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Rigging / Staging

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Edwin Shirley Staging provided two identical stages for this year’s V2001, the national summer music festival that takes place in two separate locations in Essex and Staffordshire. This year’s festival featured a host of acts, including the world-famous bands Texas and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

The two V stages, constructed using ESS's Lite tower system, boasted an impressive 52m wide façade and were assembled in just four days. The 14m high, 10-towered structure with an ESS inflatable roof was specially designed to provide support for the massive sound system and the two 32sq.m Screenco video screens which flanked each stage. Texas and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers also required their own rigging, and ESS had therefore to ensure that the roof grid was configured for the demanding set changes, including the addition of an extra video screen.

The festival hosted 48 artists ov

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When the BT Cellnet Conference was held in July, organisers Colebrand Design commissioned Indigo Design & Build to handle part of the venue preparation, including the staging. Because the BT Cellnet conference consists of a number of smaller events, the staging needed to be versatile enough to be constructed in different shapes depending on the size of the event. The natural choice for this element of the project was staging expert Maltbury and so Indigo purchased13 modules of Maltbury Metrodeck to complete the job, each varying in shape and size, ranging from 0.5 x 1m to 1 x 2m blocks. Metrodeck is Maltbury's own mid-weight staging system and has proven especially popular in venues where manpower and storage space is limited.
Doughty - Banner - from 8 April 2025

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Vertigo Rigging continues its association with the fast-moving world of automobiles. The two-show Vauxhall Vivaro event, staged to mark the launch of a new Transit-sized van, took place at the National Agricultural Centre in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. The biggest challenge for Vertigo, according to project manager Paddy Burnside, was the rigging of the massive amount of weight involved within the venue’s point loading constraints of 75kg per-point-loading. All trussing had to be raised on Superlifts, transferred and deaded off with steel wire rope. Thirty-six steel wire rope bridle lengths were needed to secure the lighting trusses in the correct places above each display van, and these were calculated in advance using CAD facilities, and made up in Vertigo’s yard.

Vertigo were on site seven days from get in to de-rig, supplying and rigging all the trussing needed for over-s

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Self-adhesive product innovators LeMark Group, winners of two consecutive PLASA Show awards for its Blacktak and SlipWay Tape products, has announced a strategic alliance and working partnership with Scapa Tapes plc. Scapa is one of the world’s largest adhesive tape companies, supported by 22 production and distribution sites around the globe. LeMark will work with Scapa to co-develop, market and manufacture a specialist range of both plain and printed products for all aspects and areas of the growing entertainment industry. Le Mark and Scapa will jointly look to expand both their European and particularly their USA, Canadian and Latin markets.

Stuart Gibbons, LeMark’s managing and marketing director said: "This is an exciting collaboration, bringing together the entrepreneurial skills of Le Mark and the manufacturing excellence of Scapa, forging a global alliance that

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When bwa-uk was asked to organize this year’s International Gathering of Champions by the Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) they once more turned to Summit Steel to rig the event for sound and lighting. Summit had rigged for them last year at the London Arena. "We chose Summit again because we have found them efficient and helpful," said Peter Willis of bwa-uk. "Ninety percent of an event like this is founded upon the pre-production and planning stages, and Summit’s input to this process was invaluable. They worked with us all the way to ensure the event ran smoothly and that clinched it for us."

This year’s event was held in two giant marquees pitched at KICC’s headquarters in Waterden Road, Hackney. The bigger of the two marquees measured a staggering 105m wide by 40m deep while the other measured 85m by 20m. The conference was

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Vertigo Rigging was called in by Silent Associates International Ltd to rig for the high profile Dealer Event revealing the new Mini to North American Dealers. By far the most ambitious Mini venue - one of three - on the menu that day was the Mezzo restaurant in Wardour Street, Soho, London. The mission for the Vertigo team, led by the unflappable Ken Mehmed, was to lift a Mini from the service bridge, at street level of the venue, into and across the downstairs restaurant area below - where the event was staged. Scenic aspects were designed by Hottopp Associates from the USA. Like Silent Associates, they were also under direction of California-based Route 66 Productions for the project.

