UK - Powerful Thinking, the outdoor events sustainable energy working group, has restructured to provide specialist sustainable energy advice to live events, appointing a new chair and project lead Tim Benson, heading up a new-look board, within the Vision: 2025 sustainable events knowledge hub, July 2020. Powerful Thinking is a not-for-profit working group, whose mission is to provide the outdoor events industry with inspiration, resources and technical support to enable a transition from carbon intensive temporary power provision to lower impact solutions. Tim Benson states: “I am delighted to be working with this diverse team of industry experts. We are going to focus on driving significant reductions in carbon emissions at events, producing a comprehensive library of resources to support the differing needs of all levels of organisers and suppliers.” The
Europe - Merging Technologies has supported the AES Student Recording Competition for many years, both at the European and US Conventions, by donating a prize of a Pyramix Native licence to the top student in the appropriate category. The situation was rather different this year with the Vienna Convention being virtual; no Merging employee could present the prize. Nevertheless, the competition went ahead as normal and produced an excellent result for a student from the Detmold Hochschule für Musik. Kseniya Kawko was awarded the Gold Award in the Traditional Acoustic Category for the recording of the piece by Michio Miyagi Haru no Umi and Silver Award in the Immersive Category for the recording of the Mendelssohn String Quartet No.2 in A Minor. Kseniya recorded and mixed both projects on Pyramix since Detmold and McGill University, where Kseniya did her previous
UK - Leading trade bodies and businesses are joining forces to issue a Red Alert and highlight the severe challenges faced by the live events industry and its entire supply chain due to the pandemic. Planned for 11 August, the action will include social media and video drives as well as legal outdoor events, with other specific activities occurring on the day. The initiative is part of the #WeMakeEvents campaign that aims to raise awareness of the sector’s struggles and to secure further support from the government. “The live events industry supply chain that contributes to every single event in the UK is set to completely collapse,” comments Peter Heath, MD of PLASA. “Social distancing prohibits mass events, and even if this stopped now, long-term plan
Spain - Now in its eighth year, BIME Pro takes place on 26-28 October. Say the organisers, “BIME Pro will once again bring together the biggest names in the music industry to discuss the future of the sector and debate the issues it faces in light of over 800,000 concert cancellations globally in 2020.” Under the hashtag #masceraquenunca (closer than ever) the event urges the industry to move forward together through these unprecedented and challenging times. BIME Pro will be held this year in a new setting – downtown Bilbao – supported by “a digital ecosystem that will amplify the reach of this unmissable date for music professionals on a global level”. “At BIME Pro we believe in the need to feel that we’re closer than ever - closer to all the businesses, professionals, students, institutions, sector entities, brands, to all of us who make up
UK - The Sustainability in Production Alliance (SiPA) is joining forces with the Association of British Technicians (ABTT) and The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), to stage a free webinar on 29 July (Wednesday), where a panel of experts will discuss how the industry can use the current hiatus to create a more sustainable approach to its work. SiPA’s Carol Scott, principal advocate for sustainability at TAIT and SiPA, will be joined by a host of respected live production industry and environment leaders to discuss how we shape the future of touring and performance to reflect the climate emergency the world is facing. Alongside Carol Scott will be Jon Bausor - multi-award-winning international stage designer and creative director; Spike Brant - CEO of Nimblist and a designer and advocator of sustainability; Ian Garrett - USITT member and design
UK - The entire events supply chain is at risk of collapse without further government support, PLASA has warned. “Research has already shown that the majority of companies are running out of reserves fast with no prospect of work on the horizon,” the Association says in a statement. “It is only a matter of time before companies begin to fail and skilled individuals are lost to other sectors.” It has been a devastating year for companies and freelancers across the industry, with the latest PLASA survey revealing that 70% of respondents lost all their revenue in the past four months. Meanwhile, the survey also found that 60% of the respondents don’t believe the government’s £1.57bn arts rescue package would have an impact on their business. “This financial challenge was exacerbated for companies who were denied business grants, despite the chancello
