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Czech Republic - Conceived as a multi-purpose cultural centre combining exhibition rooms with concert halls, the Rudolfinum is one of the most architecturally remarkable buildings in Prague. It is also the home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, which first performed in the Rudolfinum’s world-famous concert hall in 1896 under the baton of famous Czech composer, Antonín Dvořák.
The 1,100-capacity Dvořák Hall, also one of the oldest concert halls in Europe, is renowned for its remarkable acoustics and is a sought-after venue for recording classical works. KV2 Audio recently designed and built a completely custom audio solution to address specific acoustic issues whilst meeting the strict architectural and aesthetic requirements of the listed building.
The acoustics that lend the Dvorak Hall its distinctive sound is also the reason for which the venue has battled

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USA - During the construction of The Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Centre at Auburn University, Alabama, Taylor Dyleski, director of production, was searching for a coms partner to deploy and install an intercom solution for the large indoor/outdoor space.
The Gogue found a dependable partner and the appropriate communications system with Pliant Technologies’ CrewCom wireless intercom system, as the manufacturer joined the project mid-construction and was able to provide a system that fit the theatre’s exact needs.
“With Pliant being a local manufacturer, they came down to the construction site and we walked around the bare-bones, concrete building, taking measurements and readings, to figure out how much product we would need to build a dependable, full-coverage coms system,” says Dyleski. “Not only does Pliant offer a solution that fits our current ne

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USA - Recently wrapping up a multi-faceted renovation - its most significant project since 2013 - Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles now boasts an L-Acoustics K2 line source array sound system installed this summer, covering the stadium seating, and L-Acoustics A15i and X8 speakers covering the new Centerfield Plaza and existing Outfield Pavilion areas.
Constructed in 1962, Dodger Stadium harkens back to an era when ballparks were designed and built solely to host baseball games. As many of these original venues have been replaced with new-build stadiums that are intended from the drawing board to be multi-use spaces for concerts, special events and other mass gatherings, Dodger Stadium remains one of the few ballparks to retain its original architecture and feel.
With the addition of an L-Acoustics K2 system, Dodger Stadium keeps its original look, while updating its feel

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UK - Stage Electrics has announced it has been successful in tendering for the supply of new LED lighting, RCF Art Series monitors and Altair wireless communication systems for the Trinity Art Centre, Gainsborough. The lighting package includes Martin ELP-CL profiles and ETC ColorSource Pars, supported with a combination of Chauvet Professional Rogue R3 Spots and R2X Washes.
A Chamsys MQ70 was specified as it offers the flexibility they need for this space, set within a Grade II listed gothic church. An Altair HD wireless communications system was selected following a successful pre-lockdown demonstration at the venue to ensure the Extreme Wireless beltpacks would provide the coverage and reliability they required.
Stage Electrics also manufactured all the cables to complete the system in their in-house cable workshop.

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USA - From its beginnings in the mid-1970s, with barely more than a dozen members, to the opening of its 3,500-seat auditorium in the new century, Denton Bible Church (DBC) has kept itself at the leading edge of technology. And the church, named for its Dallas, Texas-area suburban location, has continued to do so with the May addition of a new DiGiCo Quantum338 console, which is used for both front-of-house and monitor mixing.
At the same time, a new DiGiCo SD12 console was also installed as the church’s new broadcast audio console. Both desks, plus the two DiGiCo SD-Racks installed along with them that sit on an Optocore network, were integrated and commissioned by Digital Resources, Inc., an AV systems integrator based in nearby Southlake.
This is DBC’s second generation in the digital mixing arena, and they had become accustomed to the streamlined operational a

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UK - The #WeMakeEvents campaign has progressed into the ‘Red Alert’ phase, with planned activities set to take place across London and other major cities in the UK on the evening of 11 August.
The initiative will raise the alarm for the live events and entertainment sector, which has been badly-hit by the pandemic, resulting in countless event cancellations.
The campaign reports that the disruption of the summer season alone has affected over 600,000+ jobs in outdoor events. Meanwhile, a campaign survey revealed that redundancies in the sector are already happening, with 15% of businesses stating that they plan to make redundancies during August and 70% reporting that they could be forced to do so by the end of 2020.
The campaign warns tha

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UK - Event suppliers T.H. Collective, Fineline Lighting and Mechanical Mouse have teamed up to launch a new broadcast studio, TH e.Space.
Offering a full range of remote broadcast services, the studio is located at T.H. Collective’s Bristol headquarters and enables customers to produce remote video content while observing social distancing guidelines.
In addition to recording and editing the broadcast, the team at TH e.Space can offer clients a wide range of services including Q&As, live polling, speaker coaching, live captioning, graphics and more.
Nick Hobbs, director at T.H. Collective, comments: “We’ve launched TH e.Space as a direct response to the changing needs of audiences due to the coronavirus pandemic. During lockdown we’ve all become very accustomed to consuming remote content and this new studio offers a higher production value for bus

