International - In May, Mana, Mexico's most successful rock band, launched a year-long world tour with shows planned in over 70 cities in the USA, Latin America, and Europe. The tour's first shows were at the San Diego Sports Arena and the Universal (Gibson) Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. The US leg of the tour will culminate at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Pro Color from Guadalajara is the production contractor for the tour, providing sound, lighting, and rigging. Included in the equipment specified for the tour are four ProPower RPD power distribution racks, over 400ft of ProSpan truss, and over 20,000ft of ProPlex data and ProCable power cables.

Says Javier Barba, the principal of Pro Color: "The ProPower distro racks are the best. They look great, have many useful features and we have found them to be completely reliable. On the Mana Tour, we use two on each side

UK - HSL supplied full lighting production, associated rigging and crew to the recent Simon Webbe theatre and arena tour, with lighting and set designed by (Stephen) Abbiss and production managed by The Production Office.

The account was handled by HSL's Mike Oates, who says: "It was great to be working with Abbiss again. As always, he came up with a really inventive design and a flexible rig offering lots of options for the different sized venues."

Abbiss's initial brief expanded as the tour sold more tickets and some dates moved up to bigger venues, resulting in the final itinerary ranging from the 16,000 capacity Manchester Evening News Arena at the larger end of the scale to Norwich UEA and Ipswich Regent Theatre at the cosier end. "This was the real challenge," says Abbiss, "Designing something that looked equally good in different spaces and that

Germany - The Porsche Arena, an events location in Stuttgart's Neckar Park that opened in May 2006, recently took delivery of a lifting system from ChainMaster that will be used to manoeuvre the video cube.

The system consists of four 2,500 kg VarioLifts with two chain-falls each and a computerised control system for installation work. The ChainMaster controller not only synchronises the drives but also supervises the loads. The Porsche Arena is capable of accommodating up to 7,500 people at a time for corporate events, sporting functions and concerts.

(Jim Evans)

UK - PLASA has relaunched its prestigious Awards for Innovation, which will be joined for the first time this year by the new Gottelier Award, named in memory of Tony Gottelier - the leading designer, innovator and industry commentator who died in 2006.

Designed to reflect excellence in new products in lighting, sound, engineering, AV and staging - the PLASA Awards for Innovation were first established in 1992 and have since been presented annually during the PLASA Show, which this year runs from 9-12 September at Earls Court in London. The Awards have a justly deserved reputation for identifying high quality, innovative new products early in their life and many previous winners are now firmly established in their fields.

Judged by a panel of respected industry professionals, products nominated for the Awards compete for one of eight Innovation Awards, plus an additional troph

UK - HSL supplied full lighting production, rigging and crew to stages 1 and 2 at the O2 Wireless Festival at Harewood House in Leeds and the Sony Eriksson Arenas at both Leeds and London Wireless sites.

HSL was working for Neil MacDonald's Clockwork Productions who were appointed by promoters Live Nation to co-ordinate all the Leeds site's technical production requirements. On site, HSL's crew of 11 was led by project manager Mike Oates assisted by Debbie Owens. They collaborated closely with main stage production manager Mick Brown.

Taking Saturday night main stage headliners' Kaiser Chiefs as the starting point in terms of building lighting rig, HSL brought in designer Andy Liddle to liaise with all the headliner LDs - Susan Sasic for the White Stripes (Friday), the Kaiser Chiefs' Richard Larkum (Saturday) and Sunday headliners Daft Punk's Martin Phillips - Three top bands

UK - DarkSide Industries has launched the new Tractel Black range into the Entertainment Industry. For over a century, Tractel has been one of the world's leading lifting gear companies, with a formidable reputation for quality. Now Tractel and its exclusive UK entertainment industry distributor DarkSide Industries, have worked together to market Tractel Black - a comprehensive range of lifting gear that's been specially developed with venues and theatres in mind.

"This is a range of really high quality lifting gear, that suits exactly what entertainment professionals are looking for," said DarkSide's MD, Martin Green. "Tractel Black chain blocks are lightweight but incredibly strong - the 1t unit only weighs 12kgs. That weight advantage is really important, especially in touring situations."

