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UK - PLASA Show 2021 is on track to welcome thousands of industry professionals to Olympia London in September, with 70% of the exhibitor space already reserved.
The entertainment technology industry event, taking place on 5-7 September, has recorded a 53% increase in visitor registrations in the first three weeks compared to the same period in 2019 - the year when the show was lauded as “the busiest in years” - and registration has continued to climb following the UK prime minister’s announcement that the remaining lockdown restrictions are to be lifted from 19 July.
The organisers have also recorded a greater number of top-tier professionals and company owners requesting to attend, raising the prospects for the event to be a valuable hub for business and networking.

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UK - Optimal Audio, part of the Focusrite Group, will hold it’s first open day at its UK HQ in High Wycombe on 9 September.
The company, which is Focusrite Group’s seventh brand, was launched in April and offers a host of control, amplification and loudspeakers for small to medium sized commercial installations.
At the open day, guests will be able to see demonstrations of the company’s controller, amplifier and loudspeaker offering, and see first-hand how it works to deliver simple-to-install sound systems that are easily operated by anyone, not just engineers.
There will be three sessions, held at 09:30, 12:30 and 15:30 respectively. Each demo will be capped at 40 visitors, allocated on a first come, first served basis. A supplementary ‘waiting room’ registration will be in place that can be utilised in the event that a registered visitor is unable to
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UK - A Cornish event production company has completed its busiest ever period, working simultaneously on seven separate events over the G7 Summit week.
Liskeard-based JHAV was appointed to help deliver multiple events associated with the G7 Summit for clients including Spaceport Cornwall, Virgin Orbit, the University of Exeter, and surfing brand Finisterre.
The team also created a press conference suite to be used by US president Joe Biden in the Spaceport Cornwall hangar at Cornwall Airport Newquay.
JHAV managing director Jamie Hedges explains: “We’ve been involved in all kinds of events since starting JHAV, but working on all of these projects revolving around something as high profile as the G7 Summit has to be one of our biggest accomplishments to date.
“The top-secret nature has meant we have been under embargo since the event, and I am so proud

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UK - Fairport Convention have announced that their annual music festival, Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, has been postponed for the second time.
The three-day event had been scheduled to take place on 12-14 August this year. It will now be staged over the weekend of 11, 12, 13 August 2022 on its usual farmland site in Oxfordshire.
The organisers hope the current line-up of acts will be carried forward. Artists booked to appear this year have provisionally agreed to transfer their bookings to 2022. Highlights are expected to include Trevor Horn Band, Clannad, Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited, Richard Thompson, and host band Fairport Convention.
Festival director Gareth Williams said: “We’re left with no other choice than to postpone our festival again. We have reached the point where we’d need to spend big money but without any certainty we could go ah

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UK -Following the government’s latest decision to delay lifting of restrictions, organisers of the remaining summer festivals have said that cancellation is inevitable unless Covid cancellation insurance is made available.
Several major festivals, including Glastonbury and BST Hyde Park, have already been axed for the second year running. Many more followed suit after the government announced lockdown restrictions would be extended until 19 July. Events like the Boomtown Fair and the Deer Shed festival said the lack of an insurance scheme was a key factor in their decision to cancel.
Peter Gabriel has warned he may have to cancel this year's Womad Festival, unless the government helps organisers get insurance, while Gareth Williams, organiser of Fairport’s Cropredy Convention says festivals have been put in “a very difficult position”.
“The increasing

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UK - Registration is now open for PLASA Show 2021. The London-based trade event for entertainment technology is returning to Olympia London on 5-7 September - and for one year only, the ABTT Theatre Show will be co-locating with PLASA Show, bringing two popular industry event under one roof.
This year, PLASA Show is moving to Olympia’s largest space, the Grand Hall, which will allow for a more awe-inspiring show experience, wider aisles and larger social areas to ensure the safety of visitors and exhibitors.
Visitors will be able to connect with leading brands from the pro audio, AV, lighting, rigging and staging sectors, whilst the free seminar programme - details of which will be revealed in the coming weeks - will offer business advice, unpack technical topics, and present the latest creative achievements. There will also be various interactive offerings includi

