UK - As the Strictly Come Dancing Live! 2020 tour draws to a close, crew and artist catering specialist Eat to the Beat has received positive media feedback from the celebrities, professional dancers, judges and crew.
With 33 dates in major venues throughout the UK and Ireland from 16 January to 9 February there was plenty of scope for Eat to the Beat’s culinary team to get creative and cook up a feast. Whilst menus always featured tasty healthy options, including plant-based meals, to fuel the dancers ahead of each performance, there’s no doubt that the amazing array of tempting desserts on offer were also a definite hit.
Mary Shelley-Smith, global operations director for Eat to the Beat comments: “The Strictly Come Dancing Live! tour is always a highlight in Ea

UAE - Protec has upgraded its video capabilities globally with the purchase of Absen PL2.5mm indoor panels and PL3.9mm W outdoor panels for all branches in the UK, UAE and KSA.
This recent investment is in addition to the new ClayPaky Xtylos and Sharpy Plus the lighting departments have received. The Birmingham branch has already received its order of the ClayPaky Xtylos. Protec Dubai has debuted the Xtylos and was first globally to get on board with the new technology.
The Dubai audio team has been investing in more powerful solutions to meet increased networking and processing demands which led to them being first in the Middle East region to adopt the Outline Newton 16 + 8 processor. Protec has also invested in the Waves SoundGrid Extreme Server, more Shure Axient gear with Showlink capabilities and increased its stock of Rednet Dante A8R, D16 units, Luminex 16XTs,


USA - Design and BIM software provider, Vectorworks has named lighting designer Roland Greil and Vectorworks CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar as the keynote speakers for the fifth Vectorworks Design Summit. This year’s Summit will have two firsts: an entertainment design keynote speaker and a West Coast location.
From 22-24 April 2020 in San Diego, California at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, design professionals, educators and students in the architecture, landscape and entertainment industries will be able to participate in industry workshops, product training for all levels of expertise, inspiring keynotes, networking opportunities and a customer appreciation party.
Sarkar, with the support of Vectorworks staff will deliver the first keynote on 23 April. His talk Simplicity to Design the Complex will focus on Vectorworks’ strategies to see where the co

UK - FOH engineer, Chris Martin and monitor engineer, Gerry Colclough used DiGiCo SD12 consoles for Primal Scream’s 2019 UK and Ireland tour, citing the desk’s reliability and ease of use.
Formed in 1982 in Scotland, rock band Primal Scream released their third compilation album, Maximum Rock 'n' Roll: The Singles in 2019, containing 17 tracks spanning the period from 1986 to 2016. In support of the release, the band announced a major winter tour of the UK and Ireland in 2019, which saw FOH engineer, Chris Martin and monitor engineer, Gerry Colclough use DiGiCo SD12 consoles – owned by Stage Audio Services based in the West Midlands.
Martin has been working with the band since 2008, starting out as FOH system tech for a PA hire company before progressing to the position of FOH engineer for the group in 2015.
“The band are amazing people to be arou

Germany - In April 2019, singer / songwriter Lena Meyer-Landrut released her fifth, critically acclaimed studio album, Only Love, L. In June, the Only Love tour of 12 dates took the band through small to medium-sized halls in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Designer JoJo Tillmann developed a reduced set with a scalable lighting design for single-trailer transportation. Although there were four musicians, two backing vocalists and two dancers on stage, alongside the singer herself, the show was not conceived to be ‘over-staged’.
"I designed the set on a very stripped-down basis,” reports OPUS award winner JoJo Tillmann. "Apart from a small ramp leading up to a platform, there were no set building elements on the stage. As a result, versatility became all the more important."
For his lighting design, he mainly used fixtures from the GLP catalo
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UK – For Marillion’s orchestral UK tour dates in November, lighting designer Yenz Nyholm chose the the VL2600 Wash fixture from Vari-Lite.
The Marillion With Friends From The Orchestra tour saw the band joined by string quartet, In Praise Of Folly, plus Emma Halnan on flute and Sam Morris on French horn. Culminating in two nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the tour coincided with the British band’s 40th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of Steve Hogarth as its lead singer.
Nyholm’s challenge was to deliver the required level of spectacle for the celebratory shows. “My brief called firstly for ‘big’, and then for ‘bright’,” he said. To achieve this, he chose the new, LED-based VL2600 Wash luminaire, supplied by Siyan. “My main priority was output,” said Nyholm. “Plus, we needed to match the colors of the video content to the lig