Starting at 4am on the Sunday morning of the event, the glass panels from the bridge leading to Mezzo’s kitchen area on the top floor were removed along one side. This allowed the Vertigo crew to

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PLASA is now just two days away and it looks like this year’s event will be the best ever. PLASA is where you get to find out what over 400 of the industry’s leading players have been doing in the past few months. It’s got to be better than leafing through hundreds of product brochures or trawling the internet for information. Aside from the exhibition, there are plenty of things to catch the eye, including the DJ Competition on the Sunday, the newly-introduced iDJ Talk Zone offering advice to DJs, a comprehensive seminar and workshop programme, the PLASA Awards for Product Excellence, the various Feature Areas, and the many events, press launches and on-stand receptions organized by exhibitors. If you still haven’t registered for the event, don’t worry, you can register on the day. All you need to do is turn up at Earls Court 1 and register on the door. See

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The doors have opened at Earls Court for Day 1 of the 24th PLASA Show, and the first visitors are now filling the show floor, where over 370 exhibitors are displaying their latest innovations to the industry. Over 400 products are making their first appearance at a PLASA Show, with the cream of the crop entered into the PLASA Awards for Product Excellence, and displayed in the New Technology Gallery on the Top Deck of Earls Court, which is this year sponsored by Lighting&Sound International magazine.

Throughout today, and for the duration of the show, the team from PLASA Media will be bringing you all the latest news and pictures from the show floor. To follow events as they unfold at PLASA 2001, visit our dedicated news section at the address below:

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The 56 products nominated for this year’s PLASA Awards for Product Excellence are currently available for visitors to view on the Top Deck of Earls Court, in the Lighting&Sound International-sponsored New Technology Gallery (pictured). The Gallery allows a one-stop view of all the latest product innovations in the categories of Lighitng, Sound, Stage Engineering and Audio-Visual. Judging for the Awards will take place during the show, by a panel of experts from each respective field. The winners will be announced at a special ceremony at 9.30 on Wednesday morning, at which time PLASA will also present the money raised from the Awards entries to a number of charities.

To view the complete list of products entered for the PLASA Awards for product Excellence, visit the web address below:

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First-time exhibitor Acutek comes to the PLASA Show having recently moved to new custom-built premises in Ipswich. The move comes within the company’s first year of operation and will allow for more streamlined production and more efficient customer service. The company now employs 10 people and expects this to increase over the next 12 months. "Our new premises have ample scope for us to expand as we develop our product range in line with the industry’s requirements," said operations director Ian Elder. At the Show itself, the company is demonstrating its range of motion and hoist control systems and its recently developed range of touring dimming systems.

Acutek can be found on Stand R54

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Australian company Bytecraft has won the contract to supply the Beijing Grand National Theatre with its control system and electrics. The state-funded Opera is scheduled for completion in December 2004 and the Bytecraft contract - which covers both the control system featuring 400 axis of control and electrics and is worth $32million - will see the creation of one of the biggest control systems in the world. Bytecraft expects to go on site in early 2002 and remain there until the venue opens.Bytecraft can be found on Stand R48.

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Currently touring the UK, the Budweiser House Party, visiting the cities of Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow and London among others, showcases some of the UK’s top DJs and is part of a touring promotion campaign for Budweiser Beer. The essence of ‘cool’, the Budweiser house has the statutory flying ducks on the wall, a range of retro furniture, a bath full of Budweiser and a dance-floor bed. Staging specialist Maltbury was approached to supply staging for the events. Jon Scott, managing director of Jon Scott DC, was contracted to design and construct the innovative dance floor bed for the Leeds House Party at Granary Wharf. The ‘bed’ needed to be robust enough to support the weight of partygoers whilst also creating interest and focus within the set of the Budweiser house. Maltbury was chosen to provide nine modules of Metrodeck staging, some of which were to be

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Apologies to the Stereophonics, but this is going to be an unsung heroes review. Unlike other shows, I’m going to concentrate attention on the peripherals, everything other than light and sound.

