UK - PLASA London delivered its biggest ever visitor promotion campaign over the last 3 days, generating almost 3,000 new registrations and setting a record for registrations, meaning the show is now up 10% y-o-y on visitor pre-registration.

Commenting on the positive news, PLASA's director of events Christopher Toulmin says: "PLASA London continues to prove its relevance as demonstrated by the phenomenal take up over the last three days. PLASA London is a must attend event for the live entertainment technology industries. The show is in great shape and on track to grow in both floor space and visitor numbers in 2014."

To celebrate the positive news, PLASA London has extended free registration (saving each visitor £20) for another 48 hours, closing on Wednesday.

UK - The Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) will launch a new version of the practice exams for the Rigger - Arena and Rigger - Theatre Certifications this summer. Both new practice exams will be accessible beginning 31 July, 2014.

These versions are an entirely new set of questions and are available in addition to the practice exams that were created in 2009. Riggers preparing to take the ETCP exams have found the practice versions an extremely valuable tool for self-assessment. The web-based practice exams consist of fifty questions each and include score reports that mirror the actual exams. Both versions of each exam are $35 and can be found at http://etcp.plasa.org.practiceexams.

There is no application process with the practice exams; so any interested candidates will be able to take the exams privately at home, at the office, or on the road whenever i

UK - Brilliant Stages continues its long-standing relationship Robbie Williams and the ever-inventive Ray Winkler and Ric Lipson of Stufish by its collaboration on the design and fabrication of the stage set for Williams' Swing Both Ways tour. The dazzling arena tour has seen Williams promote his new album across Europe from April to July, culminating in four dates at London's O2 arena, before it travels to Australia in September.

The Stufish stage is lavish and multi-layered, transforming in appearance from an Art-Deco hotel, to a 20's style club and a luxurious ocean liner, and is surrounded by a massive, curved Austrian drape, all of which set the tone for Williams' sumptuous Swing Era extravaganza and big band sounds.

Brilliant Stages' Tony Bowern and its CAD team were instrumental in bringing Stufish's vision to fruition, providing the multiple staging elements of

The Netherlands - AVL has a solid track record of selling and supporting ChamSys in Belgium and Luxembourg with the highest standards of customer training and support which will be expanded to the Netherlands.

"We are confident that with AVL's skills and experience there will be a high standard of customer service, support and training in the Netherlands," says ChamSys.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Lifting equipment specialists Hoist UK are continuing with their structured growth, this time expanding the engineering and installation side of the business, Geoff Cromwell joins them as their new lifting equipment engineer. Geoff brings with him over 40 years of experience within the lifting equipment industry, having being previously employed with Aabacas Cranes, Fellow Stringer, Pfaff Silberblau / PCM and most recently with LTM.

"Feeling part of a team is sometimes daunting when you start with a new company" says Hoist UK director Paul Jordan, "but Geoff has worked with some of the team before, he was at Aabacas with Wayne Ridgeley for six years and worked alongside Tony Dickson for 10 years at Pfaff and PCM and I have known him for several years myself, he has already fitted in and is a valued member of the Hoist UK team."

Geoff will be heading th

Spain - The Battle of the Flowers is the event which brings Valencia's July Fair to an end, a celebration that has been organised since 1871 and which consists of a month of events and activities focused on exhibitions of local products, music events and concerts.

This peculiar and peaceful battle of the flowers is a war in which participants throw more than one million clavellones (a type of flower) that form a huge and colourful carpet of flowers through the streets of Valencia that are part of the itinerary.

This year, the overall production of the battle of the flowers relied on 16 Work Pro speakers WPL 5A which were installed from the bridge of the flowers of Valencia to the roundabout General Elio, located next to Viveros Garden.

Additionally, among the material used for this event, there were two professional lifting towers by Work Lifters, in particular the LW 461 R

UK - After working together for several years, Hall Stage is delighted to announce that Steve Shortt is joining the business as Head of Design. His appointment is part of Hall's ongoing plans for growth in new product development, and projects and installations.

Steve has been working in the US & Canada on Hall Stage products with US partners Thern Stage Equipment, Hall Stage North America, Epic Production Technology, Gridworks and many others.