Lebanon – A nightclub complex in the Lebanese ski resort of Zaarour has been equipped with BlacklineX loudspeakers from Martin Audio.
Founded in 2016, Frozen Cherry is a sunset bar in the highest point of the Zaarour mountains, offering a view of Lebanon above the clouds. The high-altitude party lounge immediately became a popular year-round destination, equally busy in both the summer and winter seasons. The unusual name of this scenic sunset bar comes from the cherry shape that you see when you look at the venue from the top of the Zaarour peaks.
Two years later, Dublin Room dance club was founded, also within the Zaarour club, specialising in house and techno. It hosts a mix of famous DJs and local heroes.
The brains behind this concept are Nasri and Maher Choueiry, owners of several F&B and design outlets, who come from a creative background in architec
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UK - Cirque du Soleil returned to London’s Royal Albert Hall (RAH) on 12 January for an eight-week run at the prestigious venue, bringing Luzia to Europe for the first time. Britannia Row Productions once again supplied the sound, continuing a relationship that has spanned almost two decades.
Through the design, chorography and acrobatic elements that give Cirque du Soleil shows their character, Luzia takes audiences on a journey through imaginary Mexico. The name is derived from the Spanish words for light (luz) and rain (lluvia), two important themes in the show’s narrative.
Britannia Row has supplied every Cirque du Soleil show at the RAH for the last 17-years. The company’s sales director Lez Dwight explained: “We were brought in mainly because the touring systems weren’t sufficient to cover the hall. Cirque came to us as we were local and

UK - The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards has announced the introduction of two new awards to the Concerts & Events category for the 2020 ceremony. The new awards are being added to the line-up to accommodate the ever-evolving high standards of production in live events.
The new Award for Festival Headliner, sponsored by Ayrton, will be open to submissions for any festival headline set that has been designed with additional packages without relying solely on the use of the pre-installed festival rig. To accommodate the entire festival season, eligible performances will have been performed between 1 January and 31 December 2019, and the closing date for submissions is 30 June 2020.
Long-standing Concert & Events chair Jess Allan says, "We have seen such incredible growth in festival design over the last few years, with more and more designers implementing th

Europe - EXE Technology has announced the release of its 2020 catalogue that features all of the latest standard EXE RISE D8+ hoists, EXE DRIVE Controllers and EXE DST (Dynamic Stack Tracks) ranges, as well as some new additions.
As live load monitoring is now a key requirement in rigging environments, the EXE Cell range has now been expanded to include both integrated load-cell chain hoist solutions AND separate shackle-based wireless technology components for easy deployment and monitoring. The catalogue is available through info@exetechnology.com.

USA - Every year, the award-winning veteran audio production crew behind the Grammy Awards telecast strives to further raise the bar on the audio quality of ‘Music’s Biggest Night’. This year, in a first for the show, the audio team implemented a Dante network powered by Focusrite RedNet D64R 64-channel MADI bridges, Focusrite RedNet D16R AES-to-Dante interfaces and RedNet MP8R eight-channel mic pres and A/D converters to deliver the vocal performance and production wireless microphones to the house sound and broadcast audio mixing consoles.
The show was broadcast live from the Staples Centrein downtown Los Angeles on the CBS network on 26 January 2. Performers included Best New Artist nominees Lizzo; Billie Eilish; and Lil Nas X, as well as Tyler, the Creator; H.E.R.; Gary Clark Jr. with the Roots; and Demi Lovato, among many others.
The new AoIP transport sch

South Africa - DWR Distribution will present its first official MA3 basic training course from 25 to 26 February in Johannesburg.
Presented by DWR’s Jannie de Jager, the two-day workshop will focus on familiarising the operator with the basic functions of the grandMA3 software and lighting consoles, as well as the operating philosophy. The content will include patching, presets, phasers and timecode. The course will also touch on networking aspects of the MA3 family.
Delegates are requested to bring a MA3 console or MA3onPC Software on a laptop with an additional screen and a valid ID.
The course will be held at DWR Distribution, C1 Kimbult Industrial Park, 9 Zeiss Road, Laserpark, Honeydew.
The cost is R1,200 and includes a light lunch and refreshments. Bookings will be confirmed once payment has been received.
Bookings on-line: http://dwrdistribu

Estonia - "Now our students will be able to have a taste of their future lives as creators, and practice on big stages,” declared Professor Ivari Ilja, rector of Tallinn’s Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre on the opening of the school’s new concert and performance centre in late 2019.
Students will have their talents nurtured at the school’s new 12m Euro concert and performance centre. Among the benefits it offers aspiring actors and musicians is a state-of-the-art stage lighting system that features 50 Chauvet Professional Ovation F-265WW high output Fresnel fixtures supplied and installed by RGB Baltic OÜ.
At the heart of the 6,000sq.m concert and performance facility is the 482-seat concert hall, which serves as a platform from which the institute's promising rising musical stars to demonstrate their talents. Here, 34 Ovation fixtures provide front and

USA - At the end of its regular season of Shakespeare in the Park, New York’s Public Theatre stages an open-air production at Central Park’s 1,800-seat open-air Delacorte Theatre. This past season, the story of Hercules was presented, a theatrical pageant brought to life by some 200 performers with a lighting design by Tony-award winning lighting designer Tyler Micoleau. The designer turned to Elation Professional’s multi-use Proteus Hybrid luminaire to provide visual impact in the outdoor environment.
Micoleau had worked on two Shakespeare shows in Central Park earlier in the summer, but it was a very different plot he knew he needed for Hercules. “The musical Hercules, in a theatre as large as the Delacorte in Central Park, required (pun intended) very muscular lighting approaches,” he comments. “The Elation Proteus Hybrid provided just th

