UK - Manchester based lighting and rigging specialist dbn has designed, supplied and installed a highly effective production lighting rig for the Albert Hall in Manchester - a new 2000 capacity venue in a former Methodist meeting hall dating back to 1910 in the heart of the city.

The space - original features including double height windows with stained glass detail and a magnificent organ fully renovated with pipes left exposed - has been lovingly restored to its former splendour and opened as Manchester's live music and event space by independent owners Trof.

Trof have a penchant for discovering found spaces and turning them into buzzing entertainment hubs, and the Albert Hall is no exception as it gears up for full operation with promoters and private clients clamouring to book it for bands, comedy and cabaret shows, club nights, parties and corporate events.

dbn's Stephe

UK - James Thomas Engineering has announced the imminent departure of its sales manager, Andy Walters, after a career spanning 21 years with the company.

Walters, son of the company's co-founder John Walters, has chosen to take up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join specialist UK model makers, Amalgam.

Walters' passion for cars is legendary having collected model cars for his entire life and been instrumental in establishing James Thomas Engineering as a sponsor of Jack Goff, the industry's adopted racing driver and BTCC champion.

"Amalgam is a very well-respected, highly-specialised UK manufacturer of scale model cars for top end clients," says Walters. "Hard though it will be to leave JTE, I am very excited by the prospect of new horizons that this move gives."

"Andy is an irreplaceable member of the JTE team, both in terms of his character

UK - Brilliant Stages has won accolades at two of the industry's recent annual awards ceremonies. On Monday 10 February, they picked up the award for Favourite Set Construction Company (sponsored by J&C Joel) at the TPi Awards, held at Novotel London West. This year hosted by Huey Morgan, the TPi Awards recognised contributions across 27 categories. Over 1000 people attended from all corners of the live music business.

The evening incorporated a special tribute to Mark Fisher - a name synonymous with the evolution of live scenic event design over the past three decades. Tony Bowern, Brilliant Stages director, said: "Brilliant Stages and I have had the privilege of working with Mark and Stufish for more than 20 years, and we were pleased to host Cristina Garcia, Ray Winkler and a number of the Stufish team on one of our tables at the awards."

The following night at th

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will showcase a selection of the latest lighting, rigging and video solutions alongside their in-house Express custom cable, custom gel, & lamp services, and other popular consumables available for next day delivery - at BVE London 2014, Excel (hall/stand D20).

The stand will feature some of the many marques which AC-ET is the exclusive UK reseller for - including Chroma-Q, Mole-Richardson, Spotlight and James Thomas Engineering lighting solutions, Jands lighting and media control, Green Hippo media servers, LedGo LED video screens and floors, and Columbus McKinnon chain hoists. Other leading authorised brands showcased on the stand include Philips Selecon lighting, Manfrotto and Avenger stands and grip, Litec and Prolyte trussing, Petzl PPE equipment, and Crosby, Tractel and A.C. Rigging hardware accessories.

See in action new Chro

Germany - At this year's ProLight+Sound in Frankfurt Gerriets' stand will be designated entirely to the subject of Acoustics.

Acoustically effective textiles have been an issue for Gerriets for a while now. The company now has its own acoustics department which is entrusted with developing and applying acoustically effective materials and systems for use in stationary as well as in flexible installations.

Basically, Gerriets offers three different acoustic components: Sound absorbing textiles, sound reflecting textiles and sound permeable textiles. In addition sound insolating curtains can be manufactured by means of combining different textiles in a certain way. All of these materials can be installed stationary as well as on mobile systems such as roller banners, scissor lifts or track systems.

To present all these information and materials bundled Gerriets has printed a c

UK - Hoist UK has added Wayne Ridgeley to their technical team as design / project engineer. Wayne has been in the lifting industry all of his working life, having been previously employed by Aabacus Cranes, The Rossendale Group, Camlok and more recently with Stahl Cranes working predominantly within the explosion proof (ATEX) equipment sector of the industry.

Hoist UK director, Paul Jordan comments, "Having Wayne join our team is a major asset for the company, as it is always difficult to employ a high quality design engineer with a proven track record in the industry."

Paul Jordan adds, "Wayne has a vast knowledge of standard lifting equipment, but his knowledge within the specialised cranes and lifting equipment sector will be a real advantage to us as the company grows, and especially assisting with specialist projects that we are working on."

Wayne R

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

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

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

UK - The International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference 2014 formally opened bookings for the June event this week.

ITEAC 2014: The Future of Performance Spaces - The People, The Places, The Technologies, has recorded its highest pre-registered delegate interest in the Conference's history and has been inundated with ideas for papers & content from those interested in contributing from around the world.

The opening delegate rate has been held at 2010 prices for those registering early for ITEAC 2014. Further discounts are available to members of OISTAT (International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians), the ABTT (Association of British Theatre Technicians) membership and members of its Partner Organisations.

Developing themes for the fourth three-day quadrennial conference, being held at the University of London's Senate H

USA - Would you like to earn recognition for your expertise as an entertainment rigger or electrician and become one of the first people to get the call? Get your application in today to take the ETCP Paper and Pencil Examinations at USITT in Ft. Worth!

