Robe - Leaderboard - 27 Aug25 - Jan26
ISE 2026 - Banner - Oct 2025

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UK - SES Entertainment Services has announced the appointment of Graham Barron as their new north-based account manager, after advertising the position at www.lsionline.co.uk. Barron will join the growing team at SES, working from his office near Leeds. Barron, who has been in the industry for many years, will be expanding the customer base, and developing new markets and products.

(Claire Beeson)

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UK - London communications agency Imagination has once again revealed its Christmas lighting display, continuing its 29-year long tradition of celebrating the festive season.

The façade of the company's red brick headquarters has been adorned with a spectacular illuminated wreath which was constructed out of 250 Christmas trees sourced from Balcombe Estates in West Sussex. It is filled with 8,000 glimmering UV blue LED lights. Underneath the sparkling wreath is a huge blue and green bow attached to a ribbon made entirely from blue neon.

The impressive Imagination building, flooded in a wash of blue light serves as the backdrop to the wreath. The installation of the lighting display took place over the last weekend in November. Imagination enlisted the help of a team of 19 construction specialists as well as Imagination's in-house production managers and lighting designers.

ISE 2026 - Banner - Oct 2025

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Malaysia - Concerts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Malaysian independence are expected to attract 100,000 people this month, as Belgian staging manufacturer Stageco provides the stage at the heart of the event.

This is the largest event of its type ever to take place in this territory so Malaysian promoter Live & Loud drew on the international expertise of Stageco to help achieve state-of-the-art production values. The project demonstrates how Stageco can help medium-sized promotion businesses anywhere in the world grow to meet the standards demanded by international artistes.

In conjunction with the Malaysian government, Live & Loud is organising a series of major concerts featuring Western, Chinese and Malaysian acts, in a pop and rock spectacle featuring Whitney Houston, Shaggy and James Morrison among the global acts on the bill.

For Live & Loud's head of technical

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USA - Shure Incorporated continues its support of industry education initiatives for a third year with its recent commitment to match up to $25,000 in contributions to the NSCA Education Foundation's fundraising campaign.

"We take pride in, and feel an obligation to, continue our support of the NSCA Education Foundation because of our shared commitment to ensuring high quality training and education of future audio professionals," said Shure US vice-president and general manager Al Hershner. "Through this matching campaign, we encourage others in our industry to join us in contributing to the expansion of the Foundation's activities."

"We are honoured that Shure continues to support our programmes," said Tom Frericks, president of the NSCA Education Foundation. "Each year, industry members meet Shure's challenge, which emphasises the value th

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The Netherlands - Dutch rental, sales and installation specialists, Sound & Light Factory in Heerlen, has recently taken delivery of a total of 36 Crest Pro 200 Series amplifiers including 20 Pro9200s, the most powerful amplifier of the Pro Series range, and a further 16 Pro8200s from Crest's Dutch distributor, TM Audio.

"We were already familiar with Crest, having owned 7001s and 8001s in the past, which were, in my view, the best amplifiers available at the time," noted Sound & Light Factory co-proprietor, Danny Juretzko. "When the time came to renew our stock, we had no hesitation in going back to Crest. We loved our trusty 7001s and 8001s, but the Pro 200 Series amps are even better."

The new Pro 200 Series amplifiers are mainly destined for rental stock to drive their EAW PA system as well as Sound & Light Factory's proprietary PA. Being so close to Ma

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USA - Symetrix has appointed MixWave located in Tokyo as its distributor to build and manage its sales network in Japan.

MixWave president Hirokazu Saika comments: "We decided to name our company MixWave because we are striving to find companies that are making waves in the industry." The company currently represents TC Electronics, Ashley, API Audio, Furman, Sonic Studio, A Designs, Doremi, Buzzaudio, Dynaudioacoustics and Weiss.

Paul Roberts, director of sales for Symetrix noted: "MixWave is a fresh new distributor in Japan with great people that have a lot of experience in the industry. We are excited to be aligned with MixWave and their aggressive approach to promoting the brands they distribute."

(Jim Evans)

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France - One of the leading full service production companies in the south of France, Sound and Light Systems (SLS), has recently taken delivery of two Sy80 digital mixing consoles from InnovaSon. SLS is based in Alès near Nîmes and has recently opened offices in Longjumeau, south of Paris.

