the Solaris LED Flares for The Killers, I heard about the Mozarts and tried them on a shoot for the new Guitar Hero Live video game. I like the superior quality of light and their compact size - we can put them pretty much anywhere."

The European leg of the tour ends this month, followed by North

Qatar - Airstar, inventor of the lighting balloon and provider of lighting solutions for the event industry, deployed 90 Pixocom balloons for the latest edition of Qatar National Day.

Many cultural activities are planned during this national commemoration, which celebrates Qatar's unification and independence, including fireworks, concerts, parades as well as a zoo specially set up for the occasion. The event took place on the outskirts of Doha.

All 90 Pixocom balloons were especially made to measure by Airstar for this event. Despite being designed for rental staging purposes, with dismountable elements, all the lighting balloons were developed with a permanent application in mind, in order to withstand potential sand storms and high winds.

Airstar Dubai, which successfully won the project, was in charge of lighting up the area, under the responsibility of Marcin Michna, de

USA - On The Tragically Hip's latest tour, lighting designer Brent Clark was effectively charged with creating two shows in one when the band decided to break up their performance into multiple parts. The first and third sections would feature new music while the middle of the show would be songs from their 1992 hit record Fully Completely. Consequently, Clark deployed lighting fixtures by Martin Professional to create a look that was both modern and retro at the same time.

Fully Completely was a hit in the 1990's so Clark found inspiration in an old digital clock and a classic PAR can look. He wanted to recreate a 90's appearance in a modern way and by using 134 MAC 101 fixtures, Clark was easily able to build his PAR can look which proved to be impactful during the various parts of the show. To produce a "show within a show," the MAC 101 backdrop had to

USA - Elation will be launching "a revolutionary new product" during InfoComm 2015 at a special event held Thursday 18 June and invites lighting professionals to stop by Elation booth #6259 for a VIP invitation.

As further proof that the wheels of innovation are running in high gear at Elation, another world premiere product will also be on display at InfoComm, the EHD2.5, a 2.5mm pixel pitch high-definition LED video panel for rental and production applications.

Other innovative products that will be having their InfoComm debut include Elation's powerful hybrid Platinum FLX moving head; high-output ACL Series of narrow-beam LED effect lights; and Colour Series Colour 5 Profile ellipsoidal spot, Colour Pendant wash, and Colour Chorus 72, 48, 24, and 12 batten wash lights. Also on hand will be Elation's high-power Protron 3K LED strobe, as well as the pioneering and a

UK - Central Presentations Limited (CPL) invested over a quarter of a million pounds in May, primarily in new lighting and rigging equipment, in preparation for an extremely action-packed summer.

The busy west Midlands based technical solutions specialist supplies full production - lighting, sound, video, rigging and staging - design and equipment to a diversity of live shows - from music and film festivals to corporate and industrial presentations to special events.

Business has increased generally for CPL in the last 12 months, and the lighting division is currently expanding rapidly in response to this organic growth which has prompted the latest round of premium brand purchases.

The existing stock of Clay Paky lighting fixtures is boosted with the addition of 16 x Mythos and 10 x A.Leda K10s with B-eye lenses, bringing the current total of moving lights available in-hous

USA - Downtown Scottsdale is arguably one of the hottest spots for nightlife at the moment with several high profile venue openings of late, the most recent being The District, a lively entertainment venue in the city's blossoming entertainment district. The District combines an industrial-Americana atmosphere with high-end party culture, both aspects supported by a state-of-the-art Elation lighting and video system.

A project of Triyar Entertainment Group and owned by Shawn Yari, The District is a type of new-aged rock-and-roll bar that in the evening turns into more of a vibrant nightclub with DJs spinning a mix of music. Located next to Maya Day & Nightclub and just across the street from Livewire, a recently opened live music venue that also features a total solution Elation lighting package, competition for the entertainment dollar in Scottsdale is fierce.

Adrian de Pamph

USA - Atlantic City, New Jersey is known for its casinos, boardwalk and beach. To this list you can now add one other attraction: the new multimedia show at the Tropicana Casino and Resort.

On Friday, 22 May, the Tropicana marked the traditional beginning of summer and the Memorial holiday weekend with the official debut of a sound-and-light programme displayed on the property's newly refurbished boardwalk facade. According to Tony Rodio, CEO and President of Tropicana Entertainment, as many as 10,000 people witnessed the high-tech extravaganza. Integral to the show are eight Syncrolite SXL automated Xenon Skylights. Three are mounted prominently above the centre tower and the rest are mounted on separate towers along the boardwalk frontage.

Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) was the project integrator and chose Syncrolite as its partner in this highly visible, challenging oc

USA - Like a proverbial cat, the stately building on 412.5 Douglas in Kansas' largest city has gone through many lives. Starting out as a movie theatre, it later morphed into a penny arcade, pool hall, recording studio and cocktail lounge, before becoming a cabaret that featured theatrical performances for 22 years until closing its doors. Now as Roxy's Downtown, the building is back for an encore as a theatrical venue, this time with a plan to attract a broader audience thanks in part to an all- LED lighting rig featuring fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

"This old venue, which was called Cabaret Old Town, was a fixture among theatre lovers," said Sean Roberson, who remembers sneaking away as a high school student to see shows at the building. "We missed it when it closed, so when John Hammer reopened the building as Roxy's Downtown, all of us who grew up with

Korea - Wireless Solution Sweden has announced its newest distributor of W-DMX products, Tongsuh Technologies and Trading Co. Ltd. in Korea with the arrangement confirmed during the KOBA Show 2015.

