Events

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07 January 2025

Festival Finances - Glastonbury Festival has reported that profits more than doubled last year, as it faces criticism for being too "corporate". The festival brought in £5.9m in pre-tax profits for the year to March 2024 – up from £2.9m the year before. During the same period, the event also donated £5.2m to charitable organisations including Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid.

A spokesperson for the festival said "successful, dry Glastonburys in both 2023 and 2024" had helped to "rebuild the event's vital financial reserves". The spokesperson said it also allowed them to "continue to support good causes and charities". Like many festivals, Glastonbury saw record losses during the pandemic, with the event called off in 2020 and 2021, "costing the festival millions", said the spokesperson.

In The Courts - A cyber hacker has pleaded g

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17 December 2024

Europe - The Showlight Student Sponsorship deadline is approaching. Applications close on Friday 31 January 2025. The scheme is open to students and recent graduates of lighting for the performing arts, events, broadcast, film and architecture.

Successful applicants enjoy free-of-charge entry to Showlight 2025, with access to the full Programme of Papers, admission to the exhibition of major lighting equipment manufacturers, networking opportunities during the daily breaks and lunch, as well as a place at one of the Company Dinners on the Tuesday evening and the Conference Dinner on Wednesday evening. Around 30 places are available but spaces are filling up fast.

Former Showlight student participant and presenter of Sweeney Todd – A Site Specific Experience, Amy Mae Smith, comments: “Showlight is an inspiring few days where you

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17 December 2024

UK - Staged at the conclusion of its recent On Tour event at Production Park in Wakefield, this year’s Production Futures Breakthrough Talent Awards proved to be a major success. The awards recognise and mark the achievements of young talent within the production industries, with a mission to inspire the next generation.

Designed in cooperation with awards sponsors, the 2024 edition once again based its ‘prizes’ around ‘opportunity and access’ in contrast to the customary ‘glass trophy’ recognition. Winners received either mentoring sessions with judges and sponsors, all of whom are leading industry professionals, training sessions, or travel bursaries to visit next year’s ISE.

21 categories were covered by the awards, including six for outstanding achievement, reflecting the wide diversity of opportunity within the

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17 December 2024

Ticket Tax - Glasgow councillors have backed the introduction of a new £1 levy on tickets for ‘mega-gigs’ in the city – with the proceeds used to support small music venues. The levy would apply to the 14,300-capacity OVO Hydro which regularly hosts major artists, potentially raising hundreds of thousands of pounds each year. A motion was passed with cross-party support at a meeting of the full council, and the authority will now look in more detail at how to implement it.

The Scottish Greens, who led the motion, said upcoming performances and events by Kylie Minogue, Sam Fender, Olly Murs, comedian Peter Kay, Strictly Come Dancing and WWE could alone raise £160,000. Campaigners including the Music Venue Trust, external have called for smaller venues across the UK to receive a contribution from the p

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16 December 2024

Spain - Italian digital artist Quayola’s Creative Keynote presentation on 5 February at 15.30 will give ISE visitors insights into his projects, including the mesmerising Arborescent projection mapping experience on Casa Batlló, which takes place on 1 and 2 February as the next edition of ISE kicks off in Barcelona.

Celebrated for his pioneering fusion of technology and art, Quayola will also present his artwork Promenade on Tuesday, 4 February at 18.30, on the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via’s award-winning south access welcome screen, providing both the citizens of Barcelona and ISE visitors with another chance to witness his creative talents in action.

“In Arborescent, I aimed to identify, catalogue, and digitally reconstruct a variety of tree species. I am interested in studying their growth systems and understanding

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10 December 2024

UK - Sarner International has announced its appointment by East Staffordshire Borough Council to lead the initial visitor experience design stages for the ambitious Brewery Heritage & Social History Experience in Burton-upon-Trent.

This new immersive visitor attraction aims to celebrate Burton-upon-Trent’s pivotal role in brewing history and revitalise its standing as the home of IPA. Blending advanced technology, engaging storytelling, and interactive elements, the experience will reveal the art and science of brewing beer while highlighting Burton’s historical role as a global leader in beer production and the social fabric that shaped the town.

