China - Expo 2010 Shanghai China (Expo 2010) is in full swing on the banks of the Huangpu River, where more than 190 countries and 50 international organisations have gathered to display their brands and cultures to the world. Open until 31 October, Expo 2010 is the largest (5.28km2) and most expensive world expo ever held, and organisers expect between 70 and 100m Chinese and international guests, making it the most visited in history.

As part of this landmark moment, LED rental screen provider JM Rental has installed Lighthouse LED screens at the Macau pavilion, in the Expo's Urban Best Practice Area (UBPA). Located in Puxi District, the UBPA allows cities to independently participate in the World Expo to show explicitly innovative programs designed to improve the quality of urban life. JM Rental worked closely with Don't Believe in Style (DBIS), the creative agency responsibl

UK - Manchester-based DBN Lighting supplied stage lighting to two recent high profile Liverpool City Council events, A Wave At Picasso and Dance On the Waterfront, working for creative producers, Walk The Plank.

The free events took place on and around the Pierhead area of downtown Liverpool, and were part of a lively programme of public shows and installations staged throughout the summer for the enjoyment of all

Staged in Salthouse Quay and directed by Mark Murphy, A Wave at Picasso was inspired by the Picasso: Peace and Freedom' exhibition. The 'Wave' was an eclectic and imaginative combination of canoeists, co-ordinated swimmers and dancing boats, together with fire performers, pyrotechnics, sound and projections, all choreographed into a daring mixed media performance, merged with other special effects to bring the dock alive in a blaze of colour and

UK - Marta Sebestyen is the leading light of Hungarian folk music and an internationally renowned performer. Best known as the haunting voice on the Oscar-winning soundtrack of The English Patient, Sebestyen's latest album, I can see the Gates of Heaven was performed in an intimate concert at the Paul Hamlyn Hall in the Royal Opera House in London. Marta was joined by album collaborators Balázs Szokolay Dongó and Mátyás Bolya for a special performance of songs personally chosen by the artists.

The ROH's Martin Adams turned to Paul Nicholson of Red Square Audio to specify a PA system for the show. Following a detailed sound assessment of the venue, Nicholson finally opted for an APG Beam Series system with an Innovason Eclipse console for FoH, monitors and recording.

"The brief was very straightforward," says Nicholson. "It was for a traditional

Finland / China - FogScreen Inc, creators of the world's first walk-through projection screen made of 'dry' fog have signed a co-operation and reseller agreement for China. The first pilot FogScreen projection screens will be delivered to Nanjing Santa Claus Media which is promoting the Finnish Santa Claus in China.

According to FogScreen Inc. key account manager Riikka Keppola, the walk-through FogScreen projection screen is the audience's favourite regardless of time and space. "Wherever the FogScreen has been used, it's always proven as the number one attention grabber at the centre of the audience's admiration and amazement. We are convinced that FogScreen will be the perfect means of conveying that special magical Christmas spirit to both Chinese children and adults.

"Expanding our business to the Chinese market and finding a reseller is a remarkable achievement

UAE - Tannoy's VQ Series loudspeaker system has been putting in a leading performance at a theatre in Dubai, with a pair of VQNET 60 cabs at Dubai Community Theatre & Arts Centre (DUCTAC), located within the Mall of the Emirates.

DUCTAC is the first modern, non-profit, cross-community creative centre in the Gulf region, built to international specifications. The brainchild of local theatre-lovers and business people who recognised the need for an entertainment and educational centre for the community and future generations of Dubai, the facility opened in late 2006.

The main auditorium within DUCTAC comprises of a tiered two level theatre with a capacity of 543, including four VIP boxes, and plays host to an array of international and local theatre, dance, comedy and music as well as TV shoots and exhibitions. The centre has been trying out Tannoy's new VQ Series, with positiv

Europe - Jay-Z has just completed a run of European dates and festival appearances accompanied by a FOH Midas XL8 live production system, provided by Clair Brothers. At the controls is Kenyatta 'Kelo' Saunders, the rap artist's long-time sound engineer and Grammy-award winner, whohas worked with artists including D'Angelo, Eminem, The Roots, Joss Stone and Erykah Badu.

Philadelphia-based Kelo has favoured Midas consoles throughout his long and distinguished career, and this was his first outing with a Midas digital system. "At heart I'm an analogue guy," he states. "I've been using the H3000 for most of my work for years, and I'm all about the warmth of analogue. I've tried other digital consoles, but moving to the XL8 is the only thing so far that makes me feel at home, I love it.