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UK - Audio post production facility Pip Studios is now fully open, offering Dolby Atmos capability from its six purpose-built Atmos stages on its site in Winnersh, Berkshire. Co-founded by Ally Curran, Mark Sheffield and Nigel Bennett, Pip aims “to bring its expertise to bear on offering state of the art audio localisation services for feature films, television, gaming, and streaming industries”.
The six Atmos stages are all Dolby certified, equipped with 24-fader Avid S6 mixing consoles, and aligned for theatrical and home entertainment mixing. The stages have been built and equipped by leading suppliers, including Level Acoustic Design, Westwood Joinery, HHB Scrub, Bell Theatre Services, AKA, Wire Broadcast, Jigsaw 24, and Dolby.
“The COVID-19 pandemic delayed our official opening by a month, so we used that time to further refine the facility,” comments Pip

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UK - Arts organisations can now apply for a portion of the government’s £1.57bn relief fund.
Up to £622m in grants will be made available during this first phase of the programme, including a £2.25m pot for grassroot music venues announced earlier this month.
Arts Council England will allocate £500m, with handouts of between £50,000 and £3m available for cultural organisations based in England, such as theatres, music and comedy venues and museums.
The rest of the money will be distributed by the British Film Institute (£30m) for independent cinemas, and the National Lotter

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UK - Unusual Rigging has conducted a series of inspection and maintenance checks at the Royal Albert Hall in preparation for an eventual post-COVID re-opening. With the venue shut for the first time since the Blitz, it was unable to carry out its usual April inspections and maintenance and as such the statutory examination periods for some hoists had expired.
Alexander Tripp, deputy head of technical at Royal Albert Hall explained: “While being closed has meant that there is less wear and tear on some of the equipment than there would usually be, this is not the case for the majority of it, There were also a number of examinations that needed to be carried out – thorough examination of rigging equipment being one of them. We wanted to get this rectified as soon as possible, but there were many challenges that needed addressing before work inside the Hall could be safely

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Australia - The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) recently committed more than AUD$50m to a substantial upgrade to its 100,000-seat stadium.
This included an AUD$25m contract for a new site-wide PA, transport and connectivity, masterminded by two eminent technology companies. Australian sound & AV consultants Auditoria conceived the system, and Diversified (who in 2019 acquired Rutledge AV in Australia) undertook the complex integration at the famous MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground).
Premier pro audio brands, including fibre network specialists, Optocore, were vital to the implementation. To give an idea of scale, more than 3,000 speakers now populate the seating bowl, function rooms and VIP suites, atria, internal concourse areas and exit gates.
The existing PA system, installed 14 years earlier, no longer met audience expectations, hence informal conversations wi

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UK - Trending in Twitter’s top 3 on the night, the #LightItInRed campaign saw over 670 buildings, monuments, landmarks and structures all over the UK illuminated in ‘Emergency Red’ on 6 July (Monday) to highlight the vast challenges facing the live events, music and performing arts sectors.
The action was organised by Steven Haynes from Clearsound Productions and Phillip Berryman from The Backstage Theatre Jobs Forum. It energised theatres, arts centres, live music venues, technical production and rental companies and associated individuals and freelancers everywhere, who were able to enjoy the camaraderie of working together once again on a massive national event with real purpose, after many months of the industry being closed and shuttered.
On the eve of the event (Sunday) the government announced a £1.57bn financial assistance package for arts and culture in

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UK - SARM Music Bank in northwest London has transformed its rehearsal rooms into COVID-compliant live streaming, recording and session spaces in partnership with local rental specialists, Colour Sound Experiment.
Each studio now has a fully equipped, modular and scalable lighting, video and multi camera system ready to go. FOH, monitor and broadcast mixing are taken care of in house. Dedicated leased line broadband along with Source Connect is available if needed, and a suite of breakout rooms including dressing room, artist lounge, manager's office, interview rooms and a kitchenette are part of each studio.
Each step of the process has been carefully considered to ensure that artists and crew can operate safely, from a socially distanced chauffeur to contactless catering options.
Haydn Cruickshank, managing director of Colour Sound Experiment, was contacted b

