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UK - Revamped conference sessions, networking opportunities that include a Thames riverboat cruise, and the launch of the Live Music Business Awards are all features of the fourth LIVE UK Summit, set for 6-7 October.

The awards event will cover around 20 categories, ranging from Best Venue Teamwork - Arena/Concert/Club, Promoter of the Year and Best Media Campaign, to Agent of the Year, Breaking the Mould (live show innovation) and Best Record Company Partner.

The winners will be selected through votes cast by groups of carefully selected professionals with direct experience in the respective categories, supplemented by open voting online.

Meanwhile, The Summit itself will feature conference sessions covering vital topics affecting the industry, keynote presentations, a celebr

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France - Following the unveiling of APG's new DX range of multipurpose loudspeakers at ProLight + Sound 2010 in Frankfurt, the company has announced that a number of French rental companies have already taken delivery of the new units with several more on back order for next month.

Those already in possession of their DX Series loudspeakers include Visuel in Normandy who have already used them for the Fete de la Musique on 21 June; Alpha Audio in La Rochelle; and SNO Technique just outside Paris. In addition to sales in the domestic market, there are also a number of orders in preparation for the export market, particularly to Germany and the UK where APG has developed strong distribution partnerships.

APG head of sales and marketing, Xavier Pion, comments, "We were pretty confident that we'd have a great reaction to the new range, but it's always reassuring when t

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Australia - For a number of years LSC has been listening to the requests, particularly from larger venues, for a way to allow the easy conversion of any dimmer channel into a simple switched power outlet. One solution is to offer 'hot swap' modules that allow 2,4,6 or 12 channels to be quickly interchanged from dimmer module to switch module and back again. However the cost, complexity and low flexibility of these systems often preclude them as a viable choice; so LSC went to their R&D department to find a better way.

The result is TruPower, an affordable technology where every individual channel of the dimming system contains both a dimmer and a bypass contactor circuit to allow any channel or combination of channels to be instantly changed from one mode to the other.

A TruPower channel can be switched to provide either standard dimming or direct power. This means that any ci

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Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

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India - In the first step to what will be a comprehensive expansion of its operations in India, Harman Professional has announced the appointment of audio industry veteran Ankush Agarwal to the role of marketing & communications manager. Agarwal's appointment is part of a greater overall initiative to bring increased focus to the Indian marketplace, and will be followed by more appointments to Harman Professional's sales, technical support and service teams in the months ahead, says the company.

Having previously served as marketing manager for Sennheiser India and with Hyundai Electronics before that, Agarwal brings a blend of marketing and professional audio sales experience to the team in India. He'll use that experience to drive Harman Professional's marketing and public relations strategies in the region and build upon the foundation laid by Sushil John, systems director, I

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Denmark - DNP Denmark has announced the appointment of Richard Goh as dnp rep for South East Asia.

Due to the growth rate and development in South East Asia, and hence the growing need for high-end and high-performance projection screens, DNP Denmark wishes to put focus on this region in order to develop the market for advanced projection solutions.

Richard Goh will represent Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia -assisting dnp in sales, education of the channel and service.

He brings a strong background from the pro-audio business and already has great experience in selling dnp optical projection screens through his former employment at IMS Mahajak. He will be based in Singapore.

(Jim Evans)

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Europe - Bandit Lites reports a busy European summer season, with systems supplied for the Sugababes for LD Matthew Jensen and PM Andrew Thornton as well as Thievery Corporation's European tour for LD Eric Cathcart. George Benson's UK tour with support from Marti Pellow once again relied on Bandit to supply a Martin Nicholas designed rig. Kenny Rogers has just completed a successful UK trek with Jeff Metter in the LD saddle.

Bandit's other upcoming and current work includes the Once in a Lifetime UK tour, Al Green & Michael McDonald's UK shows, the Schools' Supersing Liverpool choir event, Pure's fashion show, The Saturdays' UK dates, Seal's forthcoming European tour, Westlife's outdoor summer shows, plus festival dates with Faith No More as well as European tours with ZZ Top, Jackson Browne and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

(Jim Evans)

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South Africa - Robe lighting did its bit to represent the Czech Republic in the absence of the country's football team from the World Cup tournament - with Robe moving lights used extensively for the official Kick Off Concert, staged in Orlando Stadium, Soweto, Johannesburg.

The show featured a star studded line up, headlined by Shakira, The Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Vusi Mahlasela, Blk Jks, Juanez, Tinariwen, The Parlotones, Big Nuz & DJ Tira and many more. There were also addresses by South African President, Jacob Zuma and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

All the lighting equipment was supplied by Gearhouse South Africa, the lighting design was created by Patrick Woodroffe and the show was programmed by Tim Routledge. The final three-hour section was broadcast live via the South African Broadcasting Company (SABC) and syndicated wor

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USA - Theatrical Lighting Systems (TLS) brought 'new light'to a long established event at Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, MIss. The USA International Ballet Competition, (USA IBC) calls Jackson, home thanks to a 1982 Joint Resolution of United States Congress. Every four years, dancers from around the globe come to Jackson to compete and learn.