The range also includes beam clamps in 1t, 2,t, 3t and 5t sizes.

UK - Bristol based fabrication specialists Fineline were commissioned by live brand event producers Wave Marketing and Communications to design and build a 16ft wide classic Chevrolet scenic front. This was destined for Bar Moto in the garden of the Mauna Lani Resort on Hawaii's Big Island for a Motorola corporate event.

Although Fineline's Multiax 5 axis router could have made it in one piece, the Chevy had to be designed to split into elements small enough to be fitted into 747 air freighting containers - and it also had to be completed in just two weeks to make the deadline.

Fineline's Darren Wring comments, "Making the prop itself was a relatively straightforward request and that's exactly what we're geared up to do. It was the seriously short timescale and the fact that it had to be designed to be broken down for freighting that were the challenges."

Made from

UK - J&C Joel's new fabric binder not only won over the company's customers at the ABTT Show 2007, but also made the stand look so good that it won the prestigious ABTT Best Stand award.

J&C Joel sales director James Wheelwright said: "We were thrilled to receive the award. The stand was designed specifically to showcase the new binder and it's terrific to receive public recognition for the months of hard work. This is the second time we've won the best stand award, and it's testament to our great staff and business partners that the judges saw fit to give us a second beautifully polished presentation Hook Clamp."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Procon Event Engineering, international leading technical service provider, has founded a subsidiary in London. Morten Carlsson and Christian Möller are managing directors of the new subsidiary which is being run by Claire Copeland in her role as branch manager.

Copeland brings with her a number of years experience of the industry having worked as a sales and account manager for companies such as White Light and Richard Martin Lighting. Copeland says of her post: "This is an exciting opportunity to work with such a well known and respected company in their latest venture. I am looking forward to working with the Procon team as we move forward into the UK market."

As a technical full service supplier Procon Event Engineering provides the media, entertainment and event industries. With subsidiaries and partners, Procon is represented worldwide, renting lighting,

UK - Ra'alloy Trading Company, better know as Ra'alloy Ramps, has completed the first of two orders for a revolutionary designed modular combined ramp and platform system to allow multi level, disabled platform heights for London's O2.

The aluminium system can made longer or shorter, narrower or made even wider by adding or removing modules. The system boasts just five components including ramp and balustrade modules and all components are in sections, which are easy to handle, and fit together in minutes, says the company.

The two level Disabled Riser sited in the main arena, from concept to installation took just six weeks, and was in place just in time for Bon Jovi to perform marking the 02's opening on 24 June.

The modular aluminium structure can be moved simply by dividing into sections, unplugging the handrail, and stored in a minimal space when the arena is required f

Spain - Two crew members are reported to have been killed in an accident during the dismantling of the stage after the Rolling Stones' Thursday night concert in Madrid, according to BBC News Online. Two other crew members were injured in the accident at the Vicente Calderon stadium and are now in hospital.

A spokesman for the band said they were "deeply saddened" to hear the news. "Their heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery go out to the injured and their profound sympathies to the deceased," he continued.

According to local police, three of the workers fell 10m (33ft) from a metal structure and landed on a fourth. The deceased workers were said to be 38 and 44 years of age. One was an employee of the Belgium-based staging company Stage Co, while the other was a local contractor.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Drape and stage machinery specialists J&C Joel and Triple E have teamed up to supply and install eight large motorised Venetian acoustic banners to two large rehearsal rooms in the new £4.5 million Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning building at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (RNCM).

The Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning builds on the RNCM's international profile and forward-thinking approach to the training of young musicians, and on its impressive record on student employment.

The project was managed for J&C Joel by Tony Griffiths, who comments: "This was a great challenge to get 'just right', but great teamwork with David Edelstein and the Triple E crew made the process really smooth. It's a good illustration of the dynamic partnership between J&C Joel and Triple E on projects like this."

The banners are design

UK - Automation specialists Kinesys has supplied seven custom-designed G2 winches to the Genesis world tour, which are being used to lift seven lighting pods up and down seven architectural ìribsî, positioned upstage framing the set.