Having ETCP Certification demonstrates that you are in the top third of the industry professionals in North America; furthermore, to maintain your certification, you must accrue continuing education credits which shows your employer that you are current with industry developments and practices.

The ETCP Examinations will be given at USITT in Ft. Worth. All three ETCP examinations will be given in one session the morning of Saturday, 29 March, 2014. Candidates who wish to take more than one exam should contact ETCP. Members and employees of members of USITT receive a $100 discount on examination fees. Interested applicants must

USA - TMB and AC Power Distribution have celebrated the delivery of the 1,000th ProPower Rack Panel Distribution (RPD) system. The latest ProPower RPD rack was handed over at a special ceremony at TMB's global headquarters earlier this month.

"Our sale of the 1,000th RPD system comes as TMB's ProPower brand continues to enjoy increasing popularity with entertainment and live event professionals worldwide," says TMB sales manager, Stephanie Kilburg. "Continuously enhanced to maintain its quality advantage, ProPower RPD remains the most reliable, versatile (and good looking!) power distro out there. We look forward to continuing to grow our long-standing and successful partnership with AC Power."

"ProPower RPD offers the finest dollar-for-performance ratio available," adds James Davey of AC Power Distribution. "The fact that TMB has supplied th

UK - Stage Technologies has supplied a stage engineering system for the newly reopened Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, UK. The system is based on a specification designed by Charcoal Blue consultants and the Everyman Trust that focuses on flexibility and future expansion. This combined both automated and non-powered engineering applications spread throughout the fly tower, thrust grids, and at stage level with a completely re-configurable and removable staging and seating rostra.

Stage Technologies was hired by main contractor Gilbert Ash. The automation system utilises a Nomad Control Desk and a Wireless Solo to control a flying system comprising BigTow fly bar winches and sidebar winches; TipTow Point Hoists (TTPH) with swivelling gimbal pulleys; and variable speed positioning chain hoists (CH:i). Hardware was installed to enable the TTPH and CH:i to be moved between Thrust and

Germany - Four of Europe's leading specialist rigging companies have announced they are to join forces at ProLight+Sound 2014 on a stand (Hall 9 -F90) described as 'big, black and beautiful'.

The companies are Interal TC BV, Michel.Ingenieure GmbH, Scan-Rig AB and Frontline Rigging Consultancy / ZFX Europe.

Several news announcements and new products will be highlights of the stand.

Interal will launch its new printed catalogue and will show its 5 tonne Rigging Tower, along with a range of standard products and custom projects.

Scan-rig will showcase a new range of rigging products from 2mm Safetybonds to 2T softsteels.

Frank Michel from Michel Ingenieure will be on hand to explain the new upcoming standards Eurocode 9 EN1090 CE Class 2 & 3 that will affect truss and construction manufacturing. Described by SteelConstruction.info as "one of the most significant chan

UK - Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway returned to TV screens on Saturday 22 February with the promise of a daring and dangerous head to head challenge for the stars of the show. Entitled Men on a Ledge, the terrified twosome (one of whom has a real fear of heights), were escorted outside onto the ITV studio roof and prepared to take part in a race from the top of the 90m high ITV tower down to the ground.

The stunt was planned and executed by Unusual Rigging's technical director Robin Elias, who explained, "Men on a Ledge is the latest in a list of Ant and Dec challenges we've worked on. We were presented with a 'wish list' by the show's producer about five weeks ago, outlining his vision for the challenge. It was our job to find a solution and design the systems to enable it to happen."

From the beginning of the project, Robin knew there would be

Europe - In response to growing industry demand, PLASA Events Ltd has announced that two new PLASA Focus events will take place in Europe during 2014.

The first of these new events - and the first PLASA Focus to be staged in mainland Europe - will take place this summer, when PLASA Focus: Brussels open its doors in the heart of Belgium's capital city, on 1-2 July. PLASA Events reports that initial interest from exhibitors has been very positive, with over 30 companies already applying for space in Brussels, including brands such as ADJ, Chauvet, d&b audiotechnik, Robe and Shure.

Having introduced the successful PLASA Focus event model in Leeds, UK, in 2009 and subsequently in various cities across North America, PLASA has long been aware of the market's desire for more of this type of event in Europe. The BeNeLux region was one of the first to be considered for a regional mark

UK - Blackout used its draping expertise to transform Earls Court Two, making it match ready for the World Tennis Day Showdown, 3 March 2014.

Launched by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as part of its ongoing campaign to endorse the sport and increase participation, the second-ever World Tennis Day recreated history as iconic tennis pros including Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras and Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray, took to the court.

With sister events taking place simultaneously in New York and Hong Kong, this was the first time the event was held in the UK. The one day sporting spectacular also featured various interactive workshops and coaching sessions for guests to try out their tennis skills.