South Africa - #LightSAred will kick off with a live interactive broadcast, Live, via the SACIA YouTube and SACIA social media platforms today, Monday, 20 July at 15:30. The broadcast will officially launch the #LightSAred campaign and will be presented by Sharif Baker, Duncan Riley and Projeni Pather. “For too long we have been the forgotten industry, but the fire has begun. Join friends and colleagues in the live entertainment industry as we stand in solidarity to make our voice heard,” say the organisers
UK - Owing to the ongoing situation regarding COVID-19, the decision has been taken to postpone 2020’s BPM DJ show. A statement from the organisers says, “Since the start of the Coronavirus outbreak the BPM team continued to monitor guidance and advice from the government whilst remaining optimistic that we would be able to safely deliver the BPM show this year, however unfortunately due to the restrictions that would need to be implemented, we felt that in the interest of safety to both our staff and the customers, it is best to postpone until such a time as its 100% safe and we can deliver a great show without limitations!” The new dates have been secured and BPM will now take place on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 March 2021 at the same venue - Cranmore Park, Solihull. Further details will be issued in due course. If you have already purchased advanced ticke
UK - Similar to other musicians who had found themselves restrained by the coronavirus lockdown, five-piece UK band Mamas Gun, widely known for their album Golden Days, was struggling to find a way for all band members to play together remotely without latency or other issues. A solution was found in the form of Tin Pan Studio, which allows remotely based musicians to jam, rehearse, create, record and perform music together over the internet in realtime. Thanks to this innovative technology, Mamas Gun was able to deliver a successful live stream concert as part of the global #DontStopTheMusic music initiative by Sennheiser. When the pandemic hit, Doug Hunt, live sound engineer and MD of Doug Hunt Sound & Light, had all his work cancelled, so he started looking for ways to help bands perform together remotely over the internet. “Like everyone else, I came up sho
USA - The Audio Engineering Society (AES) has released preliminary details on the upcoming International Conference on Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality (AVAR), set to take place in its own online virtual venue on 17-19 August. The event will serve as a hub of innovation for the latest research in the fields of spatial audio and technology for virtual, augmented and mixed reality, with a focus on technical solutions and recommended practices in the field. “The necessity to take AVAR 2020 fully online is ideally suited to the Conference content,” says Matt Klassen, chair. “Our attendees can plug in entirely, create an avatar and participate and interact inside a virtual environment. One of the primary advantages of holding the conference in VR is the very compelling nature of the 3D audio for small group conversations - a big step up from flat screen teleco
UK - Technical event production specialists Sparq, part of the Saville Group has invested in Hirehop rental software. The company recently adopted Hirehop as the rental software of choice to facilitate the comprehensive management of equipment and critical production assets. Operating on a global scale, the Sparq team identified flexible and powerful software to manage their inventory, productions and day to day operations were required. After researching numerous systems, Sparq concluded that HireHop was best suited to their needs, due to its extensive and flexible range of features, intuitive ease of use and scalability, built around 24/7/365 cloud access. HireHop’s director Keith Jacobs said, “It is an honour to have to have such a well-known, established and respected company join the ever-growing list of HireHop users.” Rob Morrison, Client Dire