"I was able to get my mix going very simply; the learning curve was incredib

UK - With little more than one week remaining before the closing date for entries to this year's PLASA Awards for Innovation, PLASA exhibitors are being urged to put their latest innovations forward for these prestigious awards.

Up to eight Awards for Innovation are available each year, as well as a special Environmental Award for a product which the judges feel contributes to the industry's quest for energy efficiency and sustainability.

This year, for the first time, all nominees will have the opportunity to present their products live to a panel of expert judges, during the Sunday of the show, on a specially-built stage on the Innovation Gallery itself, inside Earls Court 2.

The presentations and subsequent Q&A opportunities will be filmed and the winning presentations repeated on the PLASA Show's central LED screen during the Tuesday and Wednesday of the show, as well as

USA - A Jands Vista T2 console has provided lighting control for an event winner at the InfoComm / LSA Staged Events Awards. Freeman received the 2010 'Best Overall Staging for a Corporate Industrial Entertainment Event' award for their work on the American Library Association's Annual Conference.

The annual awards are held at the InfoComm tradeshow and represent achievements in AV excellence in some of the most unique and challenging environments. One judge commented on the winning Freeman event: "It is difficult for a lighting submission to grab attention when it's up against so many great total staging projects with video. But lighting is one area that can own a show if it is done properly and this event exemplifies the power of light over the audience."

Freeman provided full lighting, audio, video and scenic elements for the winning conference. The multi-day even

UK - With two simultaneous events taking place in the north and south of the UK, the NewWine Festivals provide a wide spread of PA venues for sound rental company Wigwam's young engineers to gain experience with the latest equipment. More than 30 stages have to be equipped, and this year sees the addition of eight Roland digital consoles to the inventory.

New Wine originated as a Christian festival, established in 1989 by members of the Anglican clergy. It now appeals to the largest network of Christians open to the charismatic movement in the UK, running a number of week-long festivals in England, Scotland and Wales and currently attracting around 30,000 delegates per year. Its success has spawned the well-known Soul Survivor event for teenagers.

Wigwam has provided sound reinforcement services for the twin festivals for several years, using the residential even

UK - The Paul Hamlyn Hall in London's Royal Opera House is the latest in a line of prestigious venues to be graced by an Innovason Eclipse digital mixing console with onboard multitrack recording. The occasion was a special one-off concert by Hungarian folk artist Marta Sebestyen. Paul Nicholson of Red Square Audio was called upon to specify all the PA and FoH equipment for the event, which included an Innovason Eclipse.

Nicholson engineered the whole show from the Eclipse console, including monitors, and he also recorded it using the onboard M.A,R.S. system. "With the Eclipse I feel really comfortable having simultaneous control of FoH, monitors and multitrack recording as all the functions are at your fingertips and displayed on the surface and the screen," he noted. "I also like the fact that as the surface is fully user configurable and very analogue to the to

UK - Upbeat Event Catering and Design (Upbeat), part of the Global Infusion Group, celebrated its coming of age this week. Originally known as Chevalier, the company was formed to compliment sister company Eat To The Beat and offered a more corporate catering product to its already impressive music industry clients list. In 2007 the name was changed to Upbeat Event Catering and Design to not only 'do what it says on the tin' but to translate better on the international stage as Global Infusion Group spread its reach to Europe, The Middle East and China.

This year alone, Upbeat has catered for Sport Relief and sponsors BT on the charity Million Pound Challenge, for 750 people as they made their way from John O'Groats to Lands End with Threshold Sports in the Deloitte Ride Across Britain, fed 13,000 competitors at the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge

UK - Lighting Manufacturers have been invited to attend a meeting on Monday 13th of September hosted by the PLASA Technical Resources Manager, Ron Bonner to discuss the implications of new legislation introduced in 2010.

The meeting will be held in the PLASA Show seminar theatre during the second day of the show and Bonner hopes that as many representatives from the lighting manufacturers exhibiting or visiting the show will take the time to attend. The topic for discussion is a voluntary standard labelling system for their lighting fixtures to communicate the information for the end user in respect of their responsibilities to the new Artificial Optical Radiation Directive (AORD)

The new regulations require all employers to assess the amount of exposure to artificial light their workforce is exposed to. Bonner is concerned that the responsibilities of the manufactures to comm

UK - RG Jones Sound Engineering has completed the latest phase of development of the PA / VA system at Lord's, the home of both Marylebone Cricket Club and of cricket itself.