He has over 30 years' experience including theatre and entertainment rigging & engineering. Having hammered out many custom rigging designs, some notable projects include kit-out of the new "Tonight Show" NBC TV Studios in Hollywood, the "LA Live" plaza pixel wall and AEG Broadcast Studios in Los Angeles.

Commenting on the move, Steve highlights his historical links with Hall Stage, having worked in countless theat

South Africa - The first recorded pioneers to settle in Nelspruit - around 25 kilometers of the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga - were the three Nel brothers. It is documented that they migrated to this tropical climate with their livestock in the cold winter months around the 1860s, and during those drawn-out travels became friends with the king of Swaziland.

Today in Nelspruit, Kyle Nel of AVS, coincidently with the same name as the Nel brothers, is making his own mark, using modern technology in a city where the main industry is forestry, citrus and tropical farming and of course the tourist attraction of the game reserve. He recently took ownership of two Robe Pointes and Prolyte Dex and Trussing, purchased from DWR Distribution.

"I've always had a keen interest in sound and music, and while I have no musical talent whatsoever, I have a natural ability with anythin

UK - A new real-time positioning technology - Crowd Connected - was unveiled at this year's Wireless Festival, giving promoters" unprecedented levels of crowd control data and enhancing the festival-goers experience with invaluable social media integration".

Winner of a Technology Strategy Board IC Tomorrow digital innovation challenge, the technology will allow a new generation of location-aware festival apps to deliver ground-breaking features for audiences, and a new level of behavioural understanding for promoters.

For Wireless, Crowd Connected used a combination of code embedded into the official iOS and Android Wireless mobile apps. The team then provided promoter Live Nation with a web-based console displaying a real-time crowd density heat-map overlaid on the Finsbury Park site map, and real-time occupancy and dwell time information for everything from stages

UK - Star Events Group supplied structures for the BBC to produce its World War One Centenary commemorations coverage from the St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Belgium.

Working for HPower on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Star provided a double-deck press centre, a screen support structure, a choir stage, and a host studio to the event.

Tez Sheals-Barrett, Star Events' project manager, comments: "The St Symphorien Cemetery is very small and the main brief from production manager Harry Guthrie was to make the structures as unobtrusive as possible.

"The cemetery exudes an air of grace which affected not just the event but the whole build and removal as well. The solemnness of the occasion meant we had to use all our skills to build functional structures, get them to look right and ensure that the cemetery infrastructure, and every blade

USA - UK motion control specialist Kinesys is opening a new operation - Kinesys USA Inc, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and headed up by industry veteran David Martin.

Kinesys products have surged in popularity in the US over the last two years, and the move is part of the company's planned medium-term expansion strategy to optimise sales, technical support and after-sales service for all Kinesys owners and users, both existing and potential, the company says. "It also sends a strong message that the brand is very serious about consolidating the level of support for its US clients and enhancing its presence in the Americas," they say. Kinesys USA will also serve as a commercial hub for business in Canada, Central and South America.

David Martin will co-ordinate the technical sales and support in all these regions and work in close collaboration with the relevant d

UK - VDC Trading Limited, the London based company distributing the Van Damme cable brand, has again broadened the scope of its online ordering system. It now facilitates the ordering of data single leads and assemblies online. Already a great success for both the audio and video cable buyers, the online 'YouSpec' system now allows web visitors to design, specify, price-up and order completely bespoke data cable solutions - 24 hours a day, every day.

Cables available include 22 different Van Damme and standard network cables. These include Van Damme Tourcat F/UTP, U/UTP and SF/UTP tactical Cat 5E cables, Cat 5E solid conductor cables, screened and unscreened, Cat 5E U/UTP stranded patch cables in 6 colours and Cat 6 and Cat 6A standard network cables.

A whole range of connectors can also be specified including screened and unscreened RJ45 connectors, Neutrik Ethercon connector

UK - Two important sessions have been announced for this year's PLASA Rigging Conference, adding further weight to the event's standing within the rigging community. The new one-day format will host a discussion from Michael Anderson about the revised CDM Regulations and an update on the International Code of Practice for Entertainment Rigging (ICoPER) led by Lori Rubinstein.

