Iceland - At 75m high, Hallgrimskirkja Church in the centre of Reykjavik is the largest church in Iceland and one of the tallest buildings in the country. Its sweeping frontage and steeple dominate the skyline of the city both with its height and its dramatic architecture. The design is the work of state architect, Guðjón Samúelsson, who was inspired by the crystalline structures of the basalt rock that is so prevalent in this volcanic country.
First commissioned in 1937, the edifice took 41 years to build with the spire completed in 1974. On 16 January 2020, Hallgrimskirkja formed the stunning backdrop for the celebrations marking the centenary of the Icelandic Midwives Community.
Icelandic full-service sales and rental company, Exton, was called upon to illuminate the huge façade of the church for the evening with a brilliant white light that would symbolise the

USA - Chicago -based Charles Ford and his business partner Brandon Clark from Creative Live Control have been busy using creativity and lateral thinking during the coronavirus pandemic to help maintain positive energies.
First off, the two have been helping light up different areas around Chicago embracing the Unite at Night initiative, with Robe moving lights from their rental partner, JRLX.
This nightly sing-along, make-some-noise and DIY lightshow - interpreted as bring what you can fairy-lights, glitter-balls, LED battens, etc. - started spontaneously in and around the city to bring communities together in uncertain times and celebrate the efforts of all heroes on the frontlines helping to keep everyone safe.
Immediately when Charles and Brandon saw what was happening they thought . . . “let’s do this and get some real lights out and about!

UK - For the past 25 years, Sennheiser has been sponsoring Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), with a Student Scholarship Programme, as well as its audio expertise and resources to the specialist institution.
The relationship between Sennheiser and LIPA goes back to 1996, when representatives from each organisation met to discuss the impending launch of an exciting new school to teach the performing arts and associated disciplines, from design and technology and management to sound technology. This cohesive combination allows different mindsets to work together right from the start, encouraging understanding of each element’s needs and ways of working. From that first meeting a quarter of a century ago and until the present day, Sennheiser has been an active partner of LIPA.
The scholarship is a way of helping the students chosen to study freely and achi

China - The award-winning Christie Pandoras Box is delivering visual experiences to visitors at a newly completed five-sided 3D immersive visualisation chamber in Qingdao, a major sub-provincial city in China’s Shandong province.
Powered by two Pandoras Box Quad Servers and a Pandoras Box Dual Server installed by Christie’s partner Marvel Vision, this visualisation showcase - known as The Light and Shadow Cube - is an initiative by the Qingdao Municipal Government to spur the growth of 5G high-definition video applications.
The Pandoras Box servers are used for the demonstration of spectacular DCI-8K video displayed on LED walls, achieving a total resolution of 8192 x 4320 pixels. This high-tech installation also features a number of technologies such as an active 3D system, a scent-generating system, a 7.1 multi-channel surround sound system, as well as 8K@

Croatia - For centuries, Trg Rijecke Rezolucije has stood as the town square and cultural hub of this bustling port city, hosting events, concerts and rallies. But with the outbreak of COVID-19 and the ensuing ban on public gatherings, the picturesque plaza fell silent.
All that changed recently, when it hosted All For Our Kids, an annual charity concert that raises money for the medical care of children. The crowd was small, and people sat 1.5m apart in observance of social distancing rules, but music rang out, followed by cheering, laughter and applause at the historic venue for the first time in months.
Supporting the on-stage performances with a rich mix of hues and soft glows that played off against the lemon meringue masonry background of the Municipal Palace, a former Augustinian monastery, was a supple a varied Mateo Kustić MattGarret design powered by

UK - Entertainment and architectural lighting control manufacturers Zero 88 and iLight have consolidated and streamlined the production facilities and processes at their shared factory in Cwmbran, Wales.
This is to generally boost efficiency and ensure full compliance with the new post COVID-19 health and safety at work directives related to social distancing and general hygiene.
Products from both brands - Zero 88 for entertainment and iLight for architectural / built environments - are fully designed and manufactured in the UK.
With both brands now operating under the Cooper Lighting Solutions umbrella, this recent reorganisation offers complimentary ranges of lighting control solutions for a diversity of projects, scenarios and applications.
Having the fully integrated workspace in Cwmbran means Zero 88 and iLight product volumes can quickly and easily b