This year, locally operated TLSMississippi contracted with USA IBC to provide the additional lighting system requirements for the competition which began 12 June.

David Milly, owner of the Huntsville, Ala., based TLS, says, "We are glad USA IBC chose to use a local company for this world renown competition. It's a great thing for the state of Mississippi when large events such as this use local small businesses as a resource. It benefits all of us."

Andy Prince, project manager for rentals at TLS worked with USA IBC lighting de

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UK - Still a concert-hall favourite at 71, Kenny Rogers - wearing a crisp white shirt to match the patrician beard - has completed a UK tour, playing concerts in England, Scotland and Ireland with Nexo-centred audio production support from the SSE Audio Group.

In a career spanning six decades, he's given more shows than many younger artists have had hot dinners, and the same can be said of long-time front-of-house sound engineer Keith Bugos, who started mixing for Kenny Rogers when he was with the First Edition, 39 years ago.

"We've definitely seen some changes over the years," says this master of understatement, "not least with the equipment we are using. Back in the late 80s, when Kenny was blazing hot and selling out arenas in a couple of hours, we were long-term clients of Clair Bros and carrying all our own production. Today, with shorter tours, we carry co

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China - What started with a major opening ceremony has also proved to be a huge success for grandMA - the 2010 Shanghai Expo.

During the ceremony the full scope of MA Lighting's grandMA series was used - including grandMA2 consoles, MA NPUs (Network Processing Unit) and MA NSPs (Network Signal Processor). But that was far from the end of the story for MA Lighting - it was just the beginning. A plethora of pavilions, stages, central buildings and squares on the huge Expo site also trust in the latest control technology from the German company.

Sites using grandMA/grandMA2 systems include: Culture Centre, Expo Centre, Performance Hall, European Square, Asian Square, Pacific Square, City Square, African Square, American Square, Greenland Square, Baosteel Stage, Boatyard Theatre, Chinese Pavilion, German Pavilion, Lithuanian Pavilion, Private Enterprises Joint Pavilion and the The

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Syria - Last month, Buildex, the leading building and construction industry trade fair in the Arab world, was held in Damascus, Syria.

Buildex takes place every year and showcases raw materials and machinery for civil and industrial building industry and also represents a strategic meeting point for professionals and leading companies from that region who work in this field.

Technical Light and Sound Group (TLSC Group), the Syrian distributor known as SADA on the local market, presented a selected range of Proel solutions suitable for permanent installations and other applications.

Among the Proel products, visitors saw Proel's Flash Speaker Enclosure Series, HPD Digital Amplifier Series, a wide range of accessories and loudspeakers from AVL Systems Division for PA applications.

"Once more, this edition of Buildex confirmed its strategic importance for the professiona

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South Africa - Johannesburg- based DWR Distribution has appointed three new staff members - two joining the technical support crew, and one new face for the office and admin team.

The company has expanded after an extremely strong start to 2010, plus additional activity generated by the 2010 World Cup, which has seen a flurry of business for the lighting sales company.

Judd Harrison comes onboard as technical support, where he joins DWR's Bruce Riley, Nick Britz and Eazy Moketsi. A key element of DWR's success is the after sales support and technical back-up. It also means that the warehouse will be fully staffed allowing Britz to take an increasingly active role in onsite technical training and product support, while Riley covers all the on-site and on-the-road tech support requirements.

Harrison has considerable experience in electronics engineering. He previously worked f

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Italy - ETC's Rome office has been busy recently, with a number of outings for the Selador series of LED fixtures. At the third Festival of Scenic Arts at the Casa dell'Architettura in Rome, Fulvio Cotogni, regional manager for southern Europe at ETC, joined Italian-based lighting designer AJ Weissbard on stage to discuss the latest developments with ETC's Selador series of LED fixtures.

In spite of difficulties faced as a result of the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano, which meant that invited speakers from several European states could not attend, the four-day conference saw audience figures top 800.

"Selador received a great deal of interest at the festival, thanks to its innovative colour mixing," commented Cotogni after the event. "The latest additions to the range - Vivid Fire and Vivid Ice - were specifically designed in response to user requests, who

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UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians reports that the 32nd ABTT Theatre Show was its biggest show yet, both in the number of visitors through the doors and exhibiting companies that filled The Royal Horticultural Halls to capacity.

This year's record attendance bucked trends with a return to the show's previous visitor record in 2008. This rise in attendance following a dip due to a tube strike during the 2009 event and highlights the show's position of strength despite the recession.

The Show's success is attributed to its compact footprint, un-intimidating atmosphere and ever-expanding visitor base, say the organisers. The ABTT Theatre Show covers the spectrum of products and services for the theatre production and staging market, with a strong showing from the engineering sector, but also from the sound and lighting fraternity. It provides the only platform f

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UK - Belfast-based Production Services Ireland (PSI), a regular provider of rigging services and equipment for Ireland's leading entertainment shows, has launched a series of regular two-day rgging awareness training courses.