Through a sensory journey into Burton’s brewing heritage, visitors are introduced to the concept of Burton’s naturally mineral-rich water and immersed in the tale of the ‘waters of life’. Th

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06 December 2024

UK - Production Futures’ next On Tour event will take place at the Roundhouse, London, on Tuesday 4 March 2025.

The free-of-charge event will promote employability, transferable skills, diversity, free training and networking, and will present paid work opportunities to newcomers across the live event and broadcast production industry.

Visitors to the show will enjoy a packed schedule, which includes special guests, talks and panels, while industry workshops will offer young visitors the chance to engage in a wide range of activities, from preparing to be job-ready with industry-oriented CVs, to hands-on exploration of lighting programming, CAD, audio engineering, as well as getting under the skin of music production, virtual production and event production planning.

Hannah Eakins, CEO at Production Futures comments: “We’re abs

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04 December 2024

France - Showlight is extremely excited to announce the first of its speakers who will present Papers in May. The selection draws from a mixture of lighting disciplines covering site-specific installations, mixed lighting challenges, product innovation and circus spectaculars with speakers, new and familiar, travelling to Dijon to be part of this exceptional networking quadrennial.

Here’s the first of what the Showlight 2025 line-up has to offer:

The Magic of Cirque du Soleil - Mikki Kunttu will explain how he turns magic into reality as the lighting & set designer and programmer for a number of spectacular Cirque du Soleil shows.

The Power of Light: From Myth to Science to Control - Anne Militello will examine how lighting techniques used today to stir emotional reactions, date back centuries to when man first incorpor

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04 December 2024

UK - Stephen Daldry’s National Theatre production of An Inspector Calls is a gripping and vivid adaptation of JB Priestley’s classic thriller. Having won numerous awards, including the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design, and having played to over five million theatregoers, the show has now returned for a new UK tour, with the previous one in 2022 being a record-breaking sell-out.

Having lit the original production back in 1992, and all of its subsequent runs, Olivier and Tony Award-winning lighting designer Rick Fisher is once again part of the creative team and approached White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to supply his rig; with the company having worked on the show since its original West End debut in 1995.

The play tells the story of Inspector Goole who arrives unexpectedly at the prosperous Birling family home where th

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03 December 2024

France - Ayrton, which has recently undergone a major expansion of its headquarters in Villebon-Sur-Yvette, south of Paris, showcased its new showroom and immersive museum with a series of events in November.

Over a two-week period, four events saw over 450 international guests, distributors, partners and lighting designers gather to immerse themselves in designs, innovative lighting solutions, and a world of creativity to inspire their next projects.

The new 1,200m2 x 8.5m high wide-format demonstration room, complete with luxurious theatre seating, provided the ideal forum to discover all of Ayrton’s products, while the immersive museum showcases the luminaires that have made Ayrton’s history. Guests were treated to cocktail receptions and dinner in the breakout rooms at every event which gave ample opportunity to network, ask questions and mak

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03 December 2024

USA - Robe returns to Las Vegas for LDI 2024 where the moving light manufacturer will be launching two new products, the T.5 Profile – a smaller version of the T1 – and the LedPointe, the new LED member of the Pointe family.

Also highlighted are four more new products seen for the first time at a US trade show – the iForte Fresnel, the Painte Fresnel, the SVOPATT and the SVB1.

Robe’s new expo live show, The Fifth Dimension, features ‘three live performers, jaw-dropping action and plenty of imagination’.

Robe’s other businesses – architectural and LED lighting manufacturer Anolis; UK-based lighting console and media server manufacturer Avolites; Australian-based power distribution gurus LSC Control Systems; and lighting control and integration solutions specialist Artistic License – will all be located on adjacent st

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03 December 2024

USA - Hive, a specialist media control manufacturer, is making its debut at LDI 2024. The show will serve as the stage for Hive’s latest innovation, Nucleus, a compact, rack-mountable 1U media player designed ‘to redefine affordability and scalability in live events and fixed installations’. Hive will exhibit alongside its exclusive distributor, Show Sage, at booth 2123, where attendees can experience live product demonstrations and explore the Hive ecosystem.

The Nucleus media player combines powerful functionality with a sleek, portable design, featuring a 1U rack-mountable chassis with dual SDM sockets that support all of Hive’s Beeblade computing modules, including Minima, Osmia and Pluto.