UK - At the end of April, British war veteran and walking hero, Captain Sir Tom Moore, raised more than £32m for NHS charities by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday on 30 April.
On his birthday morning, thousands of people worldwide offered their well wishes to the former tank commander. Joining the widespread celebration, Captain Sir Tom Moore thanked the public for their overwhelming generosity from his home in Bedfordshire. Speaking to the BBC Breakfast team, his voice was heard loud and clear thanks to Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 wireless microphone system.
Broadcast sound engineer, Paul Cutler, who has been working with clients such as the BBC, ITV, ITN and Sky for over 23 years, was in charge of audio on the day.
“I have worked with BBC Breakfast on several other interesting large scale outside broadcasts and special features

UK - The UK skyline turned into a beacon of blue as venues across the country were illuminated on 4 July (Saturday), the eve of the NHS anniversary. Among the hundreds of buildings to light blue were the Royal Albert Hall, the O2 Arena, Harrogate Convention Centre, Bai360 in Brighton and Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh.
Participating sporting and mass entertainment venues included Twickenham Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Wembley and Lords Cricket Ground.
The #LightItBlue illuminations paid tribute not only NHS staff but to those that have helped the organisation during its most challenging period since its 1948 inception.
#LightItBlue was created by the events and entertainment industry to show a united display of gratitude for those risking their own health to look after Britons who are ill with COVID-19.
The initiative began on Thursday 26 March when

The Netherlands - Visitors to the Zuiderzeemuseum can take an immersive journey into this region’s nautical past at this extensive indoor and outdoor facility that makes this vanished world come to life.
Among the evocative attractions of the museum complex is the Sea of Stories, an audio/visual exhibition in its Ship’s Hall that vibrantly captures the essence of the Zuiderzee region long ago. Helping to wash away the years and draw visitors into life on the great bay is a captivating Frank Hulsebosch lighting design that features COLORado and COLORdash fixtures from Chauvet Professional supplied by Lichtpunt Theatertechniek.
Hulsebosch and his company, 50LUX, were introduced to Sea of Stories by Perspekt Studios, which was responsible for the design and construction of the exhibit. He explained why the decision was made to go beyond standard museum l

USA - Gateway Church is ranked among the nation’s largest multi-site congregations with an average of more than 30,000 worshippers weekly attending 29 weekly services at nine campuses - eight in the Dallas-Fort Worth area plus an extension campus in Wyoming.
To keep pace with the latest audio technology, and to further enhance worship at Gateway’s flagship Southlake campus, the 4,000-seat auditorium at that facility was recently upgraded with 51 new Meyer Sound Leo Family loudspeakers configured as a novel mono-stereo “hybrid” system.
Like many other contemporary churches, the Gateway Southlake auditorium is designed with wide, fan-shaped seating that wraps around the stage. Although this promotes a greater sense of intimacy, it challenges audio system design in general and, in particular, makes it difficult to maintain a stereo image while ensuring high intell

USA - The Gray Room at Special Event Services’ headquarter facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is usually abuzz with activity as the live production and touring company preps gear for upcoming tours and festivals. With the COVID shutdown in March however, the warehouse area turned eerily quiet. Nevertheless, the downtime provided Special Event Services vice president and co-founder Jeff Cranfill the chance to realise a long held ambition for the space.
“I had been looking at this spot in our warehouse for literally 30 years,” Cranfill shares, “an area with wood columns and brick wall, thinking how beautiful it is. Over the years, I always thought that if you light it up the right way, it would look really cool, an ideal space for an intimate performance. When our social media and marketing director Rebekah Carney came to me with the idea for music sessions in

USA - E2i Design’s Josh Holowicki had no hesitation in specifying GLP’s X4 Bar 20 as an essential component in a major technological upgrade at Church of the Highlands’ Grants Mill broadcast campus in Alabama.
E2i has been a partner with the Church since 2012, providing solutions for their broadcast and extension campuses with lighting and LED video technology. But this latest project was a year in the making due to their determination to select the very best fixtures and build flexibility within the already constructed worship facility. In their determination to create a ‘tour grade’ technical infrastructure, the visual upgrade to the stage space is an exciting and ongoing process.
“Ultimately the technical and visual directors of the Ministry wanted the ability to re-configure their stage design any way they wanted without limitations,” Josh Holowicki

