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Ukraine Support - International dancers from companies including the Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and English National Ballet are coming together for a fundraising gala in support of Ukraine. Directed by former Royal Ballet stars Ivan Putrov - who is Ukrainian born - and Alina Cojocaru, the charity gala will take place at the London Coliseum on 19 March. All participating dancers have donated their services for free, the English National Opera has waived its rental fee for the Coliseum and the chorus has volunteered to support the evening. Money raised by the event will go to the Disaster Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Ticket Pricing Fears - Music industry leaders are urging Chancellor Rishi Sunak to abandon a large increase on concert and live

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UK - Lighting control manufacturer TheisCraft has announced the launch of its Multiload Spectrum range. This ‘end-to-end solution’ offers ‘an entirely new take on DALI: a flexible range of products that, when used together, create a system that requires no commissioning whilst still providing all the benefits of DALI control’.
Jon Theis, director of ThisCraft, says: “Although DALI is far superior to other lighting control standards, not all loads, light fittings or non-dimmable devices are DALI compatible. DALI installations are also typically more expensive than other light dimming protocols due to commissioning costs, which can account for up to a quarter of an initial project price using a standard DALI solution. Plus, any changes to a fully installed addressable DALI system will incur additional site visits and commissioning costs.”
He continues: “The

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USA - More than 50 Powersoft amplifiers are powering a high-impact audio set-up at Q2 Stadium, the new home of the first professional sports team in Austin, Texas, USA.
The $260m venue, completed last year, is the home stadium of Austin FC, an association football team competing in Major League Soccer (MLS)’s Western Conference division. Designed to accommodate 20,500 fans on match day, the sport-first stadium is also suited to other applications, including entertainment, leisure and outdoor activities.
According to Idibri, the local consultancy which designed the audio, acoustics, video and data/IT for the new venue, Q2 is a ‘3.0 stadium’ - that is, a venue packed with technology that enhances the audience experience both in its main role (as a sports ground) and during other, non-sporting events. Special attention was paid to being able to use the stadium as a
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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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France - A full APG audio system is providing the soundtrack for a new hybrid shop and hospitality space by French motorcycling, automotive, surfing and fashion brand Morex Custom.
Located on the outskirts of Rennes, the 450m² Morex Custom House includes a bar/restaurant and concept store designed to showcase the best Morex Custom offerings. Customised motorcycles and cars take pride of place in both the bar area and the boutique shop, where customers can also pick up apparel, accessories, motorbike helmets and custom-made surfboards.
Given the brand’s association with the roar of the road and sea, it was crucial that the new venue had had a powerful yet versatile sound system, according to Kévin Morel, co-founder of Morex Custom. “The sound environment in a venue like ours is very important - our customers need to feel the music and enjoy it,” he explains. “

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USA - Optocore North America (ONA) has received a Best Distributor Award for 2021 by the German parent company.
The past year has seen many high-profile projects for Optocore, including the extensive fibreoptic audio network for The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, San Diego (see LSi February 2022). Other notable projects were Toronto’s Massey Hall, which took delivery of 10 new Optocore devices as part of a major restoration; four Repeat48-WDM to the National Assembly of Quebec (Assemblée Nationale); a number of AutoRouters to various churches and theatres in the USA and Canada and MADI units (DD2, DD4, M8 and M12) for installation and touring productions. They also sup

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India - Located in the Mumbai suburb of Bandra the Woodside Inn has received a substantial sound system upgrade, with integrators Zoodio Pro specifying a Martin Audio system.
The newly-installed system comprises Martin Audio Blackline X10 for the main PA, supported by a Blackline X115 subwoofer which Zoodio owner, Dylan Hilton says offers tremendous output from a compact speaker. CDD6s have been added as in-fill for the rest of the dining area and the smoking zone.
Like all the Woodside Inn operations, the Bandra outlet specialises in craft beers and inventive cuisine in the gastropub tradition. And since it is an all-day operation, they wanted ambient music to be broadcast during the day, with a livelier night-time trade - playing retro, old-school rock and pop to crowds of up to 150. Provision has been made with BlacklineX for a small band to perform, and it will als

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Slovenia - Slovenians prepared for the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest with their own selection event which was organised by Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV SLO) and staged at their main studios in capital city Ljubljana over three weekends, featuring two semi-finals and a final, all broadcast live on National TV.
Lighting designer Crt Birsa utilized 66 x Robe moving lights including 13 of the new high-powered Fortes, to ensure the challenge of lighting his seventh ESC selection offered plenty of vibrance and flair. He was tasked with creating 24 different environments in which the contestants could perform their entries, for which he collaborated closely with set / scenic designer Greta Godnic, video content creator Den Baruca and director Nejc Levstik.
Crt was using Fortes for the first time. These were supplied - together with all the supplemental show lighting which a

