Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

Business

Details
Belgium - The Start Up Club in Anderlues, Belgium is the latest in a long line of prestigious venues relying upon KV2 Audio to enhance the experience of its customers.

The venue, boasting a sleek and stylish aesthetic, required an audio upgrade to bring the sound system up to the same exceptional standard as the furnishings and its lighting.

The task of finding a solution fell to Kick Music's Marco Pesetti and he believed that KV2 Audio's ES System was the perfect solution.

Despite Start Up having a capacity not much under 1000 people the complete system specification for the dance floor comprised of just two ES 1.0 mid/high cabinets and four ES 2.6 double 15" subwoofers, with associated EPAK 2500R amplification / control units. Commonly (and incorrectly) held beliefs would suggest that this many cabinets could not offer the required coverage and output however reports

Details
South Africa - As South Africa mourned the loss of former President Nelson Mandela, Event Hire supplied a ground support, screen, sound and lighting for some of the many memorial service broadcasts held across the country.

Event Hire Network set up three stations in Mthatha as well stations at the Lusikisiki College of Education, Matatiele and Port St Johns. Rain over large parts of the country made these points less populated than anticipated, but a seed has to die to create life, and one can only believe that the showers would promise renewal and growth.

Right through December, Event Hire Network never lost their drive, and their Avolites Tiger Touch and Robin 300 LEDWash and Robin 600LEDWash fixtures worked as hard as the rest of the team, under the helm of Victor Pienaar.

Event Hire Network supplied the technical for Jimmy Dludlu, an African Jazz and Fusion musician, who

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

Details
South Africa - Following the major investment in Philips Showline's high-output SL NITRO 510s by two of South Africa's most established rental houses, Gearhouse and MGG Productions, the super bright SL NITRO 510 strobes have proved a popular choice for some of the country's biggest events.

The punchy and dynamic SL NITRO 510s, which offer an output of 68,000 lumens and six programmable zones, facilitates a multitude of looks. Gearhouse recently invested in 140x SL NITRO 510 units and immediately supplied them to the Johannesburg International Motor Show where they were used to light Tata trucks and buses on the Tata commercial vehicles stand.

"The SL NITRO 510 is an innovative unit in that offers all the functionality of a strobe, but can also be used as a static white wash," says Gearhouse's lighting operations manager, Stuart Andrews. "It also has programming

Details
Record Breakers - London's major commercial and subsidised theatres have reported their 10th consecutive year of record box office takings, with more people visiting theatre in the capital in 2013 than ever before. Figures published by the Society of London Theatre - whose membership includes the 52 principal commercial and not-for-profit theatres in central London - revealed that gross box office returns rose to more than £585m, up 11% on 2012; attendances also increased, by 4%, up to 14.6m

According to SOLT, the results were down to the popularity of the shows on offer, with theatres reporting an improved percentage of tickets sold across the year. Average theatre capacity achieved was 72.7% in 2013, up from 69.21%.

Closing Number - Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical, Stephen Ward, will close in the West End following a run of less than four months.

Details
China - Guangzhou's Hyper Club launched in the summer of 2013 and pitched itself as China's most high-end consumer entertainment venue, with the perfect blend of traditional values and modern culture, anchored in some stunning interior design.

The club has set itself apart from the competition, not least with its audio contribution. Comprised of a d&b loudspeaker system with a TiMax2 SoundHub providing real time audio show control for live shows and DJs, the audio design alone teeters this club on its leading edge.

Hyper, originally a western style house, is designed as a European Baroque palace and occupies around 3,500sq.m over four floors. The main club area is situated on the ground floor and moving up, the second houses the VIP bar; the third, the Lounge Bar; until the Outdoor bar is reached at the very top.

System Integrator, Dragon Studio, worked with Hong Kong distri

Details
South Africa - Ultra Worldwide, the massive premier electronic music festival, hit Cape Town and Johannesburg on 14 and 15 February. While the main technical was supplied by Gearhouse, Travis Yeatman controlled certain elements of the pyrotechnics for this event using his Avolites Tiger Touch.

Fireworks for Africa were commissioned to incorporate awesome pyro effects to create the wow factor. They asked Yeatman to be part of their team for the performances held at the Ostrich Farm in Cape Town and at the Naserec Showgrounds in Johannesburg.

"On the Pyrotechnics side we ran the Avolites Tiger Touch for the control system," explained Yeatman. 12 Channel Red Back Dimmers were used for controllable hot power channels to trigger the CO2 jets and Stadium Shot streamer canons and the 6m flame units come with integrated DMX. "The Avolites allows for a variety of functio

Details
UK - XL Video supplied LED screens for two high profile stands at the 2014 ICE Totally Gaming international business gaming exhibition, which attracted record visitor figures from the world of pro gaming for three days at London's ExCeL Centre.

