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UK -The Second Edition of festival and outdoor event sustainability report The Show Must Go On has revealed the latest industry figures, trends and practices.
Five years since the first edition was published, the new 126-page report, which has been crowdfunded by the industry, gives an insight into sector sustainability, and reflects the progress made in technologies, materials and operational practices to reduce environmental impacts. Its main chapters, authored by experts in their own fields, cover Governance, Resources and Waste, Water, Food, Energy, Travel and Transport. 
The report also marks the launch of an online Knowledge Hub, www.vision2025.org.uk, a free-to-access resource that will feature case studies, briefings and a supplier directory.
More than 100 festiv

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Europe - Chinese LED manufacturer Absen has moved to allay any concerns caused by the global outbreak of Covid-19 by stocking more than 5,000sq.m of LED product ready for shipping, with further 27,000 sq.m in production covering the company’s array of indoor, outdoor and rental display products.
The stock comes from the company’s manufacturing base in Huizhou as well as Absen’s European headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, and across the regions covered by its network of distributors.
Absen is also planning to move its European offices into larger premises by 30 March. The new warehouse is expected to provide the capacity to hold twice the amount of stock than the company’s current one.
The manufacturer has also reported that its factory has been “working at full capacity to meet high demand - with orders up in Europe by 128% when compared to the same pe

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UK - Fineline Lighting, based near Bristol, hosted over 20 lighting designers across two days on 17-18 February for basic and advanced MagicQ training, in partnership with ChamSys.
The ChamSys team were joined for the training by Chauvet ChamSys product specialist Rebbecca Cadd.
The basic course covered the use of all MagicQ products including the range of PC Wings and MagicQ consoles. It taught attendees about starting new shows from scratch, layouts, patching, recording and editing cues, cue lists and chases, FX programming and pixelmapping.
The advanced course covered advanced MagicQ features including advanced patching, media server control, timecode, scheduled events, execute window and group FX.
Aziz Adilkhodjaev, international business development manager at ChamSys, comments: “Massive thanks to Rob and Sevim [Sangwell, Fineline directors] for or

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The Netherlands - punQtum B.V. has announced a cooperation with Cymatic Audio in the fields of logistics, service and procurement.
Arie van den Broek, founder of both companies, comments: “When it comes to back-office operations, it made sense to join forces to avoid unnecessary costs. However, this arrangement will not affect the distribution channels of either company. punQtum remains a strictly business-to-business direct sales operation, whereas Cymatic Audio products will remain available through our valued dealers and distribution partners in the market.”
punQtum was established in 2019 to focus on professional tools for the live event and professional audio industry. With a firm commitment to the pro audio community, punQtum has set out to develop tools that are based on open technology standards and designed to make a difference. “We listened carefully t

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Europe - Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) has engaged support from its global community in a charitable project for the Emma Children’s Hospital in collaboration with the Amsterdam University Medical Centre. Multiple AV brands and a CEDIA Award-winning installer, Woelf, are working together to create an entertainment room at Het Jeroen Pit Huis, a new transitional care unit for chronically ill children and their families in the grounds of Amsterdam University Medical Centre.
“We are pleased that we can use our industry connections, and those of our co-owners, CEDIA and AVIXA, to bring together the very best products, design and installation expertise to support this project and build something wonderful for a very worthy cause,” comments Mike Blackman, MD of Integrated Systems Events. “This space will be a source of enjoyment, excitement and escape for all those stay

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UK - The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards has announced the appointment of five new judges across its three categories for the 2020 Awards.
The KOI Awards invites critics, journalists and industry professionals to form its three independent judging panels for the categories of Concert & Event, Television and Theatre.
Critic, broadcaster, and chair of the Theatre judging panel David Benedict is joined by three new judges: Mark Pullinger, an experienced opera critic and editor of classical music magazine Bachtrack; Sarah Crompton, dance critic for The Observer and theatre reviewer for Whatsonstage; and Susannah Clapp, theatre critic for The Observer. Each will serve a two-year term on the Theatre panel, where they join existing judges Louise Levene of the Financial Times, deputy arts editor and music critic of The Times Ne

