Dubai - The fourth annual PALME 2006 show took place on 23-25 of April in Dubai's World Trade Centre. The show's organisers claimed a 30% increase in visitor numbers after the event, so were the exhibitors' palms crossed with goldΩ

The exhibition comprised three individual sector shows, Install, Event 360 and MUSAC. Install unsurprisingly focussed on the installation market, Event 360 targeted those with event and production needs, and MUSAC catered for the musical instrument market. PALME's well-developed seminar programme ran alongside.

A slinky dancer projected on a FogScreen lured visitors to the company's stand. CEO Mika Koivula indicated that FogScreen were "open to options" of an office or distributors in the region.

Vicky Fairall, formerly of DHA, was the friendly face of Goboland who were launching their brand new steel gobo collection

UK - Lifting, and rigging sales specialists Lift-Turn-Move exhibit at their second ABTT, highlighting Lodestar motors, a new range of hoist control systems, rigging accessories and their latest training initiatives.

LTM offers a range of lifting and rigging equipment including the Lodestar and Prostar electric chain hoists, which are being highlighted at the show. The Lodestar is now the entertainment industry standard hoist and these products can be found on most tours, events and in many venues around the world. High integrity hoisting systems are also available including equipment to BGV C1 German safety standard. Special features include double brakes, load sensing and multiple limit switches. Variable speed units and manual or computerised controllers are available to monitor safety features and drive the equipment.

LTM offers a comprehensive range of spare parts for Lode

USA / UK - Theatre Projects Consultants has announced that leadership and ownership of the firm has been transferred to a new generation of leaders. "For the past few years, we have been planning this ownership transition of the UK and US companies to the younger members of our team, and we feel that now is the right time for that change," said Richard Pilbrow, founder and chairman.

The transition allows key members of staff to take on both leadership and ownership of Theatre Projects Consultants and provides for ownership to extend to other members of the firm in the future, the company says.

The UK team will be led by David Staples, Alan Russell, Jerry Godden, Mark Stroomer, Marion Daehms and Andrew De Rosa. Staples comments: "Theatre Projects has been at the leading edge of theatre planning for almost 50 years. This transition allows us to build on that wealt

UK - Serious Stages supplied one of their 25 metre two bay Space Roofs for the main stage at the new Hedgestock Festival at Knebworth House, compete with 8.4m wide x 15m high video and PA wings.

The exclusive new style 2-day corporate event with music - headlined by The Who as part of their Teenage Cancer Trust work - describes itself as a 'festival of networking' for the Hedge Fund Industry - with the adage "because conventions don't have to be conventional".

Serious was asked onboard by production manager Nick Fisher with whom they've worked on several projects. Fisher was brought in by organisers Albourne Partners to co-ordinate the supply of all the technical production and infrastructure, which also included Entec (sound) and PRG (lighting).

The Serious team of 20 crew and riggers was led by Aleksis Zarins. The site build started 14 days in advance and was com

Italy - Proel, the Italian leader company in audio/lighting systems, consumer electronics, musical instruments and accessories manufacturing, is proud to announce that Fantasy Sound International has been appointed as the exclusive distributor in Taiwan.

Under this multi-year agreement, Fantasy Sound International will sell and co-promote all of the various Proel product lines: stage equipment and accessories, sound reinforcement, lighting, trussing, Die-Hard cables and Tamburo drums.

Also included in the distributor's portfolio, is Proel Installation division, featuring audio, trussing and lighting products for large fixed installations and conferences.

Luigi Paoloni, the Proel International export manager says: "We are very excited about this new agreement. Fantasy is a highly dynamic and professional company and we strongly believe that they are the right choice as p

UK - Continuing to offer sophisticated computerised automation for rigging and scenery at a significantly lower price than anything else in its league, AVW Controls has introduced the Pegasus range of power flying hoists.

Celebrating its 10th birthday this year, AVW, a bronze sponsor of the Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference, launched its new Pegasus power flying system at ABTT 2006. Designed for AVW by respected mechanical design engineer Mike Barnett, the Pegasus power flying hoist combines Barnett's engineering skills with readily available, off-the-shelf components to offer safety, reliability and fast delivery times at the lowest possible price, say AVW.