Tongsuh is a leading distributor of high end lighting brands including Clay Paky and Philips Showline. The company has been in business for 20 years and celebrated this milestone at the KOBA Show.

Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution says, "Tongsuh has proven itself as a leading distributor of quality products as well as a strong partner in their region. We look forward to a long a profitable relationship."

H.R.Shin of Tongsuh commented, "Wireless Control is the future, we want to work with strongest company in the field and for us Wireless Solution Sweden is the best choice."

(Jim Evans)

USA - LED screen manufacturer PixelFLEX, known for their lightweight and flexible video screens, has designed and released an enhanced version of the FLEXLite LED tile known as the FLEXLite Plus.

The original FLEXLite series was designed for clients who wanted an economical solution to meet the needs of permanent installations and lightweight screens. The FLEXLite Plus line builds on the FLEXLite's success by adding very important features for the rental and touring markets.

Currently available in 3.9, 6.9 and 8.9mm pitches, the FLEXLite Plus line features a curveable and rigid product in one frame that is capable of creating a 15-degree curve in either direction via the unique radial fastener - the greatest curve in any PixelFLEX product line to date. It also adds positioning guide pins and captive screws for safe handling of high module changes. Optional touring frames are a

USA - High End Systems, along with partners CSI Leasing and Light Converse, reports that more than 50 universities from across the United States have entered teams for the Hog Factor.

The top three teams will be selected to go head to head and perform their lighting pieces live on the High End Systems booth at LDI 2015 in Las Vegas in the competition final.

The teams have a chance to win their school a $20,000 scholarship and a Hog 4 console. They can also win themselves a Hedge Hog 4X each. There is still some time to sign up and submit entries for the chance to take part in this competition. Submissions close on 30 June.

"The breadth of entries, coming from universities across the country, shows that we had a tremendous response to this endeavour" says Chris Ferrante, general manager. "We are committed to providing state of the art lighting control in all ma

Germany - ETC is taking two stands at this year's Stage Set Scenery show in Berlin - with one purely to premiere ETC Rigging in Europe.

ETC Rigging, which can be seen in Hall 2.2, stand number 208, is another layer to the company's extensive lighting and power control portfolio. By working with local dealers to provide complete wire rope winch packages, ETC Rigging is among the easiest to install and most versatile available. This is the first time the product has been available outside the US.

Sold as complete packages, each winch is easily customised for non standard layouts, and can lift up to 900kg. To ensure its integrity, every hoist is individually tested under heavy load at ETC's factory in Wisconsin, USA, and each electrical component examined and checked.

To go with the new rigging packages are QuickTouch, QuickTouch+, and Foundation controllers, designed to provid

USA / EMEA - NanoLumens, a leading manufacturer and marketer of visualisation solutions, has appointed Simon Deary as regional sales director EMEA, reporting directly to David DaCosta, NanoLumens' managing director EMEA. Deary will be absed in the company's Bath, UK, office.

"As NanoLumens continues to expand throughout the EMEA region, we need to have someone of Simon's experience join our team," DaCosta said today. "Through his unique background in lighting design and LED engineering, Simon has a well-versed understanding of the industry, and will be able to show a variety of businesses how our solutions can help them to achieve their customer engagement goals and objectives."

Before joining NanoLumens, Deary founded Son Et Lumiere, an LED design firm specialising in high-end events. Deary worked on projects such as the Expendables 3 premier in Cannes and

Record Sales - One Direction, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay helped UK artists account for one in seven of the albums sold globally during 2014, the BPI has said. With 13.7% of worldwide sales, it's the highest British share since the BPI began recording those figures in 2000. Sales of albums by British artists rose in Canada, Australia, Italy and Sweden, as well as the US. Albums from Sam Smith and Pink Floyd also made the top ten list of the world's biggest-sellers of 2014.

According to the BPI's Music Market 2015 report, Taylor Swift topped the list of global recording artists, after shifting six million copies of her album 1989. The figures, which take into account album sales, track sales and streams, put One Direction in second place and Sheeran in third. The BPI also found that streaming had doubled in the UK during 2014.

Royal Ruler - Dame Helen Mirren was named

World - AC/DC are back with their Rock or Bust world tour and lighting designer and show director Patrick Woodroffe is again the creative mastermind for the tour design, for which lighting director Cosmo Wilson specified two grandMA2 full-size consoles for control. Woodroffe explained his design ideas, "I wanted to create a big, large scale rock concert to fill the end of a stadium. Therefore I selected a tough, strong, ballsy lighting for this tough strong band."

Wilson commented on the grandMA2, "I am using the grandMA2 because I have had such success using the grandMA series 1 for the past 10 years and I decided it was time for me to upgrade to the grandMA2. The learning curve was easier because I have been using the grandMA series 1, but there are so many new things on the grandMA2 that make programming and operating my show much easier and quicker. Also havin

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