Following the appalling tragedy at Roskilde, crowd management has ridden to the top of all festival organiser’s agendas. This was the first big show at Donnington since the demise of the annual Monsters of Rock five years ago, and security arrangements were uppermost in many minds. Showsec, the contracted party, has much experience of Donnington, not least from Monsters, so in many ways choosing them was a given. Company founder Mick Upton managed a team of 250 Showsec staff from the control room, which he shared with local emergency services and licensing officials, monitoring events by radio and CCTV. Mike Harding, group operations director, was at the sharp end of crowd control,

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Edwin Shirley Staging, the international staging and structure specialist, has been commissioned by PCI LiveDesign, one of Europe’s leading live communication companies, to provide a bespoke structural solution for the launch of the new Fiesta by the Ford Motor Company, during the Frankfurt International Motor Show this month. An empty warehouse space near to Frankfurt Airport has been transformed into a multi-levelled launch venue with ESS designing two temporary grid structures, a stage platform and show control platforms within the Nexos Centre for the launch. In order to facilitate the flying elements of the launch show, two roof grids measuring 12m by 14m have been specifically designed to take in excess of five tonnes in weight. The whole structure fits inside the Nexos building and was assembled in just three days.

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PCM, Wirral-based European importers and distributors of the CM Lodestar hoist used PLASA 2001 to present its latest cheque to the PSA (Production Services Association) in support of their Welfare and Benevolent Fund. This brought the total now donated by the company to over £17,000. The cheque for £4,020 was presented to the PSA’s Chris Coates by PCM’s John Jones. This instalment results from PCM’s on-going ‘sponsorship’ of the PSA’s Welfare and Benevolent Fund, an initiative launched in February 1999. The deal is linked directly to PCM’s sale of Columbus McKinnon Lodestar hoists: for every Lodestar hoist purchased in the UK through PCM, £10 is donated to the Welfare Fund.

The deal was set up by PCM’s John Jones. Jones sees support of the Fund as part of PCM’s on-going commitment to the entertainment and production industry: &qu

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James Thomas Engineering has supplied technical design and procurement company Technovations with an innovative, customised ground support system for The Imagination Theatre at the Legoland Windsor attraction. The system was part of a major refit to prepare the theatre for the upcoming season where it hosts the Life On Mars show, an exciting new multimedia LEGO production.

Technovations’ Graham Owens explains that they turned to James Thomas to help design a unique, multi-purpose, trussing solution to maximise the theatre’s rather unusual space. It was originally an open air theatre and is now enclosed by a tented roof. The trussing system had to accommodate - and be utilisable for - all production elements in the theatre, both stage and auditorium lighting, sound and scenery as well as providing plenty of scope for larger, more complex productions that will be staged in th

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The LDI Show will go ahead as planned from November 2-4 in Orlando. In response to a number of enquiries following the events in New York and Washington, the organizers are keen to reassure people, through a statement posted on their website, that the exhibition will go ahead as usual. "We at LDI would like to express our deepest sympathy to all who are affected by the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Our thoughts are with you. We cannot let terrorists bring world business to a halt and we at LDI and Primedia Business Exhibitions feel it is very important that all businesses show their resilience. At this time, we do not foresee major disruptions for a smooth and successful show floor opening on Friday, November 2, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. LDInstitute is still scheduled to open on Monday, October 29."

If any exhibitors or visitors have a

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The Arts & Entertainment Technical Training Initiative (AETTI) has announced that 12 more candidates undertook the AETTI - Loughborough College Intermediate BTEC Award (General Theatre Technician) during the recent PLASA Exhibition at Earls Court (9-12 September).

Thanks are owed to PLASA for making the space available and to White Light, Blackout-Triple E and Rope Assemblies Ltd for providing teaching materials. Many other companies supplied useful product information for the candidates to take back to their theatres. The course held at PLASA followed previous courses and was one of several in the pipeline at various locations. The General Theatre Technician course, which is divided into three modules, was held across the first three days of the PLASA Show. Attendees could either choose to complete all three modules at the Show, or begin with one or two modules and complete the course

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ESTA has announced that two draft American National Standards are now available for public review via the ESTA website. BSR E1.6, Entertainment Technology - Powered Rigging Systems is available for public review until 18 December 2001. This draft American National Standard establishes safety requirements for the design, manufacture, installation, and use of motorized rigging systems in theaters, theme parks, studios, and other places of public assembly and performance. This document does not address manually powered systems or lifting equipment used in the construction of these spaces.