UK - As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major impact on the events industry, organiser of The Showman’s Show, Lance Show & Publications Limited, has announced that the 35th edition of the event will not go ahead as planned this October. The Showman’s Show will return to Newbury Showground in 2021 on 20-21 October. Jeremy and Johnny Lance, co-directors of Lance Show & Publications Limited have issued the following statement: “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our wonderful industry we have taken the extremely difficult decision not to go ahead with The Showman’s Show 2020 this October. “Since the start of the Coronavirus outbreak we have closely monitored guidance and advice from the government and PHE and remained optimistic that we would be able to safely deliver the 35th edition of the show as planned. “The new guideli
UK - The Connecting Culture 2020 virtual conference and expo aims to bring together museum and heritage professionals from around the world, for two days of networking, insight, and learning, on 9-10 of September. Free to attend, at this event visitors will have the opportunity to hear from industry leaders from the world of museums, heritage, and culture, learn about relevant technological developments and partake in discussions regarding future operating procedures post COVID-19. The Expo at Connecting Culture boasts over 20 exhibitors. Networking with exhibitors is made simple, through 1-2-1 video calls, live text chat and exchanging virtual business cards. With on stand demonstrations and downloadable stand content, visitors can experience the latest products and services for themselves, from their laptop, tablet, or smart phone. For more information regardi
UK - Outdoor venues, including open-air theatre, opera and music venues, can reopen from 11 July and host socially-distanced performances, the culture secretary Oliver Dowden has announced this afternoon (9 July). This will mean venues will be able to host performances for the first time in 115 days since they were forced to shut on 18 March. "This is an important milestone for our performing arts, which have been waiting patiently since March," Dowden said. "We are taking various measures to make these places safe as they reopen. Venue capacity will be reduced and organisations will be encouraged to move to electronic ticketing to help Test and Trace. But our performing arts deserve an audience and they will be getting one." He added that the government is working to usher audiences indoors as soon as possible and is funding scientific studies to find ways to mit
UK - Last night (6 July), some of the UK’s most iconic venues and landmarks were lit up in ‘emergency red’ as part of the #LightItInRed campaign to draw attention to the critical condition of the live events and entertainment industry. A glimpse of hope was given to Britain’s arts industry on Sunday evening (5 July), as £1.57bn was pledged by the government – yet the supply chain behind the production of live events and festivals, including many freelancers, is still awaiting clarification as to what support they will be offered. Unlike other industries, live theatre, outdoor events, concerts, festivals and performances have been unable to safely resume due to social distancing guidance and other restrictions. Many predict these events may not resume until 2021. The #LightItInRed campaign aims to draw attention to the
UK - PLASA has responded to the UK government’s pledge of £1.57bn funding for the arts with the following statement from its MD, Peter Heath: “While PLASA is pleased to see the government deliver a generous rescue package to arts institutions across the UK, they have only addressed the tip of the iceberg. We hope that the government will announce further support for all the manufacturers, suppliers and freelancers who help make the UK a global leader in events. “Theatres and venues are absolutely essential to the cultural fabric of the UK, however, they only represent the public face of a vast industry. Each arena concert, musical show, arts installation, or corporate event relies on a complex supply chain, often involving hundreds of professionals. To put on a single arena show requires an average of
UK - After weeks of relentless campaigning, the British arts sector has been promised a coronavirus bailout worth £1.57bn.
The funding was announced late on Sunday evening, with the UK government stating it represents “the biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture”.
The package includes: - £1.15bn support pot for cultural organisations in England, comprising £880m grants and £270m loans; - £100m of targeted support for the national cultural institutions in England and the English Heritage Trust; - £120m capital investment to restart construction on cultural infrastructure and for heritage construction projects in England; - extra £188m for the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland (£33m), Scotland (£97m) and Wales (£59m).