Additionally, Kinesys are supplying 16 Liftket 250kg 30m/min chain hoists controlled by Elevation 1 variable speed hoist controllers and being run on the same Kinesys Vector control system as the winches. These lift eight cargo nets - embedded with over 500 egg strobes - which are stretched taught to fill the gaps between the ribs.

All the Kinesys drives and distribution has been configured to fit into three rack cases making load ins and outs as quick and easy as possible and Kinesys' Array range of power, data and emergency stop distribution units are also in the package. Kinesys is supplying two automation crew to look after all aspects of th

UK - Wakefield based rehearsal arena Litestructures Studios has provided tour support services for two acts celebrating milestones in their careers.

George Michael has celebrated 25 years as a performer by taking his 25 Live Tour to stadia across Europe this summer. In June he christened the new Wembley Stadium with a performance in front of 140,000 people. Production Manager, Mark Spring, and crew spent four weeks this spring at Litestructures Studios preparing for the tour.

Meanwhile the Arctic Monkeys have celebrated an important milestone in their young careers by debuting at the Glastonbury Festival with a headline slot at the Pyramid stage. It was just one of a string of summer performances for which the band travelled the short distance from their native Sheffield to rehearse at Litestructures Studios.

"It has been a real honour for Litestructures Studios

UK - LTM's Dave Ward presented a short practical seminar on Lodestar Use and Abuse at the 2007 National Student Drama Festival in Scarborough, UK.

The NSDF is a week long celebration of theatre, live performance, discussion and special events covering all aspects of theatrical performance including technical topics.

Stage Electrics - a regular LTM customer - initiated LTM's invitation to participate. The seminar was attended by technical theatre students and some who had recently left college and are now working in theatre after completing a variety of different courses, many of them geared towards sound and lighting.

NSDF technical director Anna Cole comments, "This year the technical workshop programme was the strongest yet. It was really fantastic for LTM to come to the festival, and feedback indicates that the workshop was interesting, and that it was encoura

UK - HSL supplied full lighting production, rigging and crew for the X-FM Main Stage and The Clash Arena at Rockness 2007.

The event's second year saw it expand to a capacity of 35,000 over two days, set against the backdrop of one of Scotland's best known natural attractions - Loch Ness. The line-up included the Chemical Brothers, Groove Armada, The Manic Street Preachers and Daft Punk.

HSL's crew chief Howard Dean led a team of 22, and they once again worked closely with event producer Jim King of Loud Sound Events and production manager Lee Charteris. HSL also sub-contracted ML Executives to supply audio to these two principal arenas.

Mike Oates, HSL's overall project manager comments, "The first thing we did was get two world class lighting designers onboard to look after the two stages - Andy Liddle on the main stage and Dave Byars in the Clash Arena."

The m

International - With only a few days remaining before the close of the nomination-gathering period for the Gottelier Award, there is just time for a final reminder to everyone to make sure that they have taken a few moments to nominate the individual or team that they most admire.

Named in honour of the late Tony Gottelier, the industry innovator and commentator who passed away in 2006, the Gottelier Award is aimed at those members of our industry who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the advancement of entertainment, presentation or installation technology - whether in audio, lighting, rigging, staging, or any other related field.

Once the deadline for nominations passes this Friday (13 July), a shortlist will be drawn up of the most widely nominated people, and their names will be put forward, along with a brief summary of their achievements, to the Gotte

China - Live Earth in Shanghai saw Star Events Group China supply its first full outdoor stage system. The structure was built at the base of the iconic Oriental Pearl Group (OPG) tower, which at 468m is the highest tower in Asia. It is owned by Shanghai Media Group, who provided broadcast facilities and carried the show on their local channels.

Around 3000 attended the event, with estimated television audiences of 800 million in China and two billion worldwide. Promoter for the event was Live Nation in partnership with OPG.

A 15m Orbit Flexidome was chosen as the appropriate stage system, as the site has a shopping mall beneath and no other structure could provide the rigging capacity combined with low self weight and point loads. Working on the roof of the shopping mall also meant the use of any cranes, pickers or forklifts was not allowed, so the whole system had to be hand

UK - In 1980, Innovation Power's Rob Hutchinson undertook his first live event, providing generators for Harvey Goldsmith at Newcastle City Hall to power lasers for The Who. This June things came full circle, when 27 years on, Harvey Goldsmith once again enlisted Innovation to supply power for The Who, this time at Southampton's Rose Bowl.