The stands involved were Aristocrat and Microgaming, and the delivery of the LED screens, processing and control was handled by two XL project managers, Jacqueline Rice (Aristocrat) and Andy Mayneord (Microgaming).

Working for stand designers Expoteam, XL supplied a curved Pixled F-11 screen that formed a dynamic back wall to this stand for slot machine and gaming systems specialist Aristocrat's prominent stand.

The screen was 43 tiles wide by eight tiles high - approximately 19m wide by 3.6 high - and ensured that there was plenty of drama and visual excitement, which was great for attracting people onto the stand.

The back screen

Details
UK - The story behind the re-launch of UK live event health and safety provider Stagesafe is one that could happen to any of us, at any time. In 2012, after nearly 35 years in event production and health & safety management, Stagesafe founder Chris Hannam began his struggle against cancer. The award-winning pioneer whose contributions to live production include introducing the risk assessment concept, as well as numerous other major safety initiatives, Hannam had previously been plagued by a string of illnesses, and soldiered on through all of them. But his cancer diagnosis slammed on the brakes.

He says, "As I was losing my strength, both physically and mentally, my business began to suffer. Being unable to travel meant that work became increasingly difficult to the point where I had to stop. Losing clients affected my income so acutely that I've almost been living on thin

Details
UK / Czech Republic - Robe Lighting s.r.o., the Czech-based entertainment lighting manufacturer, has announced the acquisition of the complete range of LiteWare portable battery LED products from UK company Global Design Solutions (GDS).

With immediate effect, the sales, marketing, manufacture and support for this award-winning range will be transferred to Robe, and be available through both the company's subsidiary offices and extensive global distributor network.

Robe CEO Josef Valchar comments: "We had planned on entering the battery LED market for some time, so when the opportunity to acquire the market leading brand came along, the die was cast!"

"GDS has done a great job in establishing the product range and I know we can develop it further and add to the global sales through our network. It's also great to instigate this at a time that fits in with the

Details
Brazil - Spectrun Design e Iluminação are the design masterminds behind the Brazilian TV show on Rede Globo named Clip Vem Aí. With the challenge of providing a cyclorama screen as a background, the design team previously spent many hours and multiple lighting units to obtain the right atmosphere, but by introducing the SGM P-5 LED wash light their troubles were solved.

Lighting designer from Spectrun Design e Iluminação, Marcos Olivio, quickly saw the creative potential of the P-5s, delivered by SGM's local distributor LBO, and realised this was the right fixture for the job. "We now have a lot of light - even without spots on the show. The P-5 creates perfect light uniformity around the white screen," he states.

Olivio explains that for TV recording the P-5 worked amazingly with the ARRI Alexa cameras, which displayed the colour nuances and intensity to

Details
USA - Swedish heavy metal act Sabaton are currently preparing to head stateside in April to join two other bands - American metallers Iced Earth and the Dutch metal band Revamp - for the Worldwide Plagues tour which takes them to all four corners of the US and Canada.

Sabaton will be using the tour to support their latest DVD, Swedish Empire Live. Filmed in front of 600,000+ enthusiastic fans at their headlining festival appearance at Poland's Woodstock festival, Swedish Empire Live captures the band's high-energy live stage show celebrating the triumph of the human spirit.

Sabaton, who perform with a full complement of Sennheiser microphones and wireless systems, will be returning to European soil at the end of May where they will be headlining at some of Europe's biggest heavy metal festivals.

Formed in 1999, in Falun, Sweden, the band's massive popula

Details
The Netherlands - The historic Pieterskerk building in the Dutch city of Leiden recently installed 70 of the new, multi-purpose Chroma-Q Inspire LED fixtures to provide energy efficient, flexible lighting for the former Church's huge nave.

The Pieterskerk is a landmark of Leiden and can be seen from afar. Construction on the venue, which is a basilica in the late Gothic style, began around 1390 and continued at various intervals until the 1560s.

The deconsecrated building now serves as a major venue for TV recordings, corporate events, concerts or education, and since 2001 has undergone major restoration to convert it into a technologically advanced space.

The venue's directors wanted to upgrade the building's lighting facilities, enabling them to create a multitude of atmospheres reflecting its varying usages. To achieve this, they approached Netherlands-based Harry de Kort

Details
UAE - Two partnering agreements have helped leading event specialists, Spendlove increase their service offering for clients across the Middle East.

