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UK - A safety passport scheme, aimed at reducing accidents in the live entertainment industry, has grown rapidly in its first year.

"The first few months of 2008 saw the Live Event safety passport grow from a good idea to a scheme that is gaining acceptance across the whole back-stage production area," said Andy Lenthall, general manager of the Production Services Association which represents companies and contractors in the live entertainment industry.

"With safety passport holders now numbering 1,000, and candidates spread across all disciplines at all levels, the PSA is confident that both the concept and course content deliver real benefits in terms of safety awareness."

Lenthall said that many major suppliers were now delivering safety passport courses to their in-house staff, with many insisting that sub-contractors should also hold safety passports

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UK - After working with engineering design company Xolve for some three years on a freelance basis, draftsman and designer Andy Prescott has now formally become part of the team adding his extensive CAD and project management skills to the Xolve portfolio of technical and mechanical capabilities.

With six years' experience in the entertainment industry, an inherent ability to problem-solve and an in depth understanding of 2D and 3D CAD, Prescott is perfectly positioned to complement Xolve MD Neil Darracott's mechanical engineering and design expertise and to hasten the development of this growing business.

Having already supported Darracott on such high profile projects as last year's rugby world cup, and West-end musical Gone With The Wind earlier this year, Prescott has recently led Xolve's work for George Michael as his 25 Live tour prepares for the USA in the summer

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UK - Sennheiser UK has announced that John Steven has left the company. Having been Sennheiser UK's director of marketing for the past eight years, he leaves to start and run his own company, John Steven PR.

Steven will continue working with Sennheiser UK on a freelance basis on various special projects, including assisting general manager Phil Massey with the company's ongoing involvement with the National Film and Television School and the Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts.

Massey wished his departing colleague well. "John's been very committed to this company for a long time and we're sorry to see him go," he said, "although I'm glad he'll still be involved with us in a freelance capacity. He leaves behind a very strong and capable marketing team."

Steven joined Sennheiser UK in January 2000, having previously worked for their appointed PR Com

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Congratulations to The Arcola Theatre in London's Hackney which has been nominated for a major national prize at The Charity Awards 2008, the UK charity sector's most prestigious award scheme. Chosen from a long list of entries, the theatre, which provides high calibre, accessible theatre and aims to become the world's first sustainable arts venue, has been shortlisted in the Animals and the environment category. It is hoping to pick up the coveted award at an awards ceremony in London on 19 June.

Best wishes to John Steven who has left Sennheiser UK. Having been director of marketing for the past eight years, he leaves to start and run his own company, John Steven PR. He will continue working with Sennheiser UK on a freelance basis on various special projects, including assisting general manager Phil Massey with the company's ongoing involvement with the National Film and Television S

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UK - Speaking at the PLASA Annual General Meeting in London today, PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths will call on the professional entertainment technology industry to support the new £15m National Skills Academy by donating £1m worth of lighting, sound, AV and staging equipment.

The National Skills Academy aims to significantly help to reduce skills gaps and shortages in backstage and off-stage skills. The NSA business plan, supported by PLASA and over 120 leading employers from theatre and live music, sets out in detail an ambitious vision to provide world-class training for the world's greatest stages. Working together with employers, freelancers, colleges and training-providers throughout the country, the NSA will deliver industry-endorsed training for young people and professionals. A proposed new state-of-the-art training facility in Thurrock, Thames Gateway, will pr

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UK - On 1 June, during excavation work in preparation for the 2012 Olympics, an unexploded WW II bomb was found in a river less than 50 yards away from the Three Mills Studios in Bromley by Bow. The 1,000kg bomb was the largest discovered in the past three decades. Bomb disposal experts from Royal Engineers went to work on making the device safe, and on Friday 6 June at around 6.00p.m. a controlled (yet bigger than planned) explosion was finally carried out.

Working under instructions from the Army, Police officers evacuated the area, whilst a 200m cordon was put in place, forming an exclusion zone around the bomb. This effectively resulted in the immediate closure of the entire Film Studios, affecting all current productions in 15 stages totalling 114,000sq.ft and resident on-site businesses plus 200 production offices.