Built with a machined aluminium chassis, the Nucleus is engineered to withstand the rigours of touring while maintaining the portability and reliabilit

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03 December 2024

USA - Mega-Lite will showcase its latest products at the LDI Show. Visit Mega Systems at booth #2283, next to the Circle Bar, for the launch of five new products from the Mega-Lite family and the latest innovations from Mega Systems Inc.

Guillermo Cabada, head of marketing at Mega-Lite, said: "We are excited to be part of this year’s LDI and can’t wait to see all our customers and friends. We look forward to creating new friendships as we release five new products this year.”

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03 December 2024

Artistic Freedom - Theatres, opera and dance companies from across the European Union have warned the European parliament that "brazen attacks on artistic freedom" are posing an existential threat to creativity across the continent. Almost 250 artists and 178 cultural institutions from every EU nation are represented in the open letter to the parliament, which is also backed by UK figures including Battersea Arts Centre’s head of programming Pelin Başaran, reports The Stage.

The European Theatre Convention, Opera Europa, the Prospero – Extended Theatre platform, German and Swedish theatre academies and the national theatres of countries including Slovakia, Albania, Greece and Croatia are among those raising the alarm about an "orchestrated cultural-political strategy aimed at the disappearance of a diverse European culture".

According t

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02 December 2024

UK - Billed as “the most diverse music meeting in the world”, WOMEX (Worldwide Music Expo) is an international music event, renowned for staging a vibrant annual gathering of music professionals and music enthusiasts. WOMEX features live music, films, a trade fair, panel discussions and presentations in a different European location every year, showcasing breakthrough artists and talent from around the globe.

2024 was the 30th anniversary of the WOMEX Festival event, and it was brought to Manchester, UK by host partner Manchester Music City, where locally based creative audio specialists Tube uk provided sound systems and engineering services for the four largest live performance stages.

Says Tube uk’s Melvyn Coote: “We were hugely excited to be asked onboard for this event in our home city and to work with some incredible line-ups and musici

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29 November 2024

UK - WSDG will participate in the 12th annual Stadium Business Design & Development Summit. A global forum for innovators shaping the future of sports and entertainment venues, this event will take place at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, from 2-4 December, 2024.

The summit will bring together a diverse audience, including international project delegations from stadiums, arenas, and entertainment destinations, alongside leading architects, engineers, consultants, and sector specialists. Over three days, attendees will explore the latest innovations in venue design, construction, and technology, while taking full advantage of networking and collaboration opportunities.

WSDG’s extensive portfolio encompasses celebrated projects across sports stadiums, performance venues, and entertainment destinations worldwide.

Representing W

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27 November 2024

UK - The spectacular new production of the musical Mary Poppins is currently embarking on a UK and Ireland tour. Presented by Cameron Mackintosh and Disney Theatrical Group, this record-breaking show recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and continues to dazzle audiences on a nightly basis. Starring Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers as Mary Poppins and Bert, it features a lighting design by Hugh Vanstone who approached White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to supply his touring lighting rig; with the company having also supplied the show’s first UK tour back in 2008.

As lighting designer, Vanstone finds himself returning to the show once again, having first lit a West End run five years ago. He comments: “When I first became involved in 2019 at the Prince Edward Theatre, it was in a ‘revival schedule’ so I had to tailor my ambitio

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27 November 2024

France - Arbane Groupe is exhibiting at the JTSE trade fair in Paris (27-28 November, Dock Pullman stand #094). The French audio manufacturer will unveil its new line array, specifically designed for large shows and events, alongside a new APG subwoofer and a design method technology.

APG, a brand of Arbane Groupe, will showcase the new Uniline Max line array system, a high-performance audio system dedicated to large-scale events and concerts. The system features the UM210 2x10” line array speaker and the UM121 1x21” subwoofer, both of which deliver exceptional audio clarity and power for audiences of up to 10,000 people. The Uniline Max is the result of over 40 years of constant innovation, collaboration and listening to the needs of the live events industry. The easy-to-use solution meets the highest level of requirements from rental companies, live pe

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27 November 2024

USA - Elation invites lighting professionals to Experience Tomorrow at Booth 2224 at LDI in Las Vegas, where visitors can ‘embark on a journey through lighting’s next frontier’. Elation is providing an immersive booth experience that will transport them to a retro-futuristic spaceport lounge of discovery – ‘a gateway to new worlds where visitors can explore Elation’s latest advancements in professional lighting’.