The PLASA Rigging Conference 2014 takes place on Monday 6 October 2014 at ExCeL London. For the first time, the whole event will be packed into a one-day schedule, meaning delegates can attend the full conference at a reduced cost.

PLASA's director of international programmes, Lori Rubinstein, will moderate the first session of the day, which will look at how the ICoPER has developed over the last 12-months. Prior to last year's conference, PLASA commissioned a review of the various codes of practice from

Spain - From 6-9 August people enjoyed an open-air summer cinema in 'Seagram's Gin Swim-In' with a giant floating screen in the marina at Alicante. The screen, assembled from Fenix truss by the renowned company Sonido e Iluminación Limón, measured 9.5m wide by 5.4m high and was collapsible, thanks to two winches which were incorporated into the structure. The screen rested on a 300sq.m floating platform over the Mediterranean Sea where 150 people enjoyed viewings of classics including Breakfast at Tiffany's, Vertigo, The Philadelphia Story and The Apartment. After the films, audiences enjoyed catering and gin and tonics - Seagram's Gin and Markham tonic - accompanied by live music.

Sonido e Iluminación Limón and Fenix have a long career working together on different projects for various events. Based in La Nucia (Alicante), Sonido e Iluminación Limón speciali

UK - ACC Liverpool has welcomed five new starters to its production and technical department, taking the team to 19.

Rich Neale has joined as production manager for entertainment and sport. He joins from Saville Audio Visual where he was conference and live events manager for six years.

Tom Kaye has been recruited as senior rigging technician while Greg Chapman, Anthony Cowley and Mark Anderson join as production technicians. Their roles include preparing, installing, operating and dismantling of production equipment, from small conference breakouts to large scale arena set-ups, to ensure the smooth and effective delivery of events.

The department has provided a series of in-house productions for conferences this year such as NHS Confederation, the British Association of Urological Surgeons and Accelerate 2014. The National Cancer Research Institute in November is among fort

UK - Star Events Group and new parent company Altrad Beaver 84 have confirmed their official supplier status to AEG Live for the forthcoming Jaguar Land Rover Invictus Games closing concert at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Star Events and Beaver 84 will provide all the staging, seating, production and broadcast structures for the concert, as well as most of the fencing, barriers and ground protection. The structures will also be used for the opening ceremony.

Project director for AEG Live, Jim King, said, "It made a lot of sense to work with Star Events on these prestigious events, due to the close working relationship between our team and theirs, and also because of Star's extensive experience of working in the Olympic Park both during and after the London 2012 Games."

(Jim Evans)

USA - In order to keep the ETCP examinations fresh and current, the subject matter experts have written new questions for the Entertainment Electrician examination. ETCP is set to launch these questions 15 October 2014.

To gather the statistical data necessary to properly score the exam, it is essential that as many entertainment electricians as possible are tested from 15 October through15 December. To further this initiative, the test administration fee of $675 for groups of 10 or more will be waived during this time. Candidate application fees will still apply and score reports will be delayed. Having your candidates test between these dates is an enormous help to the growth of the programme.

ETCP will send a proctor to you, but space must be provided by your organization. You can find a list of testing requirements by < href="http://etcp.plasa.org/onsiteexams_2014EE_P

UK - Eve supplied more than 7,500 Trakway panels to the two V Festivals last weekend, together with a pedestrian footbridge, barriers, anti-climb fence panels and other kit.

At Hylands Park, Chelmsford, Eve put 750 hybrid box panels together for the biggest pad it's built, under the Virgin Media Stage platform, and used a new clamp attachment to drop Trakway into place for the MTV Stage, slashing the installation time.

Festival manager, Simon Forshaw, comments, "Eve gets the job done with a remarkable amount of pace and it's very accommodating in terms of last minute changes to configurations. which is essential on a festival site."

Numbers were marginally down at Hylands Park, but headliner Justin Timberlake's set won acclaim at both sites, as did The Killers and a support cast including Ed Sheeran, Paulo Nutini, Lily Allen and Example.