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World - Following on from the inaugural Virtual Showlight event, which took place on 25 May 2021, the Showlight Committee have announced that all papers and video shorts are now available to view online on the Showlight website.
Speakers Hamish Jenkinson, Mike Bauman, Ken Billington, Aaron Porter, Rob Halliday, Isabel Nielen, Floriaan Ganzevoort and Mike Evers, and David Bishop spoke on topics that included the illumination of a lighthouse on an island in the Bahamas, lighting a comic book movie, the remote lighting of a stage musical from half way around the globe, transforming a shipyard into an art gallery, and taking a spin on the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor.
Also viewable online is the panel discussion on the subject of diversity in the industry, chaired by Paule Co

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USA - Entertainment industry insurance solutions provider Take1 Insurance has announced the immediate availability of a new educational white paper entitled Reopening Live Events Safely: An Industry View.
The publication of the new white paper follows last week’s announcement that Take1, in partnership with Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions and the Event Safety Alliance, will provide free Event Safety Access Training to professionals returning to work after more than a year of being side-lined because of the Covid pandemic.
According to Take1 Insurance vice president and programme director Scott Carroll, “The entertainment and live events industry have been through a nightmare scenario as the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a halt. Virtual events have helped fill gaps, but, ultimately, the desire of people to experience live events in person cann

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Spain - Making its Barcelona debut, ISE Live & Online (1-2 June) safely welcomed the AV industry to the first in-person and hybrid event to take place at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via venue since November 2019.
Integrated Systems Events Managing Director, Mike Blackman opened the show and said: “This event is important for the AV and live events industries, and for the city. It’s been a 17-year journey to get to Barcelona so it’s bittersweet not to make the big bang we’d hoped for our debut, but we know the value of live events for forging trust, deeper business relationships and driving business. I hope this sends a message of confidence to cities around the world that live events can be safe and successful. We’ll be back in Barcelona, with all our might, in February 2022.”
The first hybrid event from ISE, which combined live and digital content, ac

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World - The first Virtual Showlight (VSL) event which was held on Tuesday 25 May 2021 proved to be “a real success story,” according to its organisers. With the full Showlight postponed due to the pandemic, VSL 2021 turned trial into triumph when it threw open its virtual doors to an online audience in excess of 430 delegates. Students, educational establishments, venues and of course lighting designers from all genres of the industry - theatre, film and TV, architectural and events, and more - attended from almost 50 countries, and many have since returned to re-watch the Papers through Hubilo’s On Demand service.
Delegates were treated to a diverse range of subject matters from industry professionals at the top of their game. Topics included the illumination of a lighthouse on an island in the Bahamas, lighting comic book movie Birds of Prey, the remote ligh

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Spain - Integrated Systems Events managing director Mike Blackman marked the opening of ISE Live & Online yesterday with a presentation at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via in front of a gathering of representatives from government, local executive boards and agencies, ISE’s owners and the media.
ISE Live & Online is a hybrid event, livestreaming from the Fira and broadcasting to a global audience via the ISE Digital platform.
The opening of ISE’s first show in Barcelona represents a significant milestone in the development of Integrated Systems Europe, and a personal and professional triumph for Blackman, who launched the event 17 years ago with a staff of three.
Along with representatives of the Fira, ISE co-owner AVIXA and ISE exhibitors, Blackman made a symbolic trip by motorbike from ISE’s office in Munich to Barcelona, stopping en route in Geneva

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UK - The team behind A Light Walk, a charity walk set to take place across 20-24 September, has announced details of the fundraising mission and the ways in which everyone can get involved.
A Light Walk will see Chauvet’s Sam Bowden and ALD Lumière working group chair Charlotte Burton walk from The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford Upon Avon to the National Theatre on London’s Southbank, a total distance of over 101 miles (160 km), which will be completed in just five days. Members of the ALD’s executive committee and other members of the Lumière Scheme working group will be joining the walk for individual days or remotely.
Departing from The Royal Shakespeare Company on day one, the walkers will complete a distance of 24 miles. Day two starts at Bloxham and ends 19 miles further at Bicester. With day three, the walkers will pace the 23 mile