Intended primarily for lifting scenery, lighting bars and curtain tracks, the system is designed to offer clients a range of options to fit any and every possible requirement. Control is via AVW's own Impress

UK - Flight case specialist 5 Star has invested in a new highly specified extrusion cutting saw and a NC measuring length-stop, which have been installed in the cutting department at 5 Star's Cambridgeshire HQ.The new machinery will aid efficiency and work-flow, and was needed to keep pace with the exceptionally healthy 2006 order book, says the company.

The new systems include a Kaban AA1020 400mm diameter semi automatic up-cut profile saw with a plus and minus 20 degree mitre capability and dual pneumatic holding clamps. This will be used primarily when bulk cutting profiles to length, either prior to being fitted on to the case, or before 'V' notching by other machinery.

The other purchase is a Pertici Visual RF length-stop. This unit has been installed onto an existing GTI Kombimatec 'V' notching twin blade saw and will control the position of the 'vee' cuts that are requi

Australia - With a century old façade, a stunning new interior and many years of planning behind it, the new Drum Theatre in the heart of Dandenong is finally completed; and what a magnificent sight it is. In a town with an abundance of artistic expression and limited outlets to express it, The Drum aims to bring a new sense of artistic culture and style to the City of Greater Dandenong.

The massive job of converting the site of the heritage-listed old town hall fell to Kane Constructions, who through the design of William Ross Architects and Denis Irving of theatrical consultants Entertech, combined the traditional façade of the old town hall, with a modern, practical and visually appealing theatrical space. The task of coordinating the creation of this venue was given to the City of Greater Dandenong's director of cultural faculties, Paul Streefkerk. Having been involved in

UK - Drapes specialists J&C Joel has produced a new fabric sample card, illustrating 54 of their most popular and wide ranging fabrics 'in the flesh'. The idea is to give clients a practical, user-friendly reference media - that hangs on the wall - offering an immediate impression of what specific fabrics feel like to touch. Information relating to each sample includes construction, dimensions and fire retardancy, and is printed in English and Mandarin - reflecting J&C Joels' increasing export trade with Asia.

The reverse of the sample card showcases the diverse range of J&C Joel projects. It includes some fabric related projects - like Belfast Opera House, The Coliseum in London and Blackpool Grand - all Matcham Theatres, where J&C Joel's fabric expertise has been instrumental in recreating period internal draping and curtaining. There's also plenty more projects involving stag

UK - AVW has again won the prestigious Product of the Year Award in the Engineering category at this year's ABTT Theatre Show - for Pegasus, its new Power Flying System. The company previously won the award in 2002 for its Impressario motion control system.

Anton Woodward, managing director of AVW, was presented with the award by Secretary of the ABTT, Robin Townley at the annual ABTT awards dinner, and commented: "We are very pleased to win this award, though of course Mike Barnett should take most of the credit!"

The Pegasus Power Flying solution, comprising the Alpha, Beta, Delta, Omega and Pi hoists is designed to complement the Impressario stage automation system, so that AVW can offer the complete power flying solution. In collaboration with respected mechanical design engineer Mike Barnett, AVW has designed a range of hoists for use in theatre and entertainmen

UK - Out Board have supplied Star Events Group with a pair of CM6 chain-hoist controllers and their new LiftSafe product, as the main control system for eleven 2-tonne CM Lodestar hoists deployed to fly the massive new Wembley Arena mother-grid built and supplied by the company.

Star rigging consultant Phil Broad's brief to Out Board was to provide a failsafe system that would halt all the hoists if it detected any one or more of them stopped or failed to move. This was achieved by fitting each of the hoists with Out Board's high-resolution optical encoder modules, the outputs of which were all connected back to the new LiftSafe Hoist Controller Safety System located in the CM6 controller rack high in the roof of the Arena.

LiftSafe provides a bridge for the CM6 hoist controllers' linked Remote GO button which gets interrupted immediately if the system senses a break in transm

UK - Hawthorn was approached by Old Billingsgate, for whom they are preferred suppliers, to fit permanent trussing and rigging into the central London Grade II listed venue.

Hawthorn's installation team specified 20 Prolyft motors and over 120m of Prolyte S36R truss, along with motor controllers and cabling.

Prolyft motors are backed by a world-wide network of service points, and Hawthorn is one of 25 service points there to offer a complete back up and peace of mind, wherever the motors are being used. Hawthorn will have a state of the art test facility for load testing, complete with computerised testing and a complete database of records linked to Prolyte's own system.