Sri Lanka - Universal Sound Productions equipped the BNS Drive-in Concerts with a Harman Professional audio solution that includes an array of JBL Professional VerTec Series loudspeakers.
Treating fans to their first live music experiences since the COVID-19 outbreak, the BNS Drive-in Concerts were the first drive-in concerts in Sri Lanka and also the first in South Asia since the lockdown.
The large-scale events, which were put together by the Sri Lankan entertainment television station, TV Derana, in addition to Bathiya and Santhush, were recently held at the Colombo International Airport. Affiliated with the Restart Sri Lanka initiative, the concerts were designed to motivate the community and serve as symbols that the Sri Lankan entertainment industry is recovering from the effects of COVID-19. The concerts enforced strict health and security guidelines, wh

Austria - The Vienna Volksoper (Volksoper Wien), Vienna’s grand house for operetta, opera, musicals and ballet is home to not only opera and theatre facilities, but also to a recording studio and modern control room. And those facilities now also boast a new Lawo mc²56 console, commissioned by Lawo technicians using remote-control technology.
Volksoper Wien’s facilities are used to record performances for both television broadcasts and concert recordings, especially of premieres, and also to create audio clips used during performances. In fact, all of the opera’s publicly available audio content is produced within their own walls.
As the only multi-purpose venue in Vienna which produces a full complement of opera, operetta, musical and ballet, flexibility is key; more than 150 singers, 95 orchestra musicians and 100 dancers are part of Volksoper Wien’s ensembl

USA - After finishing his NYE show for Bassnectar in Louisville, Justin Casey was gearing up for a busy 2020. For a couple of months things played out that way for the owner of Helm Projects. There were shows at the Okeechobee Festival and Holy Ship Wreck; a concert at American Airlines Arena with Snoop Dog. The list went on - until the COVID-19 lockdown brought it to a sudden end.
After spending a couple of weeks “decompressing,” Casey elected to pivot his business. With live events on hold, he suddenly had all of his gear in the Chatanooga, TN warehouse for the first time in five years. Rather than let this equipment gather dust, he made the decision to put it to use by creating a combination learning laboratory and livestream studio.
“We have lots of cameras, switchers, and audio gear, along with lighting that’s normally out on shows available to us,” says

USA - Garth Brooks returned to the stage in a co-ordinated live concert delivered to over 300 drive-in theatres across North America. Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the special event, where more than 350,000 fans were entertained while safe in their own vehicles.
"This time, I was the fan and the people were the entertainment. Watching people all night from coast to coast, in Canada and here in the US, laughing, dancing, and singing, made me smile," says Brooks in a statement. "It reminded me how much I miss the crazy, happy, and unpredictable life we lead as entertainers. For one night, things seemed right."
The event was produced by Encore Live and recorded in Nashville with a full band. Brooks’ long-time lighting designer David ‘Gig’ Butzler modified his original in-the-round lighting design from Brooks’ current world tour, all at a breakneck pace w

UK - A movement that started in Berlin during lockdown has now spread to 65 cities across the world.
United We Stream Brighton (UWSB) launched on 18 June with a programme of live performances to raise funds for Brighton's night time economy, which has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Loudspeaker manufacturer Funktion-One is partnering with the initiative, supplying its new F5 / SB8 sound system for in the room playback.
United We Stream was founded in Berlin to support clubs, artists and event organisers drastically affected by lockdown, through livestreaming from an empty venue direct into people’s homes. The idea of the ‘living room rave’ has captured imaginations around the globe, spreading to 65 cities across every continent. While the streams are free, those tuning in are encouraged to make donations - so far raising over a million euros for worthy c

Denmark - Production specialists DPA Soundco took Coda Audio to new heights for 24-hour live stream concert Covidhagen, which took place on the flat roof of Copenhagen’s famed Opera House.
Experienced audio engineer Ally Kerslake was the project manager for this ambitious event. Dealing with more than 50 acts, some with multiple personnel, would be a tall order on any stage - to present them seamlessly for twenty four hours on a roof accessed via a small elevator and an even smaller stairway was something of a challenge.
Kerslake comments: “This was only the second time an event had been staged on the Opera House roof. The first was a Red Bull diving event in 2018 where we supplied an audio solution, so having been chosen again, we knew the kinds of challenges we’d face. Safety was a key concern, both in terms of COVID-19 and the access issues.”
Th