Working with long-term client Earls Court and event organisers Star Games, Blackout installed 2,500m2 of black wool serge drapes carefully shaped around the perimeter of th

Germany - With ProLight+Sound just a matter of days away, the Prolyte crew is waiting with eager anticipation for the show to begin. The sales teams are fully briefed and poised to demonstrate a range of new products. In adddition to those already announced, including the AETOS 250kg hoist and controllers, and the StageDex LinLine deck, the company will be re-launching the LiteStructures truss range, with a few new additions.

LiteStructures decorative and architectural truss has been relentlessly developed for over two decades to fulfil a broad range of requirements. The lightweight, light-duty LiteStructures systems are available in two ranges: Lite - which includes standard truss solutions, and Live - truss with circuit tracks incorporated, providing possibilities for integrated lighting solutions.

Two new products have been added to the LiteStructures Live truss range, the

Germany - UK based automation and motion control specialist Kinesys is exhibiting for the first time at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, reflecting a steady growth in its international business in the entertainment technology sector, and a massive interest in its reliable and innovative solutions.

Two major new products are launched at the show - Velocity 2 drives and the Mentor range of SIL3 safety controllers.

Kinesys will also be highlighting its EVO variable speed hoist system, its DigiHoist fixed speed digital chain hoist controller and its Libra range of accurate load measurement products.

The Velocity 2 line of powerful drives provides robust customised entertainment automation solutions for open-loop or closed-loop control of induction, linear and servo motors for winches, turntables, elevators and other stage machinery.

Engineered to deliver power and performance to h

Rich Pickings - Taylor Swift has returned to the top of Billboard's annual list of music money makers, a title she held in 2012 only to relinquish last year to Madonna. The 24-year-old earned $39.7m (£23.8m) in 2013 from a combination of music sales, royalties and touring, according to the trade publication. Country star Kenny Chesney rose three places to second place, while Justin Timberlake came third. Rock acts Bon Jovi and the Rolling Stones round out this year's top five.

Homecoming - Hit musical Book of Mormon is due to play Salt Lake City for the first time next year, near the location of the Mormon church's headquarters. It will run from July to August at The Capitol Theatre, less than half a mile from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' flagship temple. Written by South Park's Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the show pokes fun at two naive m

Germany - LumenRadio will debut "the smallest wireless DMX solution ever seen" at Frankfurt's Prolight+Sound this week.

Available exclusively from LumenRadio, the patent protected CRMXchip is the world's first wireless DMX ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) solution. By using the latest in chip technologies, LumenRadio has managed to reduce the size of a wireless DMX receiver to that of less than a fingernail.

With the 6x6mm CRMXchip, manufacturers can for the first time fully integrate a multi functional wireless DMX receiver into high volume products where cost and size are prioritized without compromising quality or performance. Built on the award-winning CRMX technology, the patent protected CRMXchip is fully compatible with all existing LumenRadio products.

"LumenRadio's CRMXchip is an industry first - a compact, developer friendly chip which

Germany - The short commands and on-the-fly lighting controls of ETC's Cobalt family are now packaged to take on tour. The new Cobalt 10 lighting desk features the same capacity and functions of the larger Cobalt 20 desk, but is compact enough to take on the road or fit into control rooms with limited space.

"Cobalt 10 is the sporty member of the Cobalt family," says ETC Cobalt product manager Sarah Clausen. "It has high resolution, 12 inch (30cm) multi touch displays that articulate, so programmers can easily pack it into a road case for a touring show or adjust the screens to better see the stage in a small theatre."

Cobalt 10 also has a smaller master playback area than Cobalt 20, with 10 motorised faders and 10 backlit, colour coded endless pots. It has 5,000 channels to control dimmers, LEDs, moving lights, media servers and more, on up to 32 universes

Russia - Within the newly constructed 42,500 capacity Fisht Olympic Stadium in the developing Russian city of Sochi, the XXII Olympic Winter Games drew to an end with the spectacular closing ceremony.

Just as he had done at the Opening extravaganza 16 days earlier, audio director Scott Willsallen (of Auditoria) designed the technological infrastructure, placing all the transmission on a 24-node Optocore dual redundant ring and working with two different creative teams to fulfil different objectives.

The formal operatic and cultural Opening Ceremony display, creatively designed by Konstantin Ernst and directed by Andrei Boltenko, made way for the more party atmosphere of the Closing Ceremony, directed by Italian Daniele Finzi Pasca. Featuring nearly 800 performers and representing hundreds of years of Russian history, it was an exacting task.

Italy had played a key role this

Germany - Major has introduced its new dedicated website to make finding all details of products and custom made solutions quick and accessible. For example, the product section has a concise overview of all major product segments (Dimmers, Luminaires, Rigging + Safety Ropes, Power Distribution, Cables + Connectors and Colours + Effects), or in the Navigation header, visitors can discover more about the company and its renowned service.

Major puts a main focus on clarity and accessibility. By clicking on the website's multiple links, visitors can drill deeper into a subject and get additional information.

Major is Lightpower's own brand. Major products are built in Germany and have earned themselves a great reputation on multiple international projects over the years. They offer bespoke solutions where no appropriate products are available. You can visit the new Major website

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