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The Netherlands - IBC Show 2021 has been rescheduled to take place on 3-6 December at RAI Amsterdam, moving from its usual slot in September.
Health and safety were key factors behind the decision, with the IBC operations team focused on creating a safe environment.
IBC chief executive Michael Crimp explains: “Following a period of industry consultation, the IBC Partnership Board has agreed that December is the best date in terms of safety and industry readiness to engage. Our conclusion is based on the results of the recent IBC exhibitor and visitor surveys and macro evidence of Europe opening up for business. We really value the feedback and candid input of our community - we have always been ‘by the industry, for the industry’, and this ethos continues to guide our daily decision-making process.”
IBC has surveyed visitors and exhibitors, and two third

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UK - Liverpool Public Health officials and scientists have found the city’s pilot events did not cause any detectable spread of COVID-19 across the region.
The city hosted four successful events as part of the national Events Research Programme (ERP), with a total of 13,258 people attending The Good Business Festival, two nightclub events hosted by Circus and the Sefton Park Pilot music festival.
All attendees were required to take a lateral flow test ahead of the event - a negative test would allow them access. Five people with the COVID-19 virus were identified through this process and were not allowed to attend.
Ticketholders were encouraged to take a PCR test on the day of the event, and a second one five days later.
This process identified four people as possibly having the virus at an event; and a further seven were identified with the virus four to

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South Africa - The South Africa Events Council has published its review of the past year. “The SA Events Council is fighting to retain the headway we have made towards re-opening the events industry before the losses we are suffering reach a point of no return,” says the council.
“For 14 months, the associations that make up the SA Events Council have collaborated on various measures to re-open the industry. We have developed a stringent set of ‘Re-opening Guidelines’, sent scores of lobbying letters and hosted in-person, proof-of-concept events to show what is possible. We have also conducted awareness campaigns, hosted webinars, organised radio and television Interviews, provided information sessions and engaged with the various relevant government entities in person.”
As one of the first responders to the crisis, SACIA's Event Safety Council developed a

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USA - Costa Mesa-based manufacturer, QSC, will present Mental Health Amplified, a special virtual fundraising event to celebrate the healing power of music. This live, 90-minute musical event, to be held on 27 May from 4pm to 5:30 pm (PST,) will celebrate the magical power of music to transform peoples’ lives and enhance our mental, physical and emotional well-being.
All proceeds support The Priority Centre of Orange County California, whose mission is to deliver life-changing programmes to assist people in crisis by giving them the tools and support necessary to end the generational cycle of trauma- including prevention of child abuse and neglect, through early intervention and mental health services and advocacy.
Headlining the event are three of today’s top up-and-coming artists – singer/songwriter Lee Coulter, R&B artist Cedrice and Latin soul artist Andy

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The Netherlands – The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is back on track following a one-year hiatus due to the Covid Pandemic. Heading up a new technical and production team is Netherlands based Erwin Rintjema, who takes on the position as ESC’s head of production.
An industry respected production manager, Rintjema was selected by ESC host broadcaster for his experience, knowledge, and proven ability to smoothly deliver international, large scale, televised events. He is supported by a carefully curated team comprising Dutch technical production talent, as he explains: “Key members of the technical management team include Gijs Vos as Broadcast Manager and Stefan Hoohenkerk as Show Manager.
“In addition, several of our key heads of departments came from official technical supplier to Eurovision, Netherlands based, Sightline Productions. They include Marcel Vellekoop

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UK - PLASA ran a second online programme from 10-13 May, covering the most vital topics and trends for those who work across live events and entertainment sectors.
Following the successful debut PLASA Online in October 2020, PLASA Online 2021 attracted thousands of industry professionals who signed up to watch the four-day programme which featured expert panels, technical sessions, and presentations on creative projects and products.
The ABTT partnered with PLASA Online to host popular presentations each day. These included a panel of Health & Safety and production experts who discussed the challenges of returning to work; a talk with CREATEBritain co-founder Richard Woods who introduced the new features of the online platform for creative professionals; the 2020 updates to the Technical Standards for Places of Entertainment and Volume 1 of The Theatre G