UK - Audio-visual and entertainment technology supplier Anna Valley has built its first off-site online event studio at indigo at The O2, transforming the iconic music venue into a live-streaming studio.
After being closed for over three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the popular South East London venue can now host online events for corporate and agency clients using the solution from Anna Valley.
Anna Valley launched the online event studio in June via a live stream demonstration of their in-house studio setup in West London. Online event studio clients were offered the option of hosting events from the audio-visual company’s 42,000sq.ft facility or having a customised solution built at a venue of their choice. The new installation at indigo at The O2 now provides London-based event agencies and corporate clients with an alternative off-site venue for virtu

Finland - Helsinki law firm Castrén & Snellman is a pioneer of sustainable business practice in the legal services industry and was the first Finnish law firm to join the UN Global Compact initiative.
The company recently carried out an extensive renovation of their client areas and staff workspaces, with the goal of taking the 130-year old law firm to the next level. Castrén & Snellman turned to Finnish AV integrator, 4Business Oy, who specialise in delivering tailored AV and automation systems. The solution integrated a large number of Genelec loudspeakers throughout the building.
“Genelec was simply an ideal choice for this project,” states 4Business COO Janne Lankinen. “On top of Genelec’s product quality, visual appearance and neutral sound reproduction, the company’s values and commitment to sustainable development fit beautifully into the or

USA - While some members of the entertainment lighting industry have busied themselves with drive-in shows during the COVID-19 lockdown, Jordan Chance has opted to take a slightly different course. The owner of Luxe Productions, a popular live event company in Chicago, Chance is following a “drive-to” approach to reaching new customers.
With his company’s box trucks idle because of the prohibition on the indoor events that were once the mainstay of his business, Chance converted three of these vehicles into movie screens on wheels. The trucks are rented out to clients who want to hold safe, socially-distant compliant events that involve film showings.
The idea for these Movie Truck Nights started when Chance’s partner brought a truck home to use as a screen for a community movie showing for his family and some neighbours to enjoy as they sheltered in pla

USA - When The Wharf entertainment district in Orange Beach, Alabama, reopened in time for Memorial Day, visitors were treated to a spectacular, new lightshow by Cue 13 Design that uses Elation’s IP65 luminaires.
Located on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, just across the border from Pensacola, Orange Beach is a quaint but upscale southern beach town. The Wharf, which opened in 2006, offers outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment at special event venues including a Live Nation amphitheatre.
A nightly light show called Spectra has been drawing visitors to The Wharf’s Main Street since 2013. Ryan Stumpp, founder and Principal at Cue 13 Design, and a 15-year theme park design veteran, was subcontracted to work on the original design seven years ago and was called on to redesign the light show for 2020.
“Many people come to The Wharf in the evening for the l

UK - Located on the top floor of the former Dickins & Jones department store at Oxford Circus in London, Aqua is a combination of the Japanese Aqua Kyoto sushi restaurant and Aqua Nueva contemporary Spanish restaurant. Set on a vast 17,000sq.ft space, it also includes a large central bar and balcony/terrace bar.
Opened more than a decade ago by Hong Kong-based Aqua Restaurant Group, it recently underwent a design metamorphosis, which included an upgraded Martin Audio sound system, while still retaining its distinct nightclub flavour.
Having carried out maintenance work there previously, Evolve Install, in the shape of partners Elliot Patterson and Robert Stemson, were alerted to the imminent refurbishment. They began talks with the management last April / May, budgets were discussed, and the decision was taken to keep the sound system under the Martin Audio umbrell

France - Lucas Enguerrand and his brother Quentin, who both work at French lighting and visual production and rental company FL Group, based in Morangis 15km south of Paris, wanted to keep morale high and their passion for music and lighting alive in a meaningful way during the COVID-19 lockdown.
With the full permission and support of FL Group owner Francois Lamberdière, they activated a plan to utilise the company warehouse and other available resources like equipment, and with a little help from their friends, have started producing spectacular ‘full production’ live streams working with a number of contemporary French artists.
When the French live event and production industry ground to a halt in March, as with all the rental companies, all FL Group’s immediate work was cancelled, the country went into lockdown to contain the virus and all the staff found t

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