Established in 2001, the company has rapidly grown to become one of the biggest rental companies in the south of France, offering a wide range of sound, lighting, video and staging equipment. SLS proprietor Léon van Empel comments: "It's not just about spending money. It's also about making sure we stay up-to-date with what's going on in the market so that when we do spend the money, we spend it wisely on products that will both satisfy our clients and offer us a good return on our investment. That is one of the reasons why we opted for InnovaSon consoles rather than any other b

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South Africa - The New Lyric Theatre at the Gold Reef City Casino in Johannesburg, is the new home to a grandMA full-size and four MA NSPs (Network Signal Processors).This striking venue recently opened its doors to the acclaimed production of Hairspray.

One of South Africa's most renown lighting designers, Denis Hutchinson was nominated as both the consultant and the LD for the theatre. "The intention of being both consultant and LD was two-fold," said Hutchinson. "Firstly, I had to see to the completion of the theatre and be on hand for trouble-shooting. The second motive was purely selfish; I chose the new toys for the theatre and I wanted to be the first to play with them."

With Hutchinson being very particular about what equipment he wanted, he finally selected DWR Distribution, who supplied the automated lighting and control, Prosound, T&A Ligh

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UK - For the fifth consecutive year, the Urban Music Awards took place in London. Once again the event was staged at the Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden in front of an invited audience of more than 600 VIPs from the music industry and corporate world. Associated with the Awards for the first time, event production company PSL was taking responsibility for the whole show, the budget for which has grown by 500% since its first year.

Now sponsored by Kickers, the UMA covers the broad umbrella of urban music forms, a spectrum extending from Gospel, Neo Soul to HipHop, and more. This year's awards were presented again by Radio 1 DJ Ras Kwame and neo-soul heavyweight Terri Walker, and featured numerous live performances from established as well as up-and-coming artists, UB40, Nate James and Keisha White amongst others.

This year, PSL took on responsibility for design and implementa

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UK - Bringing many years of product management and technical knowledge, Neal Tomlinson joins the 11 business development managers who make up the business development team at Stage Electrics. Tomlinson will be based in Wales, working closely with customers in the area.

Hailing originally from a retail background, Tomlinson spent 12 years at Roland, latterly as product manager for the RSS division, part of the successful Sound Snake launch.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - At the 2007 LDI Show, Tomcat offered attendees the chance to register to win a scholarship to one of Tomcat USA's workshops in 2008. Out of a random drawing, one lucky winner was selected, and that person is Bobbie Duncan of Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

In response to the ever-changing demands of the entertainment industry, Tomcat has announced that in 2008 the workshops will feature a new and improved curriculum. For the first time, participants will be able to choose their focus: Rigging & Truss or Chain Motors & Truss - with beginning and advanced training in that area of focus: all in one workshop.

Tomcat also reports that these workshops will be offered twice in 2008. Both of these sessions will be offered 20-23 February as well as 4-7 June, 2008 in Midland, Texas.

(Jim Evans)

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The Netherlands - Earlier this year Visual Productions' customer SLR Productions was approached by the U-Bar, a new club opening in Utrecht, to provide them with a creative yet practical sound and light system. The customer wanted his bar staff to have control of modern LED lighting, creating a cool and trendy atmosphere in the underground venue coupled with fun party disco lights for on the dance floor.

Robert van Hees, owner of SLR, knew that he could easily satisfy his customers' demands, but for SLR the most important issue would be smart lighting control. Van Hees felt the best solution would be to use VisualDMX lighting control software triggered with the Frontier interface.

When Visual Productions provided the on-site programming of the Frontier, the U-Bar staff were so taken with the easy user interface and opportunities offered by VisualDMX that they chose to finalise

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UK - Show Presentation Services (SPS) is supporting the Samaritans to raise awareness for Stress Down Day on 1 February 2008. Samaritans, a confidential emotional support service, run the important yearly event to draw attention to the increasing problem of stress in the workplace.

Research by the Samaritans has indicated that a third of UK workforce cannot sleep at night through anxiety, and a staggering three-quarters cannot switch off when they leave the office at the end of the day. This problem can be particularly relevant in the live events industry, where there are constant pressures to keep to increasingly tight deadlines and budgets.