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Europe - Audio-Technica has announced a partnership with Audio Pro Business which will see the Swedish speaker manufacturer join Audio-Technica’s portfolio of distributed brands in the UK, Ireland, France and Spain with effect from 1 March.
Audio Pro Business commercial installation speaker solutions will join brands such as Audio-Technica, Allen & Heath, Genelec, Audient and Artnovion in Audio-Technica’s offering.
With a 40-year history in speaker design and manufacture, pioneering technologies such as wireless audio and lighting rail quick connections, Audio Pro Business wireless speakers allow easy installation, flexibility and audio quality while allowing customers to connect to modern streaming media services.
Gary Maguire, commercial director Audio-Technica EMEA, says: “We are delighted to be representing Audio Pro Business in our UK and Ireland

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UK - PLASA has announced a series of professional development training events for this spring and summer.
The first event will focus on changes to employment law and take place at ETC’s premises in west London on 25 March. During the session, HR professional Nicky Gleadow will ensure delegates are aware of their obligations and that their businesses are compliant with the legislation changes that will be enforced from April.
On 16 April, Gleadow will also present a workshop on mental health and diversity for employers at Shure’s Rose Shure Experience Centre in London. The session will help employers understand how to promote good mental health in the workplace and ensure employees are not subject to discrimination.
On 2 July, James Eade will present the IET code of practice on in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment. The event will take p

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USA - Full-service event production companies Frost Chicago and Frost Florida have added Ayrton Diablo and Ghibli fixtures to their lighting inventories. This is the companies’ first purchase of Ayrton products, distributed exclusively in North America by ACT Lighting, Inc.
Frost Florida took delivery of Ghibli LED spot luminaires last year. “We were looking for an LED framing fixture with a high lumen output and CMY and CTO variable,” says Matthew MacPherson, general manager and head sales executive at Frost Florida. “Ghibli checked all the boxes; it was everything we needed at a reasonable price point. We couldn’t be happier with them and our clients are happy as well. They’ve proved to be an amazing workhorse for us.”
Daniel Cortes, Frost Florida’s lighting director/designer, agrees. “Our Ghibli units have been in non-stop use; they’re great work

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South Africa - Ultra Events Technical Solutions has recently taken delivery of a DiGiCo SD12 digital mixing console.
According to Costa Champianis, director at Ultra Events, there were limited number of large-format DiGiCo consoles available for dry hire in the region, which was having a negative impact on technical services provider’s ability to meet the demands of international riders.
“Over the past few years, there has been a shift in rider requirements, showing a definite preference for DiGiCo’s larger consoles by the majority of touring artists,” explains Champianis. “In October last year, we were contracted to provide technical services for the Norwegian pop band a-ha, who had booked touring dates in both Cape Town and Johannesburg through Breakout Events and Rogue Entertainment in mid-February. We were able to meet the requirements of about 70% of th

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The Netherlands - AV technology tradeshow Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2020 completed a 15-year residency at the Amsterdam RAI expo centre with a special event held on the show’s last day, 14 February (Friday).
Politicians and executives saluted the venue and the city of Amsterdam while looking ahead to the future, with the tradeshow set to move to the Fira de Barcelona for its 2021 edition.
Despite health concerns brought about by the coronavirus outbreak and major travel disruption caused by Storm Ciara, ISE 2020 took place as planned, but with markedly lower attendance of 52,128 unique visitors compared to 81,268 in 2019.
Mike Blackman, MD of Integrated Systems Events, comments: “This year’s show demonstrated to us just how determined our attendees were to come to ISE. Many of our exhibitors exceeded their targets for customer engagement and lead gen

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UK - Television lighting rental specialists Version 2 has relocated to a repurposed factory in Reading, Berkshire.
The site is located within easy reach of the M4 into West London and nearby national motorway networks. The facility, formally occupied by Boomf (James Middleton), offers significantly extended storage space alongside modern equipment preparation areas. The move will also see an expansion to the company’s project management offices.
Nick Edwards, managing director, comments: “The whole team here at Version 2 are extremely excited to be moving into new premises. The move is essential to meet the ever increasing demand for our service. This will allow us to grow not just our inventory but also enable us to recruit more key personnel.”
The move comes at the time of recent news that US company Blackhall Studios plan to build a new £150m film stud