One of the oldest tenants in 3 Mills Studios, Rigging Se

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On the eve of what is predicted to be a buoyant and well-attended ABTT Show in London, we have to report that console manufacturer Cadac Electronics has gone into administration. Managing director Bob Thomas said: "It is heartbreaking to see this great company go under at this stage. Although additional bank finance had been put in place to complete the S-Digital development and to get its production under way, the sudden slump in forecast analogue sales over the next few months meant that Cadac would be unable to maintain the underlying cashflow necessary for its survival." Sad news indeed.

The announcement that L-Acoustics has signed an Icelandic distributor, Nyherji, is further evidence that this North Atlantic outpost has established itself as a leading player on the international live sound circuit. Many international tours now include Reykjavik in their itineraries, whi

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Good News - The Association of British Theatre Technicians reports that the 30th anniversary ABTT Theatre Show staged in London's Royal Horticultural Halls last week was considered another triumph. Year on year the Show has expanded from both exhibitor and visitor perspectives. With over 100 participating companies, the organisers say that, despite the current uncertain economic climate, the visitor numbers were maintained and were slightly up on 2007.

Company News - In the entertainment technology industry's latest high-profile acquisition, Barco has announced that it has bought High End Systems Inc, the well-known manufacturer of automated luminaires, digital lighting and lighting controls, for a total value of USD 55 million. "With the merging of two strong industry players, this acquisition reinforces Barco's leadership position in the fast converging video and lighting segmen

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UK - PLASA Events Ltd, the organisers of the PLASA Show at Earls Court in London (7-10 Sept 2008) have announced the official launch of the 2008 PLASA Awards for Innovation, which this year will feature some significant enhancements - and also the 2008 Gottelier Award, which recognises the contribution of an outstanding individual to product development.

Innovation: PLASA goes for Gold
During consultation with the PLASA Awards for Innovation Judges after the 2007 PLASA Show, the judges expressed a desire to be able to more accurately reflect the levels of innovation seen in the products nominated for the Awards. Specifically, they were looking for a way to highlight those cases where a product truly delivered something strikingly new and innovative to the industry.

Roland Hemming, a highly-respected audio consultant and a regular on the PLASA Awards for Innovation j

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UK - Winning J&C Joel its third Hook Clamp award, the company's new JCJ Serge Tape attracted a lot of attention at this year's ABTT show. Fiona Blackett, marketing and Far East business manager, said: "Black wool serge is our biggest selling product and now most tears can be invisibly repaired with a matching strip of black serge instead of shiny gaffer tape. It is such a simple idea, but I am nevertheless surprised at just how genuinely interested people are - we've already had verbal orders from many technicians and theatrical dealers."

The tape that won Widget of the Year for J&C Joel was a prototype, but with a few minor changes to the packaging and branding the JCJ Serge Tape should be in production and ready for delivery by the end of July. Designed for use in Ideal theatres, touring shows, rental companies, film and TV studios and schools, this is one of those p

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Business News: Yamaha Corporation is making an offer to the founders of French loudspeaker manufacturer Nexo S.A. to acquire all of their shares of Nexo - bringing Yamaha's share holding to 74.9% of the share capital. Yamaha intends to seek to acquire 100% of the shares of Nexo through the launching of a tender offer process for the acquisition of the remaining shares.

Festival News: Organisers of festivals including Womad, Creamfields, Bestival, Electric Picnic and Big Chill have joined forces to take on their bigger rivals. They have agreed to work together to help make events better for fans, greener and more cost-effective. Bestival promoter Rob da Bank said it was important to "ride out the problems and make them better for the customer". Creamfields owner James Barton said it was a good idea because "smaller festivals are also often overlooked". He added: &quo

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UK - In celebration of one full year at its new 16,000sq.ft Lancashire-based facility, housing office, warehousing and factory space, family-run Slingco opened its doors to customers and other companies connected to the business.

Slingco services a broad range of markets with its wire rope and engineering solutions and a diverse range of companies were represented on the day - from theatre equipment suppliers to garage equipment suppliers, and from lift installers to aerospace designers, to name a few.

The move from the previous home four miles away has given the company a 50% increase in building size and additional land for expansion. With the building needing extensive remedial work prior to moving in, the Slingco team was able to shape the facility just as they wanted it.