The newly completed system, developed by an RG Jones project team headed by Roland Hemming, sees a fully integrated IP based PA/VA system that incorporates the latest safety standards including EN54. It also meets the much stricter security and environmental regulations that have developed in the 25 years since RG Jones began its longstanding relationship with MCC in the 1980s - matching the London based company's quarter-century relationship with the UK home of tennis at Wimbledon.

The new system scores a number of 'world firsts', being a fully IP based plug-and-play project that features the world's largest Dante network and allows users to treat all the equipment as a single system; it is also the firs

UK - Black Light was part of the team behind the BBC programme Songs of Praise when it was recently broadcast from St. Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow. The company's role was to support the show's lighting designer and supply and install a full TV lighting rig.

"This was a great project for Black Light," says Stephen Read, head of the company's Events Team. "It was an exciting challenge to transfer our skills as theatrical technicians to the world of on-site TV production. There are a number of differences in terminology and working practice to get used to, but my team was well up to the job and everyone performed superbly."

The main technical challenge involved in getting the show broadcast was ensuring that all the lights were properly placed to create the illusions and effects needed by the producers. "It was interesting to see how the TV crew pu

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies' Video division has provided a Green Hippo HippoCritter media server system for the new TV set of Ford Monday Night Football, which returns this season on Sky Sports HD.

The football show, hosted by Richard Keys and Andy Gray, forms part of the biggest season of live Barclays Premier League football on Sky Sports with 115 live matches all in high definition. In keeping with the original format, the show features innovations such as digital on-screen graphics and games analysis using the latest computer technology.

To carry this high-tech look and feel through to the studio set lighting and visual effects, show LD Malcolm Reed approached AC-ET's Video division to provide a real-time video playback control system for projecting moving content onto various LED display surfaces.

A.C. Video supplied Green Hippo HippoCritters to DMX pixe

Local News - Kylie Minogue and Tinie Tempah performed at the Ring O' Bells pub in Compton Martin, Somerset on last week. They were drafted in as a treat for staff from their record company, Parlophone, who were in the area for a conference. Eliza Doolittle and new signing Morning Parade also performed. Bewildered locals were alerted to the impromptu concert by a small sign outside the pub which read For one night only! Kylie Minogue, Tinie Tempah, tonight!.

The rapper was up first - he performed his number one hit Pass Out and new single Written In The Stars. Kylie performed an acoustic version of All The Lovers and the night's biggest crowd-pleaser, her 1988 worldwide hit I Should Be So Lucky. Pub landlord Reuben Goddard commented, "The locals were shocked but we all had an evening we'll never forget. It's a bit out of the ordinary for ro

UK - Hall for Cornwall, Truro, is hosting a lighting 'Shoot Out' on Thursday 2 September. The day will focus on showcasing profile, fresnel, PC and LED wash fixtures from a range of several leading manufacturers.

"We are particularly pleased to be able to host what we understand will be the first public comparison of ETC's Source 4 and Selecon's new SPX range of profiles," says Hall for Cornwall's head of operations, Simon Crick.

The day will run from 10am to 4pm, and interested parties are welcome to join in the fun.

"This is a superb opportunity for people in the South West to try out a whole range of products in a real theatre environment right on their doorsteps," continues Crick. "It is a very rare event for this to happen outside of London or in a non-trade show environment so we hope people will take advantage of this opportunity."

If y

Germany - The Bang Your Head festival, one of Germany's most prominent heavy metal festivals, celebrated its 15th anniversary between 15-17 July. Around 15,000 metal fans from all over Europe travelled to Swabian Balingen in the south west of Germany to party for three days and nights and take in performances of over 30 metal bands, amongst them were Queensryche, Twisted Sister and Hammerfall.

Full-service rental company Prolite Event, based locally in Balingen, has been an integral part of the festival crew for many years - for the most part, running the indoor stage in the 2,500 capacity Volksbank Messehalle on the festival ground. This year, Saxon, Demon, Dark Tranquility and Destruction headlined the indoor stage.

The company's HK Audio-based FOH and monitoring systems were completely powered with Lab.gruppen FP+ Series amplifiers, with some new FP 14000 amplifiers

Singapore - The Sands Expo and Convention Centre within Singapore's Marina Bay Sands integrated resort is the latest venue to adopt Robert Juliat lighting fixtures.