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Italy - In 2020, HP Sound Equipment and its pro audio brand K-array will be marking their 30th and 15th anniversary respectively.
The two anniversaries will be celebrated throughout the year during various events for K-array and HP Sound Equipment clients, suppliers and staff.
The Italian manufacturer got its start in 1990 in studio design and installation, specifically for radio and television, operating as parent company HP Sound. Its three founding partners - Massimo Ferrati, Alessandro Tatini and Carlo Tatini - sought out to develop their own line of MI-based equipment and by 2005, it turned its sights to live sound reinforcement and formed K-array. Practising primarily as a rental company, K-array was driven to find an alternative to the traditional design of a PA system as the sheer volume and weight of these wooden transducers caused the cost of transport to be

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UK - Penn Elcom has announced that RGB Communications will be distributing its full range of 19-inch racking enclosures and associated accessories.
The move is in line with RGB’s goal of being a one-stop shop for AV racking solutions. In addition Penn Elcom’s various products for the AV market, along with its 19” ranges, complement, RGB’s existing product portfolios in the residential and commercial sectors.
Caroline Britt, RGB Communications MD, comments: “As a high-quality UK-based manufacturer with great support and a reputation for quick turnarounds on bespoke projects, as well as its practical off-the-shelf ranges, we are a good match.”
Penn’s sales director Rob Platt, adds: “We look forward to a busy and proactive working relationship with RGB. With 29 years’ experience in the pro AV industry built on understanding the products they distr

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Cultural Affairs - Oliver Dowden has been appointed culture secretary in the first major reshuffle since December’s general election. Dowden was an aide to David Cameron before becoming an MP in 2015 and joins the cabinet in place of Nicky Morgan, who stayed on as culture secretary after the election despite stepping down as an MP. Her continued position was temporary. Prior to the EU referendum in 2016, Dowden campaigned for the UK to remain within the EU.
Dowden will now lead the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, becoming the fifth person in little over two years to hold the secretary of state role in DCMS. Responding to the appointment, shadow culture secretary Tracy Brabin congratulated Dowden and said she hoped he would be a “force for change” on issues such as bridging the arts funding gap in the north. A statement from the union BECTU said

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UAE - Protec has upgraded its video capabilities globally with the purchase of Absen PL2.5mm indoor panels and PL3.9mm W outdoor panels for all branches in the UK, UAE and KSA.
This recent investment is in addition to the new ClayPaky Xtylos and Sharpy Plus the lighting departments have received. The Birmingham branch has already received its order of the ClayPaky Xtylos. Protec Dubai has debuted the Xtylos and was first globally to get on board with the new technology.
The Dubai audio team has been investing in more powerful solutions to meet increased networking and processing demands which led to them being first in the Middle East region to adopt the Outline Newton 16 + 8 processor. Protec has also invested in the Waves SoundGrid Extreme Server, more Shure Axient gear with Showlink capabilities and increased its stock of Rednet Dante A8R, D16 units, Luminex 16XTs,

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USA - Design and BIM software provider, Vectorworks has named lighting designer Roland Greil and Vectorworks CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar as the keynote speakers for the fifth Vectorworks Design Summit. This year’s Summit will have two firsts: an entertainment design keynote speaker and a West Coast location.
From 22-24 April 2020 in San Diego, California at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, design professionals, educators and students in the architecture, landscape and entertainment industries will be able to participate in industry workshops, product training for all levels of expertise, inspiring keynotes, networking opportunities and a customer appreciation party.
Sarkar, with the support of Vectorworks staff will deliver the first keynote on 23 April. His talk Simplicity to Design the Complex will focus on Vectorworks’ strategies to see where the co

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UK - The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards has announced the introduction of two new awards to the Concerts & Events category for the 2020 ceremony. The new awards are being added to the line-up to accommodate the ever-evolving high standards of production in live events.
The new Award for Festival Headliner, sponsored by Ayrton, will be open to submissions for any festival headline set that has been designed with additional packages without relying solely on the use of the pre-installed festival rig. To accommodate the entire festival season, eligible performances will have been performed between 1 January and 31 December 2019, and the closing date for submissions is 30 June 2020.
Long-standing Concert & Events chair Jess Allan says, "We have seen such incredible growth in festival design over the last few years, with more and more designers implementing th