On the day, sales director, Matt Dykins, introduced visitors to the full scope of the company's work

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Counterfeit News: Microphone and other component manufacturers will no doubt have taken note of a recent judgement. A French court has ordered eBay to pay 40m euros (£31.6m; $63m) to luxury goods group LVMH for allowing online auctions of fake copies of its goods. LVMH said eBay's French site had not done enough to stop the sale of counterfeit bags and perfumes. An eBay statement said LVMH was trying to "protect uncompetitive commercial practices at the expense of consumer choice" and added that it would appeal.

Disturbing News: Almost one in four secondary schools in England no longer has any specialist physics teachers, a survey suggests. The report, published by academics at the University of Buckingham, warns of a threat to the subject's future. The government has set targets to promote the number of physics teachers in secondary schools. But the report's authors wa

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UK - Glastonbury Festival has been hailed as "very successful" by Mendip District Council, which grants the licence for the event.

The licence, which was issued before the 2007 event, lasts for four years and allows organisers to continue holding the Glastonbury Festival until 2010, after which they will need to apply for a new licence.

One main issue dealt with by the district council was concerns about noise. Wind and low cloud meant that some Mendip residents who have normally not been able to hear the festival could hear some noise this year. However, according to Mendip's director for planning and environment, Charles Uzzell, although noise monitoring had taken place there was no significant breaches of the licence, and the levels of noise were within the national recommended guidelines.

Tom Killen, Mendip's portfolio holder for licensing and public protection

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UK - PLASA 2008 will be the second year of the prestigious Gottelier Award. Named in honour of the late designer, developer and commentator Tony Gottelier, this award aims to recognise the tireless product developers who have made a significant contribution to the development of the equipment and tools that enable our entertainment technology practitioners to continually push the boundaries of event production, presentation and installation.

Last year's inaugural Award was won by Tony Andrews of Funktion One for his decades of dedication to the advancement of loudspeaker design.

The Nomination phase of the 2008 Gottelier Award is now open, and industry professionals worldwide are being asked to put forward the names of individuals who they believe should be considered for this year's award.

Following the nomination period, a shortlist of the leading nominees will then be ope

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USA - At its annual Member Meeting and Industry Forum during InfoComm 08, NSCA appointed two new members to the association's Board of Directors. Dave Ferlino, president of VistaCom, and Michael Hester, managing partner of Beacon Communications, will each join the NSCA Board for three-year terms.Andy Musci, president of Altel Systems, took the helm as president when Nancy Emerson, vice president of Vodaci Technologies, retired from the NSCA Board in June.

"Andy will continue to bring great enthusiasm and passion to the Board," said NSCA executive director Chuck Wilson. "We look forward to his leadership. At the same time, we thank Nancy and our two other retiring board members, Randy Vaughan and Rick Scharmann, for their hard work and dedication to NSCA."

Ron Pusey, president and CEO of Communications Specialists of Virginia, moves into the role of vice-pre

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UK - Theatre Projects and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) have always enjoyed a fruitful collaborative relationship, but they have now further cemented this relationship with the renewal of The Robert Stanton - Theatre Projects Bursary Fund for LAMDA students.

Conceived as an acknowledgement of Bob Stanton's founding of the innovative Two Year Stage Management & Technical Theatre course at LAMDA in 1965, the bursary was originally launched as a celebration of Bob's 85th birthday. Stanton was a legendary British stage manager and honorary LAMDA fellow who was instrumental in helping Theatre Projects' founder and chairman emeritus, Richard Pilbrow, to start up his early career and then establish Theatre Projects.

Stanton became a consultant to Theatre Projects and was the original director of the pioneering Two Year Stage Management & Technical Theatre cours

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Good News: London's theatres enjoyed their most successful year on record in 2007, with attendances exceeding 13m for the first time, a report says. The Society of London Theatre's annual report says that box office takings rose to almost £470m. But the number of plays opening was down by a third on the previous year. The report says two-thirds of tickets sold were for musicals, with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Grease doing particularly well.

Sports News: More than 90,000 visitors to the Beijing Grand National Stadium will hear the words of the opening speeches of the 2008 Olympic Gasmes mixed on two Aurus desks installed in the stadium's central control room,, which will be fed via a Nexus audio network to the sound reinforcement system of 220 line arrays. Additionally, around 40 billion TV viewers around the world will view the opening ceremo

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UK - LSI Online has received the sad news of the death of Light Engineering's Cliff Wilding. Cliff, the founder and managing director of Light Engineering, died suddenly at home on Saturday 28 June.