As well as Prolyft, Hawthorn is also an approved service centre for many of the key industry manufacturers such as Clay Paky and Martin Professional, and offer a complete maintenance and testing service for

UK - Serious Stages continues its successful relationship with the Hampton Court Palace Festival, once again supplying the main stage for the 2006 summer entertainment and music programme. This event includes appearances by world class artists as diverse as Kiri Te Kanawa, Eric Clapton, Glyndebourne Touring Opera and Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.

Serious has supplied the stage - including decking and access ramp - and roof for this event since the Festival began 13 years ago with IMG as clients and Keith Morris as production manager, and has designed a bespoke flat roof structure tailored exactly to fit the Base Court area deep in the heart of the Palace grounds. This is scenically dressed to complement the surrounding architecture, brickwork and colouring.

The flat-roofed stage is built from a combination of MaxiBeam trussing for the box at the top and GS

UK - On Saturday 17 June the London Gala Orchestra graced the brand new Star Events Group Morbit stage in the stunning grounds of the Grade 1 listed Chatsworth House.

Less than a year ago, Star Events Group came up with the inspired idea to create a mobile orbit dome stage. The idea was to provide the outdoor event scene with a versatile stage that has all the benefits of the Orbit roof's high weight loading capacity and elegant aesthetics, combined with the flexibility and quick build times of the mobile trailer stages. The final result was a 13m dome stage that can be built from start to finish in around five hours by just five crew. The erection of the roof is simple and quick and the PA system can be suspended from the two cranes that are an integral part of the stage, positioned either side of the unit, negating the need for expensive forklift hire and PA towers.

Helen Ma

UK - The Rigging Partnership this week launched their new online shop for PPE and rigging equipment. The bespoke shop is aimed at the entertainment rigging industry; servicing venues, riggers and technicians. Equipment lines include: Rope Access & Rescue Equipment, Fall Protection & Personal Protection Equipment, Bags & Tools, and General Rigging Equipment which includes pulleys, dead hang bracket etc.

Through a growing stock list which has with the entertainment industry in mind, all the leading brands are brought together onto one site, including: Petzl, Troll, Miller and Bacou-Dalloz. Whilst items can be directly purchased by credit card on the site, TRP also run a telephone advice line and phone shopping service.

TRP also specialise in performer flying and a section of the site is dedicated to the large range of hire and sale stock of performer flying equipment and service

USA - The dates have been set for Tomcat's Hoist & Rigging Workshop 2007: the workshops will run the course of four days, 21-24 February, in Midland, Texas. The annual school includes workshops pertaining to hoist, rigging, truss, and fall protection taught by some of the foremost experts in the industry, say Tomcat.

Making its third appearance - after becoming a huge success among participants over the last two years - will be the Advanced Workshop. This two-day workshop covers a variety of interesting topics on hoist motors and truss design and is meant for those who have already completed Tomcat's four-day workshop and/or those with extensive experience working with motors and truss in the field. Advanced workshop dates are 23-24 February, also in Midland, Texas.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Vertigo Rigging has announced another new addition to its stock of specialist rigging products. The high-strength, lightweight Flightdeck system is designed to allow fast and economical creation of walkways and gantries for access, stages and flown bridges for scenic requirements and decks for towers and camera platforms, say the company.

"The most versatile attachment to truss on the market", according to Vertigo, Flightdeck is a flexible, modular and lightweight system, designed and engineered by Vertigo Rigging and available exclusively to Vertigo's rental and sales clients. The system is available complete with load-bearing hand rails for safety, and can be supplied with access hatches if required. The Standard Flightdeck system comes in 1m x 2m deck sections, and bespoke sizes can be fabricated on request.

The company says Flightdeck is available from stock

UK - Stage Technologies have appointed Gemma Guy to work with their International sales department based in London with a view to strengthening sales, primarily in the European market.

Having been trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Gemma has been involved in the theatre entertainment industry for over 10 years. She has extensive experience managing technical departments both onboard a multitude of Carnival cruise ships and as technical coordinator ashore in Carnival Corporation's headquarters in Miami. Subsequently, as technical sales manager for Harbour Marine Systems' Miami office, she has interacted with many cruise lines, theatre facilities and manufacturers. Her extensive experience in management and sales has given her firm foundations from which to develop this new role within Stage Technologies, say the company.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - The PLASA Show (Earls Court, London, 10-13 September 2006) is now welcoming nominations for the popular PLASA Awards for Innovation, which will once again form a major attraction at the event this year. At last year's show, no less than 68 nominated products covering various product areas within lighting, audio, staging and AV, were displayed on the Innovation Gallery, which is sponsored by Lighting&Sound International magazine and situated right at the entrance to Earls Court's ground floor.