(Jim Evans)

Canada - Show Distribution, a company specializing in the sale and rental of staging equipment and electric hoists, has appointed Bernard Thériault, formerly from Arcofab, as senior consultant for the company. Thériault will bring his vast experience in the fabrication and distribution of aluminium trusses to expand an already full line of staging equipment offered by Show Distribution, says the company.

A former lighting designer, Thériault established Arcofab in 1993, a company known for its quality and service in the manufacturing of trusses and aluminium structures, which closed down last year after 20 years in the business.

The arrival of Thériault reflects Show Distribution's will to introduce high quality trussing products adapted to the North American market. "Bernard is very passionate about his work and will steer Show Distribution to

UK - Lighting and rigging specialists Utopium creatively transformed Village Underground to host the Superstar DJ's with Annie Mac wrap party presented by Ford Ecosport.

As sponsors of the Channel 4 documentary presented by Annie Mac, Ford invited industry guests to the wrap party held in the heart of trendy Shoreditch. Contracted by the event organisers, Live Nation Experiential, Utopium's project manager Angus Chinn and his team supplied all lighting, rigging and production services to the event.

The cultural space housed in a renovated turn-of-the-century warehouse, Village Underground, is essentially a blank canvas. Utopium transformed the venue with a versatile lighting package that accommodated both the brand aspirations of Ford, and the significant production elements for live DJ sets from DJ's Pete Tong and Annie Mac.

Liaising with production manager Phil Beav

Canada - Vancouver-based Parasol Systems has developed intelligent, self-propelling, and wirelessly controlled vehicles that travel along pre-determined guide ways. Basically, the Parasol Systems technology moves already moving lights.

This innovation means that lighting designers will be able to bring you more dynamic, unique, and utterly mind-blowing visual effects at concerts, clubs, professional sport arenas, parties, and more because they will no longer be restricted to light sources that stem from one static point, says the company.

Hermann Fruhm, the inventor and co-founder of Parasol Systems says: "This technology will revolutionize the lighting industry. Parasol has literally added a new dimension to the lighting business that we now call the 'Z-axis'. The 'Z-axis' is a patented technology that allows lighting designers to move the lighting fixtures themselves.&q

Czech Republic - Milos Group has added Marc Hendriks to their experienced team of professionals. Marc is a well-respected expert who has enjoyed a long and successful history within the truss and support structure industry. His wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience is well-known by his peers and appreciated by countless customers across the globe. The introduction of Marc to the Milos Group team will strengthen all brands of the group and offer value added to theirworldwide customer base, says the company.

Marc will drive the tasks of ensuring efficient product development and effectively managing the product portfolio across all three brands . This includes ensuring that product lines from each brand effectively meet the needs of their customer base across all global markets. He will work closely with all Milos Group partners f or the development and execution of special

UK - A large sports and entertainment centre situated in Titanic Quarter and the Waterfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Odyssey Arena plays host to all manner of events, from major rock and pop tours to theatrical productions, conferences, sporting events and exhibitions.

Despite attracting top calibre artists and events, Brian Campbell, event services manager at the Odyssey Arena said, "The venue, which opened in 2001, is always looking at ways to evolve and to keep up with the demands of the events industry. We wanted to make ourselves more flexible, with smaller half hall formats and theatre formats, so we sought the help of the professionals and called in Unusual Rigging."

Working alongside drape company Acre Jean, the Unusual team, headed by Robin Elias, put together a spec for the installation of runner beams in the venue which could cope with the span be

UK - In light of demand from the industry, PLASA is developing a scheme for Trainee Riggers, for launch later this year.

The success of the PLASA National Rigging Certificate has increased the number of qualified riggers in the industry. Freelancers who wish to take the PLASA National Rigging Certificate at Level 2 have found it difficult to gain enough experience to get to the point where they are ready to be assessed because many venues won't allow them to work unless qualified.

The Trainee Rigger Scheme has been created as a result of demand from rigging companies, the Riggers Forum, venues, seminars and individual riggers who felt that extra help was needed to prepare new entrants to the industry to gain the levels of experience in order to register and achieve the National Rigging Certificate Level 2.

PLASA, are therefore developing a way in which those who wish to purs

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