The news follows the government’s announcement of a roadmap to reopeni
UK - PLASA has announced the postponement of the 2020 PLASA Show due to the COVID-19 crisis. The popular trade event was set to take place on 6-8 September at London Olympia. The Association says in a statement: “It is with great regret that we announce that PLASA Show will not take place at Olympia London from 6-8 September this year due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and uncertainty regarding social distancing and lockdown policies. However, PLASA Show will return to Olympia London in 2021 from 5-7 September and we look forward to seeing you there. “We hope that by the time PLASA Show 2021 comes around the industry will be restored back to full health and we can celebrate with a fantastic ‘come-back’ show, face to face. In the meantime, keep safe and in keep in touch. ” Sophie Atkinson, head of events at PLASA, comments: “It is of cou
Germany - The end of June saw Brompton Technology take part in one of Europe’s first face-to-face industry events since lockdown, the AV Innovation Days (AVID), organised and hosted by LANG AG at its LANG Academy in Lindlar. Designed as an accompanying event for InfoComm Connected, LANG hosted the three-day fair with both new and familiar AV technologies on display, whilst adhering to strict hygiene and safety rules. Leading LED panel manufacturers showcased their innovative solutions, with Brompton partnering with INFiLED to demonstrate how its panels have benefitted from Brompton’s HDR solution. “The event offered a perfect platform to discuss some of the key developments in the AV industry, such as the increased use of curved, or faceted, applications which are based on a variety of corresponding products. Also, the emerging trend of virtual LED studios inste
South Africa - Play It Forward a new live show by South African rockers Oooth, was part of a dynamic live stream designed as a fundraiser for tattoo artists across the country and freelance technicians via #FeedOurCrew who have been left without any income during the COVID-19 lockdown. The broadcast - on YouTube and Facebook Live - also included interviews, features and panel discussions, and was staged at SA rental company MGG’s Studio B facility, one of two such facilities at their HQ in Johannesburg, complete with a full Robe lighting rig. Reaching around 6,000 fans, whilst Play it Forward was airing, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the following day tattoo artists and studios would be able to re-start their businesses. On hearing this news, they in turn made a collective decision to donate the proceeds to #FeedOurCrew, an NGO
UK - This Saturday night, music fans will be able to dance the night away to over three hours of electronic music streamed online, all whilst helping industry charity Music Support raise vital funding. Taking place from 9pm on 4 July, Warehouse Manifesto will be held at Production Park’s London rehearsal studio The Mill. The Mill, in association with lighting, audio and video specialists Subfrantic, has created a COVID-secure avenue for artists to generate online content during the crisis. Meanwhile, LiveFrom Events will bring the music to the masses via its HD streaming platform. Tyrone Brunton, the gig’s project manager, comments: “The idea for Warehouse Manifesto came about after numerous conversations with Bullet from Production Park, as we were trying to get the core crew we have worked with over the years back together, with another project i
UK - PLASA’s new campaign #WeMakeEvents has garnered a 'huge response' from the industry. The campaign was launched last week in a bid to raise awareness of the negative impact the COVID-19 crisis on the live events industry. A cornerstone of the initiative, the #WeMakeEvents video has so far amassed 20,000 views and 3,000 shares. PLASA says that 1,000 industry professionals have signed their support for the campaign via its webpage, and key industry organisations and brands have also endorsed it. On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Glastonbury Festival - cancelled this year due to COVID-19 - PLASA MD Peter Heath was promoting #WeMakeEvent
UK - #LightItInRed is a UK based direct action lighting initiative that is scheduled to take place on the night of Monday 6 July 2020 to draw attention to the critical condition of the UK live event and entertainment industry and its need for special government support to see it through to re-starting. Currently, unlike other industries, there is no set date for live events, shows, festivals and performances to restart after the Covid-19 shut down. The #LightItInRed action was inspired by #NightofLight in Germany on 22 June, which saw over 9,000 buildings, monuments, structures, towers, landmarks, castles, offices, houses, spaces and places illuminated in ‘Emergency Red’ to raise awareness and grab the attention of the public and the government. #LightItInRed initiators, Steven Haynes from Clearsound Productions and Phillip Berryman from The Backstage Theatr
Germany - Stage|Set|Scenery is set to take place from 15 to 17 June 2021 on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. The event is co-organised by Deutsche Theatertechnische Gesellschaft (DTHG) and Messe Berlin. “As a result of the coronavirus pandemic the theatre and event industry faces huge challenges. As we prepare for the topics at next year’s Stage|Set|Scenery we are closely coordinating with industry players and experts from the various sectors“, says Wesko Rohde, managing chairman of the board of Deutsche Theatertechnische Gesellschaft (DTHG). “Our aim next year will be to build on Stage|Set|Scenery as a perfect interactive platform. It is particularly in times like these that we see how important a creative dialogue on specialist subjects is. The combination of technical creativity and artistic innovation has a stimulating effect and unites people to achieve a co