Light Engineering, the company Cliff formed in 1980, is a wholesale supplier of specialist lighting and sound products and has been for many years a member of PLASA (the Professional Lighting and Sound Association). From its base in Walthamstow in London's East End, the company provides a wide range of over 1,000 professional lighting and sound products, and is especially known for its expertise in creating custom mirror balls and other novelty shapes. In 2003, Light Engineering merged with Multiform Lighting, a specialist manufacturer of lighting controls since 1971.

Cliff's funeral will take place this Friday, 11 July, at the City of London Cemetery in Wanstead.

(Lee Baldock)

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Italy - Video conferencing specialist Aethra has established Aethra UK. "Now is the time to strike in the UK," says Marco Viezzoli, CEO Aethra. "Thanks to our new brand identity and market philosophy, we are able to provide the UK market with an alternative approach to achieving top-class communications solutions. We have passed the point where just churning out great technologically sound products is enough for business applications; Our know-how in telecommunications has enabled us to achieve exceptional levels of quality and now our new vision is to go 'beyond technology' with a new range of innovative products."

Andy Wright, managing director for Aethra UK says: "Aethra is a very special company and I am proud to be spearheading their new operations here in the UK. Our offices have already been set up and I've recruited a team of specialists to work

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UK - Reviewing its own top ten theatres at risk for 2008 in England, The Theatres Trust welcomed English Heritage's new initiative to protect the nation's heritage. Of the 68 theatres in England on The Theatres Trust's Theatre Buildings at Risk register (TBAR), 34 currently face an uncertain future and are at high risk. The top ten theatres in the Trust's 2008 TBAR include theatres that remain empty, are under threat of demolition, neglect or unsympathetic redevelopment, and lack of funds for repairs and restoration.

Following the launch of English Heritage's new Heritage at Risk register The Theatres Trust highlighted the importance of its own work with local authorities, theatre owners and the public to secure historic theatres for future generations. Director Mhora Samuel added: "English Heritage is encouraging local authorities to make use of its new ambitious and syste

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UK - Amid the continuing growth in membership and a broadening range of initiatives, this year's PLASA AGM and Lunch on 3 June saw a record turnout for the third year in succession, the Association reports.

Over 170 members and guests enjoyed a day in the glamorous surroundings of London's Hurlingham Club, where the AGM and members' questions were followed by a three-course lunch with a talk by renowned broadcaster John Humphrys.

In its fourth year as a combined AGM and Member Lunch, and its third at the Hurlingham Club, the event has grown into a major fixture on members' calendars and the growing demand for places means PLASA will almost certainly move to a larger, but equally special, venue for next year.

Members now see this as a prime opportunity to celebrate being part of an organisation that is moving the industry forward and to network with other members in relaxed s

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USA - Angus Sinex, a well known member of the North American entertainment community, died on 8 June at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi, as a result of an accident in a load out. He was 45.

"We are deeply saddened by Angus's passing," said friend and colleague Gregory Cohen. "He was a dear friend, colleague and partner. Words are beyond inadequate to express this loss. Angus was a dedicated father and husband; it was impossible to work with him without realizing how much he cared about his family. He was a world class electrician and a friend to be treasured."

Sinex was a renowned production electrician who has worked on high profile corporate events, television productions and concerts for over two decades. He served as a lighting designer and electrician for on many of our industry's largest productions.

For those close to Sinex, a sit

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Music Industry News: Peter Gabriel says record companies should reinvent themselves to be seen as a service industry and not as "owners" of music. The former Genesis singer told the BBC he thought the current digital age paved the way for changes to be made. Gabriel has been a pioneer in distributing music legally online. He co-founded We7 - a website that allows users to stream and download music for free, with or without adverts - last year. "I love all these experiments - there's a lot of ways for musicians to communicate and sell their records to their fans," Gabriel said.

"There's still room for record companies but they should reinvent themselves as a service industry and not as owners. The structure of the old album and waiting for that to be finished still has some merit but you can do a lot of other things and I think it should be a lot looser and mixe

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