Judged on the grounds of their 'Innovation' alone, the nominated products are closely assessed by a panel of expert industry practitioners, chaired by L&SI magazine's Technical Editor, James Eade. There are nine awards available in total - eight Awards for Innovation of equal standing, plus an Award for Environmental Impact, which

UK - Star Events Group have built a 9.5m by 12.5m screen tower in Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf on which a giant screen was scheduled to broadcast World Cup Football matches from the BBC throughout the tournament. Organisers at Canary Wharf provided the service so that visitors and workers in and around Canary Wharf could enjoy a break from their daily routines and enjoy constant coverage of sport and news items.

Despite some unexpected crowd disturbance that took place during the first England match, Canary Wharf Group took the decision to keep the screen tower, and its huge screen provided by XL Video, in situ to broadcast the forthcoming events such as Wimbledon, Royal Ascot and other popular BBC programmes and events.

Sian Astrop, manager of Arts & Events for Canary Wharf Management Ltd said: "The screen and screen tower together looks like a huge television in the

Spain - Rigging, drape and starcloth specialist Blackout, were instrumental in providing the facilities for a truly star studded event held in early June in the National Museum in Barcelona, Spain (MNAC).

This was the Laureus World Sports Awards Welcome Party for 800 VIP guests from the realms of Sport, Cinema and Music. Some of the famous people in attendance were His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain, actors Teri Hatcher and Morgan Freeman, and Edwin Moses who represented the Sports interest.

"Blackout provided StarLED starcloth and new pipe and drape system which were instrumental in providing the flexibility needed to achieve another dimension within the confines of the space," said designer Adrian Smith. "They also helped to create a setting for both formal and informal seating areas to suit the various moods that we invoked."

The use of Blackout's s

UK - Specialist rigging supply company, Rope Assemblies, won the best standaward at the ABTT Exhibition in the Royal Horticultural Halls for its innovative, giant game called "LOLER revisited using Snakes and Ladders".

The Retford based company had a giant two metre square snakes and ladders board on the back wall of their stand. Visitors were invited to test their knowledge of the LOLER regulations as they progressed up the board. Completion of the game with all questions correctly answered wonthe player one of a number of prizes from new rigging gloves to head torches, Frogs, to Rope Assemblies unique rigging multi-tool.

Having counted the number of prizes given out at the end of the show, a knowledgeable 200 people had played and won.

"We were delighted to win this award, it was quite a surprise when our name was called out at the ABTT Dinner. Many thanks t

UK - Stage Electrics is providing full technical and site production, transport, logistics, marketing, ticketing and administrative infrastructure for the Summer Sounds Spectacularseries of events around the South West of England.

Incorporating ten 5000 capacity green-field sites, the 21 concerts over 10 weekends feature four different formats of entertainment - a Queen / Abba tribute night, the Blues Brothers party, a Rat Pack tribute and a Glenn Miller Band. The shows are tailored to attract families and holiday-makers across the region.

Tour production manager John Radford is working with a team of up to 28 people and three 45 trailers of equipment plus a selection of site vehicles, landrovers, people carriers and cars. Other key personnel include Jono Rose (technical project manager/lighting designer) Jon Rimmer (site manager), Chris Vass (sound design), Brian Clear

UK - The Who started their 2006 European with an exclusive gig at Leeds University, the venue of their landmark 1970 Live at Leeds. Also celebrating a return to the venue was Showsec, having been awarded the contract to manage audiences at the venue.

This was the hottest ticket in town, quite literally with the soaring temperatures in the intimate venue packed with 2,100 fans. The band showed why they're still at the top with a set comprised of classic tunes spanning the bands four decades inter-dispersed with new material from the soon to be released Wire & Glass rock opera.

Leeds University recently appointed Showsec to manage crowds at all of the shows at the famous Student Union Refectory venue and associated events (such as the recent Tetley Hall Ball) for at least the coming two years. Showsec worked at the venue through the nineties until four years ago.

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