The spaceport-styled booth balances cutting-edge technology with mid-century aesthetics, evoking an era when excitement for the future was at its peak. Elation product experts will be on hand to help visitors explore Elation’s latest technologies via immersive product demonstrations while ‘an otherworldly light show will dazzle every hour’.

The latest innovations across the Proteus, Fuze, KL, Pulse, Limelight, S

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26 November 2024

USA - Following the success of the recent Be Seen, Be Heard event in London, the Be Seen, Be Heard community is now bringing the conversation to prominent USA trade show, LDI.  

Organised by frame:work, Production Futures, and Disguise, the positive London event was hosted at Bluman Associates, London. It brought together thought leaders, industry pioneers, and emerging talents from the world of entertainment technology and design. Collectively, they presented panel discussions and storytelling sessions. These ignited insightful and forward-looking conversations around the value of diversity in the industry and how that might be achieved sooner rather than later.  

Additionally, the Be Seen, Be Heard manifesto was conceived at the gathering – a progressive living document and a call to action that outlines steps for c

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26 November 2024

Germany - The 30th anniversary of Prolight + Sound is all about fresh impetus. From 8 to 11 April 2025, the expo will present a newly designed and expanded area for theatre and stage technology that combines four central aspects: exhibition, education, knowledge transfer and networking. Visitors can expect an inspiring platform for exchange between generations and industry experts, as well as a comprehensive range of innovative products and services.

An integral part of the concept is the ‘Theatre College’, which offers expert knowledge on relevant topics with high-quality, bilingual seminars and workshops – realised in collaboration with leading industry associations. The new Theatre Stage is the centrepiece, where presentations and the Theatre Talk invites exhibitors and the trade audience to exchange ideas. The Networking Area, with daily events and

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26 November 2024

USA - LED Studio is set to unveil its latest outdoor rental display innovation, the Vista Series, at DSE 2024 in Las Vegas next month. Visitors to Booth 3135 will be among the first to explore Vista’s advanced features, including ultra-high refresh rates, ‘exceptional’ contrast, and a modular design that enables fast and flexible installation.

The Vista Series offers a variety of pixel pitch options, ranging from P0.9 to P2.5, ensuring tailored options for a diverse array of outdoor applications and viewing distances. With a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 99.8% DCI-P3 colour gamut, and 4,000 nits brightness, the Vista Series ensures visuals are vibrant, true-to-life and impactful. Its high refresh rates of up to 7,680Hz deliver fluid and seamless visuals, ideal for dynamic content.

Built to last, the Vista Series boasts a 100,000-hour lifetime and IP

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26 November 2024

France - Unusual Rigging has announced its participation at this year’s JTSE show in Paris, taking place on 27-28 November 2024. Visitors to Stand 092 119 in Dock Pullman will have the opportunity to meet with the team and explore how Unusual can devise creative solutions for their rigging challenges on upcoming projects.

Unusual’s attendance at the show comes as the company continues to thrive, marked by its recent 40^th anniversary celebrations and the successful opening of its new branch in Paris earlier this year. The expansion, initially as a means of preparing for the Paris 2024 Games, is also a strategic move to address the increasing challenges of working in the region post-Brexit.

Mark Priestley, project manager at Unusual Rigging, comments: “The Paris branch was opened to overcome the operational obstacles of working in Euro

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26 November 2024

Elephant Trap - Members of the House of Lords have expressed “profound concern” about the UK’s arts sector following chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget, with one peer dubbing it an “elephant trap” for culture.

Kick-starting a debate about the impact of the Budget on arts, heritage and cultural organisations on 14 November, conservative peer Amanda Sater cited the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre’s warning that 40% of theatres and performing arts venues face closure over the next five years.

SOLT and UK Theatre’s appeal for an urgent pot of funding to stave off these closures was snubbed in a Budget that outlined plans to increase government spending by almost £70 billion a year over the next five years – almost half of which will be funded by tax increases.

Sater called on the government to consider the impact