SPS hopes to raise awareness of Stress Down Day in the industry to prevent any more people falling into those frightening statistics. Robin Coles, managing director at SPS commented: "I have been a Samaritan listening volunteer for s

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UK - FX Rentals has recently updated its extensive inventory with a wide range of new DJ gear. Now available for rental is the new Pioneer DJM700 DJ Mixer featuring a unique master filter which can be overlaid on any other effects and switched to sweep over the EQ band to filter frequency ranges. New effects include the Robot and Crusher, plus full MIDI mapping on all but three controls.

Other new DJ mixers on offer from FX are the Vestax PMC-08 Pro Digital Mixer and the Pioneer DJM909 and DJM800 DJ mixers, plus Allen & Heath's XONE:92 DJ mixer with six dual stereo channels, two offering mic inputs, totalling 10 stereo and two microphone inputs and a full range of connectors; this allows connection to four turntables, two mics, CD and MD players, drum machines and samplers.

FX has also added the Pioneer DVJ-1000 Pro DVD turntable with the same operation and layout as the CDJ-1

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UK - Show organiser PLASA Events reports that interest in PLASA08 is running high, with over two thirds of exhibitors having already rebooked their stand space and further applications arriving at the PLASA Events' offices daily.

On the back of the success of PLASA07, many companies have increased their stand size and several have doubled their space, setting PLASA08 on course to be the major industry event of next year. The success of the 2007 show has also been a catalyst for drawing back former exhibitors and generating strong levels of interest from new exhibitors, impressed with the professionalism and energy of the event.

The show management team has identified a range of new initiatives to develop and strengthen visitor attendance and is also focusing on a number of key areas for further development.

"One of the key messages that came across very powerfully from

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USA - The ESTA Foundation reports that Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) issued a $50,000 Challenge Grant to benefit Behind the Scenes. During the three days at LDI in November many answered the challenge by buying raffle tickets and holiday cards or playing poker, which helped raise close to $40,000 - just $10,000 shy of ETC's generous challenge.

It is hoped to raise the remaining $10,000 by New Year's Eve. In announcing the ETC $50,000 Challenge Grant, CEO Fred Foster said, "Our industry runs on the flexibility, skills, and artistry of people who dedicate themselves to creating the magic of the theatre. Sadly, this means that many times an illness or crisis can catch one of us without the support of full benefits and insurance."

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Meyer Sound has announced the appointment of Mauricio Saint Martin as director of Middle East sales. In his new post, Saint Martin will be responsible for company sales throughout the Middle East and North Africa, as well as on the Indian sub-continent.

During his 18-year career in pro audio, Saint Martin has gained experience in contracting, sales management and international distribution. Prior to his recent appointment at Meyer Sound, Saint Martin served as international sales director for QSC Audio.

"I have known Mauricio for many years and his reputation in the pro audio market is impeccable," says Mike Cooper, Meyer Sound's International sales director. "We are very fortunate to have someone with his abilities and experience join our team."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Element Labs has announced that it has appointed Andrew Hawker as senior project manager, Europe and Middle East. He will be based in Element Labs' London offices and will lead the company's newly created dedicated European project management and support team.

Hawker has over twenty five years experience working within the events, broadcast TV and corporate communication industries. Prior to joining Element Labs, he held senior commercial and technical positions at Blitz Communications and Creative Technology (London). Over the course of his career, he has played a key role in the success of many high-profile projects, including the Athens 2004 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, where he acted as video and projection consultant for Jack Morton Public Events.

Claas Ernst, European managing director for Element Labs commented: "We are enormously proud to have Andr

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UK - AKG Unsigned Heroes, the British and Irish unsigned band competition sponsored by mic manufacturer AKG and their UK distributor Harman Pro UK, is set to return in 2008. In keeping with the competition's aims of encouraging young musical talent, this year's competition is presented in association with Strummerville, the music charity which develops and promotes new music in the memory of Clash co-founder Joe Strummer. As a result of the charity's involvement, this year's AKG Unsigned Heroes winners will play live on the Strummerville stage at next year's Glastonbury Festival.