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World - The programme of events for Virtual Showlight has been announced.
The online event, taking place on 25 May, gives delegates the opportunity to hear industry-leading lighting designers talk about their work, ask them questions and network with others from across the industry, for a flavour of the full Showlight experience.
The programme is as follows (all timings are BST):
15.00 - Introduction & welcome from Showlight chairman John Allen
15.10 - Paper 1 - The Disco Lighthouse - Hamish Jenkinson
15.45 - Break
16.00 - Paper 2 - Lighting a Comic Book Movie - Birds of Prey Case Study - Mike Bauman
16.45 - Sponsors Breakout Rooms
17.35 - Paper 3 - Lighting Around The World Without Leaving Home: The Story of Waitress in Japan - Ken Billington, Rob Halliday, Aaron Porter
18.15 - Networking, Sponsors Breakout R

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UK - Production designer Tim Dunn has joined the UK’s nvisible Agency, a group of independent live production professionals offering a dynamic range of project management and creative production services for events worldwide.
The nvisible Agency’s other core team members include some true entertainment industry mavericks! Founder and MD Mark Bustard and chairman promoter Harvey Goldsmith are joined by show and event producer Jim Baggott, technical director Tim Spears and project director Luke Carr.
For 24 years, Tim was based in South Africa and worked extensively throughout the African continent, Asia, and the rest of the southern hemisphere on some of the highest-profile and most interesting productions, including dealing face-to-face with governments, politicians, and world leaders.
These include the 2010 FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony, multiple SEA Ga

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UK - Event catering and brand logistics specialist Global Infusion Group has launched the Tony Awards, an internal awards ceremony held in honour of the company's late founder and CEO Tony Laurenson, who passed away this January.
Established to bring the team together, the Tony Awards will be a celebration and allow everyone to have some fun after an incredibly difficult period for the business. The ceremony will be held on 21 May and t he winners of the tongue-in-cheek categories will be decided upon by Global Infusion Group employees who have all been invited to take part in a public vote.

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Europe - LED manufacturer Absen is set to hold three online round table panels on immersive LED experiences. The sessions will cover immersive LED in virtual studios, retail spaces, and corporate spaces, with each round table session hosting a variety of expert brands in each sector.
Hosting all the roundtables will be Jessica Golding, Absen’s European brand manager. The first roundtable, upcoming on 19 May, will discuss the impact and rise of virtual studios on the AV industry over the last year. With a panel of the industry’s virtual studio experts, including Christian Czimny, Absen’s industry product director, the panel will discuss what virtual means in the industry, where virtual studios can be used, and what the benefits are of using LED over traditional ‘green screens’. The event will provide a multitude of perspectives, from end user to integrator, on the r

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UK - Following on from the latest Scottish Government announcement and in light of UK guidelines summarising clear plans for the return of the events industry south of the border, event industry leaders across Scotland have warned of a critical juncture in the recovery of the Scottish sector, as there still remains no indication of when gatherings of scale will be permitted and when social distancing parameters will be removed.
Whilst restrictions on retail and leisure are lifted in Scotland, the events sector remains largely locked down and unable to plan ahead under current policy and plans.
Geoff Crow, director of 21CC Group and member of the Event Industry Advisory Group comments, “We need consistency and clarity. The event sector in Scotland is at a standstill, which is difficult to watch when we see other sectors opening up and the rest of the UK and parts of

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UK - Eyes in the UK and across the World focused on Liverpool’s Bramley Moore Dock successful test events, at Circus, hailing the return of live music from lockdown, with two nights of dance music (30 April/1 May), with over 6,000 people in the audience and Symphotech managing the health & safety.
Symphotech worked from the conception of the test events, supporting the organisers, Circus Music and The Events Company UK, to create a Covid safe event. With the emphasis on the research and test event aspect of the shows, protocols had to meet the criteria required by the scientists and multiple stakeholders.
Symphotech director Eddy Grant was their project leader, producing a detailed, constantly evolving risk analysis for the staff and the audience. He explains: “When the roadmap out of lockdown was announced by the government, in February, I spoke with Sam News
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  6. Virtual Showlight registration opens
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