The second draft standard - BSR E1.4, Entertainment Technology - Manual Rigging Systems is also available for public review until 18 December. This draft American National Standard describes the design, construction, installation and use of manually-

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UK-based Navigator Systems has added a low-cost rental management software package called RentalDesk to their product range. Launched at PLASA, RentalDesk has been designed for the Small Business Enterprise which requires asset tracking but cannot justify the expense of larger and costlier systems. Commenting on RentalDesk’s debut at PLASA, Navigator’s David Rose told us: "The response to RentalDesk at PLASA was overwhelming. We had more serious enquiries on the first day than at the whole show last year."

Rose continued: "This is by no means a replacement for our larger systems, but a move to address the needs of smaller businesses which are looking to improve their operations, but don’t have the large amount of capital needed for new systems. During tougher economic times, those companies that have cut costs and become more efficient have a better cha

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When Carlton TV decided on a new format of ‘roadshow’ programme, they called on Star Hire (Event Services) Ltd to provide the stage and production support for the televised events. The CITV 'White Knuckle Tour' presented a number of challenges to Carlton, who required facilities for five stage shows and live broadcasts from five different theme parks during August. Both the stage show and the live element were required to work independently or as an integrated operation.

With the stage show, Carlton applied several criteria, specifying that they were looking for a company that could provide a 'turnkey' operation. Not only would the company be required to provide the stage, but also the lighting, lighting controls and power for the whole site. Star Hire’s Mobile Stages manager Jane Russen liased with Steve Adams at Carlton throughout the project and drew on Star Hire

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Central London-based Flying Squad, experts in rigging and aerial flying for special events and live productions worldwide, were recently contracted by Vari-Lite to supply full rigging design and installation services for Cooper Cameron’s striking 140sq.m stand at Offshore Europe 2001. Designed by US design agency Excalibur Exhibits and with contract management of the truss and lighting installation in the UK by DB Systems, the stand fused the use of intelligent lighting, truss and staging to its creative limit.

Offshore Europe 2001 - a biennial oil and gas exhibition and conference - opened its doors on 4th September in Aberdeen to over 20,000 pre-registered visitors, from 87 countries. This is a massive trade event, where over 1,500 exhibitors cover a total of 40,000sq.m. Flying Squad's Bryan Wilson was invited to specifically oversee the construction of the enormous Eurotruss s

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Kylie Minogue recently celebrated beating Victoria Beckham to the top of the charts by performing her hit single in front of a celebrity audience. She performed her sixth number one - Can't Get You out of my Head - at the recording of An Audience with Kylie Minogue at the London Television Centre on Sunday 23 September 2001.

Blackout Triple E was commissioned by London Weekend Television to provide a double kabuki drop with burgundy festoon drape. The kabuki was hung from Blackout Triple E truss and motors with a separate motor lowering a mirror ball. Stars including Coronation Street actress Tracy Shaw, Julian Clary, Cat Deely and Kylie's sister Dannii watched the 33 year-old Australian perform for the Audience show, which was screened this weekend.

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Maltbury Ltd has taken the decision to sell off the hire part of its business to a newly established company, LEL Hires Ltd. Run by Jason Tucker, proprietor and managing director of LEL Enterprises Ltd, the new venture will operate from Rochester, Kent, whilst managing director Philip Sparkes and Maltbury sales will remain based in London.

Since 1995, the sales and hire divisions of Maltbury have been managed under one roof by Philip and his team, offering both high-quality products and service to clients. "We are delighted to have Jason taking over responsibility for the hiring out of Maltbury's staging systems," said Philip Sparkes, who will now be able to give his undivided attention to the sales side of the business. He added: "This streamlining of the business allows us to continue to provide our clients with an efficient and professional service while at the same t

  1. Safety by Design
  2. Production Factory Moves
  3. Blackout Triple E in the Retail World
  4. AVW Controls Team Expanding
  5. Ollett Appears
  6. ESS Installs Grid for Earls Court One
Page 68 of 233
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