"What people forget is in the 80s we didn't have today's electronic technology, no mobile phones, faxes, laptops, or computers in the production office," reflects Hutchinson. "We had a couple of phones in a Portakabin that we'd all be fighting over and if we wanted signage we had to bring in a sign writer.

"On the scale of what we have now the electronic era has really got a grip. We used to check the oil and water in the generators every morning before we started. Now, through telemetry, our generators talk back to a cen

UK - SPS has won a contract to design, build and supply a new conference stage environment for FT Conferences, to fulfil their busy global conference schedule. Furthermore, as part of this contract, SPS reports that it will also be supplying the AV solution at these events.

James Gunnell, head of global logistics at FT Conferences and Events, says: "We are delighted to be working with SPS. The professionalism and passion displayed by the team has impressed us immensely and they have delivered an exceptional service so far. I am looking forward to developing our relationship with SPS throughout the course of the year."

Robin Coles, managing director of SPS, adds, "We are very proud and excited to be working with the FT. With a company of this stature it is imperative to captivate and impress the highly successful business professionals who attend FT Conferences.

UK - PLASA has announced the four contenders for the first Gottelier Award, to be presented at this year's PLASA Show (9-12 September, Earls Court, London).

Named in honour of the late Tony Gottelier, the industry innovator and commentator who passed away in 2006, the Gottelier Award is aimed at those members of our industry who have made significant and sustained contributions to the advancement of entertainment, presentation or installation technology - whether in audio, lighting, rigging, staging, or any other related field.

Following a six-week period of gathering nominations from across the industry, the shortlist of leading nominees can now be revealed, ready for the voting process to begin.

The nominees are as follows (in alphabetical order):

Tony Andrews is a highly regarded designer and manufacturer of high quality point source loudspeaker systems, w

UK - Opening features at London's O2 Arena, included performances from Marley Brothers, Simon Webbe, Mutya Bueno and Jason Donovan on the London Piazza, one of the vast new public spaces inside the O2 complex that has been built specifically to stage innovative public events in areas that are always free to access. Star Events Group (SEGL) provided a complete package of stage, PA, lights and barriers for the event.

"We had a very tight timescale," explains Martin Green from AEG, owner and operator of The O2. "We were staging this series of events as part of the very high profile opening of The 02 in what is essentially a new building. Not only that, but it was organised in a matter of weeks, so we needed a fast, quality response and a very reactive one as we came to know our new venue more."

"As a result of the merger of SEGL and SRC, the group now has

UK - Chauvet continues its steady foray into the touring industry with a strong presence at this summer's Ozzfest. The manufacturer lights the Jägermeister's Mobile Stage, a self-contained portable stage, which premiered in July as the secondary stage for the heavy metal festival.

When not in use, the unit appears to be just another huge 34ft trailer, but at the push of a button, it unfolds Transformers-style to reveal a professional stage. The complete sound and lighting rig is set up in minutes. Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil observed: "The stage is an awesome portable stage with top notch sound and lights. I look forward to playing on it again."

All power for the stage comes from a built-in generator, and with a sound system designed for an audience of 10,000, power constraints were a prime consideration when the lighting system was planned. Designers found a solutio

South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa has launched a new company that will provide a complete power distribution service for the Live Events industry. Gearhouse Power operates between Cape Town and Johannesburg as a separate business unit within the Gearhouse group.

Gearhouse Power is headed by Antony Sackstein, who initially worked for Gearhouse managing director Ofer Lapid as a freelance lighting technician at Lighting Unlimited in 1992, moving to a permanent position in the company in 1995.

The new company is able to offer clients a comprehensive range of power generators with a range of 300, 200 and 100 KVA generators on hand.

All generators have their own trailers so each may be used as a separate unit for individual events. All of the machines can be integrated and they are all cam-locked and power locked, which reduces the set-up time required on site, a great advanta

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