Spendlove's 'Smart Partner' programme sees the company enter agreements with European based businesses operating in the events industry that are looking to win work internationally. Spendlove's COO, Mike Smith has announced the company's latest 'Smart Partners' as temporary inflatable structure suppliers, Evolution Dome and temporary water and waste management specialists, MTD.

"The idea behind the Smart Partner programme is to not only encourage collaboration between the event industry's leading suppliers but also to create viable business opportunities for both partners," explains Mike. "Having been operating in the Middle East for 5 years, we have seen the growth of the live event production sector and are keen t

Details
Israel - Lighting designer Ronen Najar is utilising the easy to control beam of Clay Paky's Sharpy Wash 330s to complement the huge video wall used on Israel's interactive singing contest Rising Star.

Contestants on the show - which is a ratings winner in Israel - perform to a blank 16 x 3.5m projection screen, which forms a barrier between them and the studio audience and judges. During their performing, the singers can see live images of the at-home audience, who vote on each performance, in real-time, via a smartphone app.

"Because of the interactive element we wanted to ensure that the audiences at home felt included in the program's live visibility though a variety of lighting effects, all of which were achieved with the extremely versatile Sharpy Wash 330s," explains Najar.

"The stage is only 24 x 14m and with LED fixtures there was risk of spill

Details
UK - Singer/songwriter Frank Turner and his band The Sleeping Souls checked into production rehearsal arena complex LS-Live ahead of their Tape Deck Heart Tour to prepare for six UK shows.

It was Turner's first visit to the studios in Wakefield, where his crew test-built the production and he rehearsed his performance in the 17,664 sq ft space, during the three days prior to the first gig at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on 6 February.

The crew made use of the en-suite bedrooms so they had easy access on site and hired the production offices, catering area and additional facilities.

The LS-Live rehearsal arena has had a busy start to the year, welcoming the X Factor Live tour rehearsals once again, where last year's contestants had one of their first experiences of professional touring.

Sofa manufacturer Sofas & Stuff also took up residency in the rehearsal arena

Details
UK - Legendary country-rock guitarist Albert Lee is celebrating his 70th birthday with two high profile concerts at London's Cadogan Hall. The events on 1 and 2 March will see Albert and his US band perform with a number of acclaimed guest musicians all brought to life by KV2 Audio loudspeaker systems.

Concert producer David Mann undertook several visits to Cadogan Hall and decided against using the in-house system, feeling that KV2 Audio's True Point Source approach to system design would be a better solution for the event and deal with the halls reverberant nature. Discussions with representatives of KV2 Audio Europe Ltd. led to one of KV2's "Very High Definition" VHD Systems being specified.

The VHD System is built around the VHD 2.0 Mid/High unit featuring a revolutionary large format 3" compression driver, two 8" transcoil mid-range drivers and two 12&

Details
UK - DB Audio, have invested in a pair of Midas PRO6 digital consoles for front-of-house and monitor duties at the Electric Ballroom in Camden. Supplied by LMC Audio, the consoles were recently deployed for the first of Prince's 'secret' gigs, held at the historic live music venue.

Richard Waterhouse, who owns and runs DB Audio in partnership with his brother, Steve Waterhouse, comments, "Our primary concern in running the house system at the Electric Ballroom has always been to achieve the best quality of sound we can. This aim, coupled with using only top quality experienced engineers, means that for visiting artists, engineers and promoters we regularly exceed their expectations of the venue."

As touring engineers have brought their systems into the Electric Ballroom to link-up with the venue's Martin Audio Wavefront rig, DB Audio have gained valuable hands-on exp

Details
Russia - Entertaining audiences worldwide, the global Nitro Circus Live tour stopped in Russia and had the hearts of extreme sports fans racing both in Moscow and in Saint Petersburg. The stars of Nitro Circus Live put on an inspiring show for the Russian spectators, with bright effects from Martin MAC III AirFX, provided by the rental company Euroshow, adding something extra for the spectacular performances full of power, energy and adrenaline.

Professional action sports athlete Travis Pastrana founded Nitro Circus in 2009 in an attempt to unite the most fearless extreme athletes in the world. The original Nitro Circus show consisted of a variety of tricks on motocross bikes, roller skates, scooters and other vehicles like cars for dolls, toy tricycles, boogie boards for surfing, tandem scooters and many more. Some of the tricks have already achieved world record status, includ

Details
UK - Eclipse Presentations has added the busy Hilton London Wembley hotel to its list of high profile serviced venues in the UK capital.

The Kent based event specialist will have a sales manager based on site and will co-ordinate all technical and creative production elements for the various functions, conferences, events, shows and meetings taking place at the property, a brand new build landmark property completed and opened in 2012 right next door to London's Wembley Stadium.