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Austria - Ibiza meets southern Styria: What started as a modest, seasonal bar on the shores of Lake Aldrian in Tillmitsch in southern Styria, has developed into one of the region’s premier hotspots. Ankerpunkt is the vision of DJ Leo Rath and his wife Manuela.
The beach club is now open all year round and boasts its own beach, a bar and restaurant along with lawns and terraces. Music takes centre stage and accompanies guests throughout the day and into the party night. "I am a DJ myself and the right sound for Ankerpunkt is an important concern for me," reports Leo Rath, who wanted to bring a touch of Rimini and Ibiza flair to Styria with his club. "After some research, I became aware of KV2's sound systems. The sound quality of KV2 just totally convinced me and I quickly realised, this is what I need for Ankerpunkt.”
The owner turned to event and club specialists

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UK - Award-winning arts and performance venue, Reading Rep Theatre has benefited from an energy and space efficient, high impact lighting solution by choosing to invest in a plethora of the latest Acclaim LED Fresnels from Strand.
The fixtures were originally specified by theatre consultancy, Drama by Design, the company responsible for the entire £1m conversion from Salvation Army Hall to 170 seat, technically adaptable, multi-purpose venue.
The fixtures have been well received by both the technical department and incoming designers. Head of production for Reading Rep Theatre, Jordan Harris, says: “The project went well, and the theatre is now a creatively welcoming space to work and visit. We love the Strand Acclaims, the dimming curve is great, and the light quality is excellent. In addition, the fixtures are lightweight, small and easy to set up and programme.

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China - Representatives of the automobile industry celebrity guests gathered recently in the Chinese city of Hangzhou for the Super 818 Car Carnival Night, featuring an ambitious audio-visual programme, orchestrated by a networked DiGiCo system. The system was provided and operated by the technical design team from DiGiCo’s distributor for the region, specialist sales and installation company, Racpro.
Staged in Hangzhou’s 80,000sq.m Olympic Sports Centre, the event was created by auto internet services provider, Bitauto App, and broadcast giant, Zhejiang Satellite TV. The highly specified and creative gala presentation was designed with two performing spaces in the stadium, with the programme alternating between a performance stage featuring China’s top artists, and an interactive car zone.
The star-studded artist roster for the evening was a major production, w

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Slovenia - Lighting designer Crt Birsa and rental company Event Lighting’s CEO Jernej Gustin thought laterally - with the help of 48 x Astera Titan Tubes - when lighting a livestream event staged at the Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies (KSEVT) in Vitanje.
The spectacular award-winning circular building is a concrete monolith comprising two low cylinders that create an impression of levitation and rotation. Inside, the central hall is surrounded by a main exhibition area, and both are connected by a round opening in the middle - a feature that makes it a challenging space to light, and one that Crt also used to his advantage.
Forty of the Titan Tubes were hung on steel wires between 1m and 3m in length attached to the ceiling, arcing 270 degrees around the circular space, and rigged utilising the venue’s own exhibition hanging system which made it str

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USA - Oregon-based audio production and installation company Alpha Sound has reported two successful Nexo ID series installations this year in local churches. Central to the high levels of performance achieved in St Paul’s Episcopal Church and Kingwood Bible Church, both in Alpha Sound’s hometown of Salem, is the deployment of a pair of Nexo’s new ID84 columns as the main speakers, supplemented by ultra-compact ID14s covering smaller areas of the churches.
Alpha Sound’s Devin Sheets reports, “When we first got our hands on the ID84, we discovered something very different from a conventional column loudspeaker. Firstly, the soft dome tweeter array lends what I would describe as an almost ‘hi-fi’ sonic characteristic, with an open, natural high end that’s perfectly suited to speech reproduction, which makes up so much of a typical church service.
“Then

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Europe - DPA Microphones is celebrating the return of live events with the launch of its We Love Live campaign. Alongside this, the company has launched Sharing is Caring, a social media competition with DPA gear up for grabs.
“It’s been a tough couple of years for the live industry, so we want to show them our support,” comments Anne Berggrein, vice-president of marketing at DPA Microphones. “The We Love Live campaign is our way of celebrating the return of the live event industry. We want to keep celebrating the return of live concerts and events, so we are looking into other opportunities that will enable us give back even more to the live industry, which is at the heart of DPA.”
Those who wish to enter need to tag a friend in the comments section on the competition announcement posts published on DPA’s Facebook and Instagram p

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USA - InCord made their 2022 donation to Behind the Scenes on the show floor at USITT reflecting a percentage of profits from sales of their Theatrical Safety Netting Systems.
Joe Menhart, InCord’s theatre division sales manager, comments: “We are delighted to provide this needed support to BTS especially when so many more are still in need due to the ongoing global pandemic that is now stretching over two years. Our hearts go out to all those who benefit from the grants and resources provided by BTS.”
Todd Spencer accepted the cheque along with other members of the Behind the Scenes Board of Directors. He comments: “We are so appreciative of InCord’s donation. Their concern for the safety of industry workers is built into their product and their commitment to Behind the Scenes. Our Pledge-of-Support Programme is the perfect vehicle for InCord and their cust

