As one venue opens, another closes...Just a week after the news broke that the Marquee Club had closed, another long-standing London venue, The Astoria in Charing Cross Road, looks certain to close. London's mayor, Ken Livingston told The Times that it would be demolished to make way for the Cross Rail project which has finally been given the green light. An Internet-based petition to save The Astoria has attracted some big name signatures, but it's probably too late.
Looking on the bright side, though, the Cross Rail project should offer great opportunities for the installation sectors of our industry to get a slice of the action.
The organisers of PALME, which takes place in Dubai next month, report that the Middle East continues to enjoy major growth in the leisure and hospitality markets. Nearly 200 individual projects worth a total of more than US$90 billion in hotels, resorts, spas, sports facilities, malls, marinas, theme parks and related leisure and tourism facilities are currently under construction in the region. Good news for all involved in lighting, sound and associated technologies.
The move to digital in live sound production was much in evidence at ProLight&Sound in Frankfurt, DiGiCo gave visitors a closer look inside the new SD7 console - the cutting-edge mixing platform which was first introduced as a "concept" at the PLASA Show in London in September - confirming that it is now very much a reality.
(Jim Evans)