USA - For Callas in Concert, opera singer Maria Callas was brought back to the stage via hologram, 40 years after her passing. A live orchestra accompanied digital remastered recordings of Callas for the production, which presented FOH and recording engineer Howard ‘Howie’ Lindeman with a unique challenge.
Since the show was focused around the visual of Callas on stage, and the hologram system used to project her image, Lindeman needed to find a low-profile microphone that would not be obtrusive on-stage, while still providing the highest audio quality for the live orchestral instruments.
Lindeman turned to the 4099 Instrument Microphone from DPA Microphones because of its sound, lightweight design and compact size of the instrument mic clips. In all, Lindeman and his team deployed a total of 27 4099 Instrument Microphones (with mic clips) for the 14 violin

Columbia - Teatro Colsubsidio Roberto Arias Perez is a 1,000-seater venue opened in 1981 in central Bogota that has established itself at the centre of quality live entertainment, culture and performing arts. It’s renowned for high production values and imaginative shows offering a lively mix of concerts, musicals and classical performances.
The theatre has recently purchased its first Robe moving lights - 10 Pointes and 10 x Spiiders. Added to the house lighting rig, these have already started making a difference to how shows can be lit and presented.
The theatre is owned by a large commercial enterprise and independently run, and the new Robes were part of a general lighting upgrade that is ongoing to improve the technology and the levels of production on offer.
The upgrade also includes several LED fixtures, and before these new fixtures, they had six older

USA - Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze has been a staple of San Francisco’s Pier 39 tourist area for over a decade. When the original lighting fixtures installed for the attraction’s opening began to fail, the venue’s resident ‘light artist’ chose ADJ units to replace them. This not only completely rejuvenated the look of the attraction, but also provided a wealth of creative potential for generating new looks and effects through colour mixing and DMX control.
Pier 39 is a popular shopping and entertainment centre built on a pier close to the famous Fisherman’s Wharf district in San Francisco. Located on the second floor of the complex, Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze opened in 2009. It is an immersive attraction featuring a labyrinth of small mirrored rooms.
Despite its popularity, the owners of the maze are committed to investing in new technology and ef

UK - Stage Electrics has been appointed a UK distributor for Prolyte Trussing and Staging which is now part of Area Four Industries.
Fons van Teijn, Prolytes CEO, signed the deal with Stage Electrics operations director Adam Blaxill at the company’s Bristol-based offices.
“Stage Electrics have been a good ambassador for Prolyte for the past 15 years, we plan to build on that heritage and develop a strong working relationship,” comments Fons.
Blaxill adds: “We were a natural partner for this new incarnation of Prolyte in the UK. We are able to hold large stocks of trussing and staging and distribute the Prolyte product range across the UK on a next day service. Our sales team are already familiar with the product range and we now increased our Prolyte product managers to three with the appointment of Rob Foster as Prolyte technical sales consultant.”<

UK - LVR Optical will host a laser safety training for operators, installers and manufacturers of laser products.
Taking place on 2 March at Hunton Park Hotel near Watford, the event will cover a range of topics relevant to the light show and entertainment industry, including hazards associated with the use of lasers; how to design safe shows and effects; and how to prepare risk assessments and working with the local authorities. The session will also include coverage of the British Standards Institute’s PD IEC/TR 60825-3 document relating to laser effect safety, and PLASA’s own laser display safety guidance.
The laser safety course will be hosted by James Stewart, an expert in the field with 25-year experience gained through working with entertainment venues and show providers. He will offer attendees valuable insights into necessary safety requirements and undert

The Netherlands - Shure has announced a firmware update (version 4.1) that provides additional functionality for multiple products in its Networked Systems portfolio. This update includes compatibility with Audinate’s Dante Domain Manager (DDM), compatibility enhancements with leading third-party software and hardware videoconferencing codecs, and AES67 networking compatibility for products utilizing the UltimoX chipset.
The expanded support for additional third-party video codecs includes Cisco, Zoom Rooms and Microsoft Teams, providing programming-free USB mute sync compatibility with the IntelliMix P300 and ANIUSB-MATRIX.
“This firmware update adds new features and capabilities that the market demands,” says Chad Wiggins, senior director networked systems at Shure.
With Dante Domain Manager compatibility included in firmware release 4.1, Shure products i

France - The style and panache that has made The Village Outlet so popular throughout the Isère department was on full display at a recent celebratory event at the outdoor retail centre in Villefontaine, 40 minutes outside Lyon. Adding colour and glamour to the occasion was a lively L&DB lighting design that featured Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Wash fixtures and Geyser P7 atmospherics.
“Our goal was to blanket the area in colour to support the spirit of the event,” says Romain Plantier, CEO of L&DB. “The Maverick MK2 Wash excelled in this regard. We also relied on its zoom feature to tighten the beam and create dramatic effects against the fog from the two Geyser P7 units we had on site. The powerful jet and the colorization of the smoke that we got from the Geysers provided a striking effect.”
L&DB used six Maverick MK2 Wash fixtures at The

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