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USA - The organisers of the 2022 New World Rigging Symposium (NWRS), which will take place online on 5-7 April, have announced the programme of sessions and the presenters who will speak at the event. Highlights for this year include a follow-up to the popular Rope 201 where Stu Cox, Eric Rouse, and Andy Schmitz will dive even deeper into the intended uses, benefits and drawbacks of ropes, lines, and ties.
Also featured will be the Rope Access session, featuring industry experts from around the country who will explore rope access use in the entertainment industry.
Loading into a university theatre can be significantly different from backing the trucks up to a commercially operated roadhouse. A panel of university venue managers will ask, and then answer, What makes them different? by focusing on the unique challenges of the university setting incl

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Italy - To provide a streamlined technology platform that supports business activities and community events alike, Intermark Sistemi recently outfitted Barton Park Green Business Centre with a complete AMX by Harman networked AV solution.
Located in the central Italian city of Perugia, Barton Park is a multi-use community space built by Barton Group to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The park is open to the public, welcoming anyone to immerse themselves in nature, meet friends and attend events in its 2,000-seat theatre. The park is a popular hangout for local families, workers and students.
Inside Barton Park is the Green Business Centre, the new headquarters of Barton Group. The facility is used by staff members and visitors to organise meetings, training courses, workshops and conferences. In order to ensure successful events and operations, the centre required a ne

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USA - As the most watched American television broadcast of the year with over 114m viewers tuning in for the big game, various network coverage of the Super Bowl begins hours and days before the kick-off.
The job of providing robust communications to both the premier American football network and game broadcast network was given to audio and coms specialists CP Communications for the NBC broadcast and AY Productions for NFL Network. To overcome the RF communication challenges associated with Super Bowl XVI’s RF demands and SoFi Stadium’s tough RF environment and to provide consistent coverage with the multitude of wireless intercom users, both companies turned to Pliant Technologies’ CrewCom wireless intercom system.
Pliant has provided equipment and support for the event for the past five years. “This year was the first time three separate CrewCom systems, us

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USA - Iration topped the Billboard Reggae Albums chart with their very first recording, No Time for Rest. More than a decade later, the title of that debut LP would serve as an apt metaphor for the band’s appearance at the mammoth Cali Vibes Festival on Long Beach.
Given the large number of reggae artists who performed at the three-day event, setup time was very limited. Iration’s production crew had only 15 minutes to get their tour package in place on the 60ft circumference rotating stage, before it swung out and the semi-circle they were labouring on faced the crowd at Marina Green Park.
The hectic pace didn’t do anything to dampen the relaxed upbeat vibe of this Hawaiian born group and its ‘sunshine reggae’ sound. Matching them note for note was a Cullen Noon lighting design that featured Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by LIT Lighting.

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USA - David Byrne’s American Utopia has earned acclaim as a Grammy-nominated record, a sell-out concert tour, an HBO film directed by Spike Lee, and finally, a Tony Award-winning Broadway production in a split run. The first engagement, at the intimate Hudson Theatre, ended its performances in February 2020 and a second run at the larger St. James Theatre opened in September 2021. For both productions, Meyer Sound Leopard line array loudspeakers were selected to anchor the main audio systems.
Visually and aurally, American Utopia is atypical of Broadway. There is no set, and for music there is no isolated ‘pit’ band relying on click tracks and pre-records. Instead, all music is played live on the stage by an ensemble (including Byrne) of 12 musicians/vocalists, with six on percussion and all 12 on vocal mics. Everybody is completely mobile using wireless

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USA - The Nashville Predators made history in 2022 as part of the first-ever outdoor NHL game in Tennessee. Nearly 70,000 fans joined the festivities as the Predators took on the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nissan Stadium for the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series.
Bandit Lites provided the lighting system for the three musical stages, which included performances by country music superstars Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley, as well as lighting the hockey player introductions and national anthem.
Veteran lighting designer Mark Carver worked to design a system that would strike the balance of providing broadcast quality video for the NHL television broadcast while also having the ability to lay flat on the field to not obstruct the audience view of the hockey rink.
“As we began the initial logistics of the cabling and data distribution, we were all a

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Canada - Live Dans Ton Salon (Live In Your Living Room), is a livestream entertainment venue that occupies a converted warehouse in the Montreal suburb of Chambly. It was created at the start of the pandemic as a means of providing people with professional quality livestreamed performances they could enjoy at home.
Although some might have seen this as a ‘temporary’ solution during a crisis, the overwhelming response to the studio’s wide mix of livestreamed programming indicates that Live Dans Ton Salon is committed to remaining a vibrant force in the entertainment scene long into the future.
The level of this commitment is evident in the growth of the busy venue’s lighting rig. In June 2020 this production space was outfitted with 32 fixtures. Today that number is 138, featuring Chauvet Professional Maverick, Rogue, Ovation, and COLORado units supplied by On S
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