In April, Robert Juliat's Singapore distributor, Total Solution Marketing delivered a total of four Victor 1800W MSR followspots, four Super Korrigan 1200W HMI followspots and 16 RJ 600SX 1K profile spotlights to the Sands Expo and Convention Centre which first opened in April 2010.

The Robert Juliat Victors, Super Korrigans and profile spots will be employed mainly on the high profile meetings, incentives, conventions & exhibitions (MICE) events when keynote speakers address the floor.

Glenn Wong, managing director of Total Solution, comments, "Robert Juliat is renowned for its fantastic equipment with superb R&D. Their followspots are extremely user-friendly with the placements of their controls. They have

Europe - After re-forming in 2009, Irish rock band The Cranberries have embarked on a 2010 European Summer Tour. Their audio arsenal centres round a DiGiCo SD8 digital mixing console, manned by Oliver Waring at the monitor position.

"I've been using DiGiCo consoles for a number of years," says Waring. "I started out teching with a D5 when I was looking after Dave Guerin, monitor engineer for Morrissey. Then I inherited the monitor position and looked after Morrissey for a couple of years on the D5, later upgrading to an SD7.

"I've been working with The Cranberries for a couple of months now and I'd inherited a console from another manufacturer that wasn't my first choice. I changed to the SD8 and at its first soundcheck, after just one song, the band commented how different it sounded: that it was a lot crisper, a lot clearer and they knew straight away tha

UK - Eighty ETC Source Four PARs have been used in the award winning refurbishment of Ripon Cathedral in north Yorkshire.

Lighting consultant Light & Design Associates (L&DA) won the Lighting Design Award 2010 in the Heritage Projects category for the installation, which consisted of a complete rewiring and new electrical installation.

Jim Morse, then a director at L&DA and now a consultant with them, was the lighting designer on the project. He says, "The cathedral knew it needed new lighting both internally and externally, so took the opportunity to upgrade to the latest and best technology. We used two types of Source Four PARs: 575W with wide beam lenses for days when the cathedral is open for services and concerts; and Source Four PAR HID 150W for days when it is open for the general public. That way, they would have the quality they needed while keeping energy costs

UK - A recent tender specification issued by LOCOG - the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games - demonstrates the importance BS 8901 will play in the delivery of the London2012 Games.

In the past there have been concerns that BS 8901 - the new event management standard developed to ensure the 2012 Games are delivered in a sustainable way - was merely tokenism, but LOCOG has reiterated its commitment to the standard, and is now seeking third party certification for its own implementation of the standard across the Olympic venues.

If you are interested in supplying the Olympics this information is significant because it strengthens the requirement for suppliers to be working towards BS 8901 compliance, plus it's clear there will now be an emphasis on being third party certified as opposed to relying on 'self certification' in the future.

PLASA is working in partners

Australia - The Arts Centre is the Australian Gold Coast's premier cultural centre offering visual and performing arts facilities to residents of South East Queensland with its complex of a Performing Arts Theatre, Paradise Showroom, cinemas, restaurant, galleries and the Coast's largest costume hire department.

During the selection process for a major theatrical lighting overhaul for the Performing Arts Theatre Peter McKenzie, sales manager for Philips Selecon demonstrated the energy-saving 1200W 80V Rama High Performance Fresnel as an alternative to their larger, hungrier stage luminaires. This presentation, backed up by an independent assessment convinced the Council to specify and install 36 80V 1200W Rama High Performance Fresnels which have now completely replaced all the older 2000 / 2500W Fresnels in the 1139-seat theatre.

Chris Dbais, venue operations manager, comment

Italy - The 2010 tour of Italian artist Alexia continues with new dates and the familiar crowds of fans who always gather to show their appreciation for her voice and songs.

Among her latest shows, she also performed in the Val Vibrata, in Abruzzo not far from Proel's headquarters. The singer from La Spezia performed in Corropoli before an audience that was able to appreciate her talent thanks to a Proel Axiom Audio System.

Vai con La Sigla, the sound service on every date of this tour, chose an Axiom configuration including 16 Axiom AX3210P modules, 16 Sub 21" EDGE121SP, six Powersoft K10 Amplifiers and two Proel DSO480 digital processors

"This is the second year in a row that we have chosen an Axiom system for Alexia's tour," comments Damiano Prosperi, the owner of Vai con La Sigla. "The system has proven to be really reliable and it was confirmed for t

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