This initiative is the brainchild of PSI's Sean Pagel, who also heads up the company's rigging team. It's something that PSI has wanted to do for some time - but the recent move to larger premises with a large dedicated training room has really facilitated this on a practical level.

Apart from the demand for it, one advantage for PSI explains Pagel is that many venues are council run, and have a commitment to keep their staff updated with the latest good working practices. "Therefore it's really important that they have a concept of what rigging is all about - it's one of the starting points for any show," he says.

Pagel qualifies that it's im

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South Africa - Robe Robin 300 Spot and Wash moving light fixtures are making a big impact in the World Cup Broadcast studio for SABC (the South African Broadcasting Corporation), which has been set up in Exhibition 1 at the Sandton Convention Centre, central Johannesburg.

All SABC's 2010 FIFA World Cup match coverage happens in this studio along with several other regular programmes which are broadcast from this temporary location for the duration of the World Cup.

The spectacular set is designed by Dewet Meyer and has lighting, depth and dynamics much in mind. The lighting design is by Andre Rossouw of SABC and Francois van der Merwe of MJ Event Gear. Van der Merwe also programmed the show and is sharing operating duties with Theo Roodt. The equipment is supplied by MJ and SABC.

MJ brought in the moving lights - including the 36 Robin 300s which were purchased specially for

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UK - The 2010 ABTT Theatre Show saw the launch of a new online store for the entertainment industry - oubiance.co.uk. The idea behind the website is that the goods available are not simply uploaded from a product database; each item is input by one of the experienced technicians on the team.

Barclay Dakers, who heads up oubiance.co.uk, said: "Traditionally, online shopping for theatrical consumables can take up a considerable amount of time, wading through difficult to understand codes and product descriptions. We wanted to offer a completely different way of doing things. This site is run by techs, for techs."

The site utilises easy to navigate menus and aims to cut through the confusion by offering simpler methods of finding the desired item. For example, the range of replacement lamps is illustrated to enable users to compare what's in their hand with what's on th

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UK - Returning to London from touring with Beyonce and recording her debut album in New York, Katy Shotter performed a homecoming concert at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon.

Lighting designer Dan Terry chose White Light to supply lighting and video equipment for the event. The lighting rig consisted of 12 VLX LED moving heads and six VL3500Q Spots. Due to the limited load in and fit up time the design needed to be quick to rig, reliable and versatile.

"A variation of effects and looks was needed for a concert that was full of different musical styles. I was eager to use the new VLX wash lights and I was impressed with their output. I also needed spots with a bit of punch and the VL35000Qs were ideal," says Terry.

Supplementing the lighting rig, White Light supplied a Hippo Critter Media Server. Terry pre-loaded the content onto the Hippo Critter at White Light's Sou

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USA - Welsh rockers Bullet for my Valentine have just finished their club tour across the US which saw them taking in the breadth of the country with a tightly packed schedule.

Lighting designer Christian Bonde knew that with lots of travelling, short load in and out times - and no certainty of the house gear each day - that he needed to bring fixtures that would be bright, fast, easy to rig, and take up next to no space in one of the two bus trailers they had (which also had to take backline, audio, wardrobe and merchandising).

Bonde decided that the GLP impression fitted the bill and took eight as the main part of his system for the show (moving up to 10 for the European leg). He commented, "The impressions were perfect - plug and play, just as I like them. This meant I could rig and de-rig them easily by myself if the local crew were busy with the extensive backline we

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UK - When events management company Rel-Event was looking for someone to light a series of outdoor events, they started by seeking personal recommendations - and one company which kept coming up was London Light Production Services.

They went on to commission London Light to provide design, equipment, crew and transport for the production lighting for three outdoor events over the summer period, with the first taking place at Dunsfold, Surrey, in June. The event, called Strings and Wings, started on a Friday evening with a Queen tribute act, re-enacting some of the finest music of the 1970s. Then, on the following day, the history of the aerodrome was celebrated with a classic concert in honour of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

James Hodgeson, managing director at Rel-Event, says, "Although we've worked with London Light's technical director Sam Cro

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Germany - PR Lighting has achieved a major breakthrough in Europe with its new XLED 590 LED moving head wash lights.

Experienced German event services company Satis & Fy, with bases spread throughout the country (and Holland), have broken this product into the market after acquiring 48 of the heads - and receiving immediate approval from The Scorpions' long serving LD Rainer Becker, and another of Europe's most respected LD's Vince Foster (presently touring with Nena).

Satis & Fy's Werne-based head of lighting and product acquisition, Rudi Luyckx, placed the order with PR Lighting's German distributors, Focon-Showtechnic after receiving a demonstration. He said he was delighted how quickly these products had been accepted, in a highly-competitive sector of the marketplace.

"Focon asked me to try them, and although the XLED 590's may not originally have been first choice

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