The winning band will also have one of their tracks remixed by UNKLE's Aidan Lavelle, and receive four VIP tickets to the new ZooThousand festival taking place in July amongst the beautiful natural surroundings of Port Lympne Wild Animal Park near Ashford, Kent. This year's Unsigned Heroes runners-up wi

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The Netherlands - Employees at Duran Audio's factory in Zaltbommel, in The Netherlands, have been gifted an extra Christmas "holiday".

The imposed "holiday" was not a present from Santa, but instead was due to a power failure in the Zaltbommel area caused by one of the world's most formidable war machines, an Apache Helicopter. Just after 7pm on Tuesday evening The Royal Netherlands Air Force Apache helicopter touched power cables crossing the River Waal, part of the Rhine, causing a loss of power to over 50,000 households and many local businesses, including Duran Audio's factory.

Gerrit Duran, founder and President of Duran Audio, commented: "I was at home on Wednesday evening when I heard a strange low frequency sound. I went outside to investigate and to my amazement I saw an Apache helicopter with its search lights activated looking for a clear sp

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China - The 2007 Guangdong International Tourism and Culture Festival and PPRD Tourism Promotion Convention got off to an impressive start last month with a grand opening ceremony in front of 40,000 spectators held in Tianhe Sports Centre, Guangzhou in southern China. An InnovaSON Sy80 digital mixing console presided at FOH for this spectacular event.

The annual tourism gala - sponsored by China's National Tourism Administration and the People's Government of Guangdong province - is a massive week-long festival offering a series of events and conventions in cities all around the province and attracting huge numbers of foreign visitors. However, la pièce de résistance was undoubtedly the grand opening ceremony which began with the depiction of the epic Legend of the Ship of the Blue Ocean and terminated with a spectacular fireworks display. Performances from popula

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UK - A.C. Lighting presented the prestigious British Racing Drivers' Club's Richard Seaman Trophy to F1 driver Lewis Hamilton at the 2007 BRDC Annual Awards Luncheon at the Savoy in London.

Taking place on the eve of the 80th Anniversary of the British Racing Drivers' Club, the Awards celebrate the achievements of the international racing season. Over 400 people gathered in The Savoy's Lancaster Ballroom for the star-studded event, which was packed with motor racing's finest heroes from past and present.

The Richard Seaman Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Club's Gold Star points scoring system. Lewis Hamilton's 2007 F1 achievements led him to top the Club's Gold Star table by a margin of 34 points at the end of his maiden season.

A.C. Lighting's UK sales director, Phil Capstick, presented the award to Lewis Hamilton along with BRDC President Damon Hill. Once on stage,

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Iraq - The Basra City Rollers, a bunch of five lads from 158 Provost Company Military Police staged a gig in Iraq to raise over £1000 for the Sun's Help For Heroes campaign. When the band approached Peavey to ask if they'd be willing to donate some equipment to help out (as they didn't have so much as a single guitar string between them) Peavey was delighted to participate.

Peavey supplied a Delta Blues 210 guitar amplifier from their Classic Series of guitar amplifiers; a Max bass amplifier from the compact and affordable Max range; four PVi 100 microphones which are specially designed for musicians on the move; and a number of guitar accessories such as leads and stands. The band, who had never played together before, had three days to rehearse and get used to each other and their new gear before they faced their eager public.

According to a military spokesman,

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Dubai - Production company HQ Creative devised and produced a multi-media spectacle to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Abu Dhabi Police Force.

The event - attended by General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces - was staged in the Zayed Sports City Stadium.

The show was a collaboration between HQ's artistic director Katie Veira and creative producer Daz Jamieson, the police and His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who played a very hands-on role in the event.

The Sheikh and the police had several specific ideas which were taken by HQ Creative, added to with their own input and integrated into the show's storyboard.

Lasting 90 minutes, the brief opening speeches were followed by poetry reading, a special choreographed candle 'shaping' parade with hundreds of can

  1. EAW establishes European operation
  2. Production suppliers celebrate Bloomsbury Ball
  3. Memories of Morecambe and Wise
  4. University opens Mojo Training Centre
  5. Wyvern hosts Venue Technology Day
  6. PLASA Media takes a break!
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