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South Africa - DWR Distribution will present its first official MA3 basic training course from 25 to 26 February in Johannesburg.
Presented by DWR’s Jannie de Jager, the two-day workshop will focus on familiarising the operator with the basic functions of the grandMA3 software and lighting consoles, as well as the operating philosophy. The content will include patching, presets, phasers and timecode. The course will also touch on networking aspects of the MA3 family.
Delegates are requested to bring a MA3 console or MA3onPC Software on a laptop with an additional screen and a valid ID.
The course will be held at DWR Distribution, C1 Kimbult Industrial Park, 9 Zeiss Road, Laserpark, Honeydew.
The cost is R1,200 and includes a light lunch and refreshments. Bookings will be confirmed once payment has been received.
Bookings on-line: http://dwrdistribu

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UK - Stage Electrics has been appointed a UK distributor for Prolyte Trussing and Staging which is now part of Area Four Industries.
Fons van Teijn, Prolytes CEO, signed the deal with Stage Electrics operations director Adam Blaxill at the company’s Bristol-based offices.
“Stage Electrics have been a good ambassador for Prolyte for the past 15 years, we plan to build on that heritage and develop a strong working relationship,” comments Fons.
Blaxill adds: “We were a natural partner for this new incarnation of Prolyte in the UK. We are able to hold large stocks of trussing and staging and distribute the Prolyte product range across the UK on a next day service. Our sales team are already familiar with the product range and we now increased our Prolyte product managers to three with the appointment of Rob Foster as Prolyte technical sales consultant.”<

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UK - LVR Optical will host a laser safety training for operators, installers and manufacturers of laser products.
Taking place on 2 March at Hunton Park Hotel near Watford, the event will cover a range of topics relevant to the light show and entertainment industry, including hazards associated with the use of lasers; how to design safe shows and effects; and how to prepare risk assessments and working with the local authorities. The session will also include coverage of the British Standards Institute’s PD IEC/TR 60825-3 document relating to laser effect safety, and PLASA’s own laser display safety guidance.
The laser safety course will be hosted by James Stewart, an expert in the field with 25-year experience gained through working with entertainment venues and show providers. He will offer attendees valuable insights into necessary safety requirements and undert

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UK - Video company Universal Pixels has made a significant acquisition of disguise equipment, responding to increasing demand in theatre and an overarching determination to remain at the forefront of designers and production engineers’ needs.
Universal Pixels has added multiple disguise gx 2c media servers, as well as SDI VFC and HDMI VFC cards, to its rental stock as it continues its expansion in a range of markets. The company, which prides itself on a flexible and attentive approach to all of its projects, made the investment to meet the evolving creative demands of video designers.
UP’s Ollie Luff commented: “We’ve always got a close eye on how the industry is developing and the way in which video is being used. We’re seeing an ever-increasing demand from designers to integrate Notch seamlessly and quickly into their workflows and the gx 2c certainly has

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Europe - The Audio Engineering Society has opened registration for the upcoming AES Vienna 148th International Professional Audio Convention, taking place at the Austria Center on 25-28 May. Early registration discounts are available through 29 February for the dedicated European pro audio event that celebrates ‘A World of Audio’.
AES Vienna attendees will experience “stellar, leading-edge recordings - including VR productions from the Abbey Road Spatial Audio Forum and examples of immersive music and game audio - presented with production insights from the engineers who brought the projects to life”. Legacy productions will be examined, such as the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Core audio topics and the technology of today and tomorrow will be explored, including audio for new distribution platforms like Magic Leap.

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USA - Last autumn, Behind the Scenes conducted an online survey of industry members which received an unprecedented response. This was followed by two focus groups in January to delve deeper into some of the issues and concerns raised in the survey responses. One of the most frequent complaints heard was how difficult it is to find a therapist who knows anything about the entertainment industry and who is available to see people on nights and weekends or through teletherapy.
Says BTS, “As one of the first programmes of our mental health and suicide prevention initiative, we are partnering with HelpPro to create an online therapist finder specifically for the entertainment industry. This means that we are seeking therapists who either have personal experience in our industry or who have previously seen clients who work in the industry and learned about the unique pressures
  1. Nexo supports training in South Africa
  2. Lawo celebrates 50th anniversary
  3. Adlib makes major investment in JBL arrays
  4. Genelec extends sustainable facilities
  5. Polar adds new brands and services
  6. ISE and TNW announce strategic partnership
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