Eclipse's brief includes the provision of lighting, sound, video, AV and rigging equipment, plus sets / staging and specialist crew. Eclipse also offers a whole range of additional related services like videoconferencing, video content creation, widescreen projection mapping and interactive events, all of which are available at Hilton London Wembley through a single point-of-contact.

Eclipse was chos

Details
UK - Blackout created a bespoke fabric backdrop for Beyonce as she performed a glittering rendition of her latest single XO for the Brit Awards 2014 at London's O2.

The drapes and rigging specialists, led by project director Kevin Monks, collaborated with Brits TV and Beyonce's production team to install an 8m wide by 12m fine gauze high speed roller screen which became the centre piece of the star's simple yet glamorous performance.

In collaboration with set company, Steel Monkey, the team installed three steel boxes upstage of the screen, clad with multiple layers of white voile to create a series of projection surfaces for XL video to display creative content. At the opening of the performance, Beyonce stood between the fine gauze and a giant close up of her face was projected live onto the screen, appearing to the audience as if suspended in mid-air.

As the star b

Details
UK - Chauvet Professional has announced it has become Corporate Supporter of the Theatres Trust. Chauvet Professional will also provide further support to the Trust as sponsor of the delegate lunch at this year's Theatre Trust Conference, scheduled for 28 April, at the City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds.

The Theatres Trust is the National Advisory Body for Theatres, protecting theatres for everyone. Operating nationally in England, Scotland and Wales, the Trust promotes the value of theatre buildings and champions their future.

General manager Michael Brooksbank commented, "As a manufacturer, we feel honoured to play a role. Theatre is the backbone of the entertainment technology industry and a natural symbiosis already exists. Having come to understand in greater detail and recognise the work of the Trust, allegiance and community support became a natural next step for C

Details
Brazil - Young Brazilian sertanejo rhythm singer Lucas Ferreira staged a huge show in Lençóis Paulista in the outskirts of São Paulo - his birthplace - to film his first ever DVD. The venue was in a disused warehouse in the industrial district of the city.

An eye-catching lighting scheme was created by LD Leonardo Oliveira using 50 x Robe Robin Pointes and 40 x Robe Robin LEDWash 600s.

Leonardo had full creative freedom for the shoot, and adapted his lighting ideas and style to suit a large industrial venue.

He was asked onboard as LD by musical producer Ivan Miyazato, and rental company Showdesign from São Paulo provided all the rental services, set up and support.

Three trusses above the stage were each rigged with eight Pointes and seven LEDWash 600s, and for backlight from the sides, five LEDWashes were rigged in two special left-and-right structures.

The other n

Details
Germany - Le Maitre has been asked to provide the pyrotechnics as well as flame effects for this year's PRG Festhalle exhibit at Prolight & Sound. Live shows will take place 18 times a day over the course of the four day exhibition with free entry for all visitors.

The Festhalle, the main hall at the Frankfurt show, occupies over 32,000sq.ft and will be the home for PRG over the course of the four-day show. Visitors will be able to watch a spectacular live event production where they can experience PRG's integration of complex systems using state of the art light, sound and video technology. Attendees can also go on "behind the scene" tours to learn more about the services and market sectors that PRG serves.

Le Maitre will be providing over 2000 pyro products in the form of 1x35ft Gerbs and 30' Gold Glitter Mines, as well as their CometFlames for the 60 shows. Elemen

Details
Russia - The closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics wrapped up the most expensive games yet with an exquisite cocktail of Russian music, ballet, art, design and literature - plus a witty and inspired sprinkling of self-deprecation. Much of the action took place amongst a dynamic forest of light, which was created and built by set and stage designer, Tait Technologies, and programmed by creative UK collective, Immersive.

Throughout, the Forest of Light provided the stage architecture that gave scale and perspective for much of the action that unfolded on the huge Fisht Stadium floor. It also provided the perfect TV-picture framing vehicle for the stunning aerial and stadium TV pictures, broadcast worldwide on 23rd February 2014.

The impressive Olympics Closing Ceremony design was by Danielle Finzi Pasca. The Forest of Light comprised a custom LED product, de

  1. ITEAC 2014 early bird registration opens
  2. HSL passes Grammar test
  3. Keeping time in Durham
  4. Delhi's Gymkhana Club opts for GLD-80
  5. Clay Paky on Turkvision Song Contest 2013
  6. PLASA Focus triumph in Music City
Page 1571 of 1804
Astera - Large MPU - June 2025
Sennheiser - MPU - June 2025

Latest Issue. . .