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Germany - The Hyperbowl studio has just opened its doors at Expo Munich, offering the largest virtual production space in Europe.
ROE Visual was selected as preferred partner to provide all LED screens for the studio, a concept by ACHT and NSYNK, realised by TFN in corporation with Fournell.
Trying to find alternative platforms for tradeshows and live events while the COVID-19 restrictions are in place for large scale events, companies are offering inventive solutions that involve a mix of live presentation with virtual audiences, so-called hybrid events. ROE Visual LED screens are increasingly used to create large, visual displays for these types of events, due to their perfect on-site as well as on-camera performance.
Early April, TFN set out to present their format to several interested parties, after which they were contacted by the Expo Munich. The Expo Muni

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UK - Last night (6 July), some of the UK’s most iconic venues and landmarks were lit up in ‘emergency red’ as part of the #LightItInRed campaign to draw attention to the critical condition of the live events and entertainment industry. A glimpse of hope was given to Britain’s arts industry on Sunday evening (5 July), as £1.57bn was pledged by the government – yet the supply chain behind the production of live events and festivals, including many freelancers, is still awaiting clarification as to what support they will be offered.
Unlike other industries, live theatre, outdoor events, concerts, festivals and performances have been unable to safely resume due to social distancing guidance and other restrictions. Many predict these events may not resume until 2021. The #LightItInRed campaign aims to draw attention to the

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UK - After weeks of relentless campaigning, the British arts sector has been promised a coronavirus bailout worth £1.57bn.

The funding was announced late on Sunday evening, with the UK government stating it represents “the biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture”.

The package includes:
- £1.15bn support pot for cultural organisations in England, comprising £880m grants and £270m loans;
- £100m of targeted support for the national cultural institutions in England and the English Heritage Trust;
- £120m capital investment to restart construction on cultural infrastructure and for heritage construction projects in England;
- extra £188m for the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland (£33m), Scotland (£97m) and Wales (£59m).

The news follows the government’s announcement of a roadmap to reopeni

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UK - Artists including Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Cure, Radiohead, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Annie Lennox, PJ Harvey, The 1975 and Blur are among the names demanding immediate action to save live music in the UK by signing an open letter to the UK government's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden. The move is a bid to “show the vital importance of the UK’s live music industry, ensure the Government cannot ignore live music and make noise to get the public and financial support the industry needs to survive”.

The full letter reads as follows:
“Dear Secretary of State,
“UK live music has been one of the UK’s biggest social, cultural, and economic successes of the past decade. From world-famous festivals to ground-breaking concerts, the live music industry showcases, supports, and develops some of the

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USA - E2i Design’s Josh Holowicki had no hesitation in specifying GLP’s X4 Bar 20 as an essential component in a major technological upgrade at Church of the Highlands’ Grants Mill broadcast campus in Alabama.
E2i has been a partner with the Church since 2012, providing solutions for their broadcast and extension campuses with lighting and LED video technology. But this latest project was a year in the making due to their determination to select the very best fixtures and build flexibility within the already constructed worship facility. In their determination to create a ‘tour grade’ technical infrastructure, the visual upgrade to the stage space is an exciting and ongoing process.
“Ultimately the technical and visual directors of the Ministry wanted the ability to re-configure their stage design any way they wanted without limitations,” Josh Holowicki

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UK - Audio-visual and entertainment technology supplier Anna Valley has built its first off-site online event studio at indigo at The O2, transforming the iconic music venue into a live-streaming studio.
After being closed for over three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the popular South East London venue can now host online events for corporate and agency clients using the solution from Anna Valley.
Anna Valley launched the online event studio in June via a live stream demonstration of their in-house studio setup in West London. Online event studio clients were offered the option of hosting events from the audio-visual company’s 42,000sq.ft facility or having a customised solution built at a venue of their choice. The new installation at indigo at The O2 now provides London-based event agencies and corporate clients with an alternative off-site venue for virtu

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UK - Live From The Polar Bear heralds a return to live music from COVID-19 lockdown, with VMS Live supporting the Polar Bear and Sesh, presenting a 12-week series of gigs, starting 30 June 2020.
Shows will be live streamed from 8.00pm, with the first sessions featuring The Hubbards and Alice Simmons.
Other acts already confirmed are King No-One with Kitty VR, Polo and Lucy Tessier, Talk More and Jack Conman and Fever with Aimee Duncan.
VMS Live CEO Bert Van Horck comments, “We’re all passionate in our love for live music and very excited to be taking this first step back towards feeling the energy of a live gig again. Performing is a highlight for any artist, creating a special bond with their audience and we are providing a safe stage with high quality technical support to enable that. With social distancing limiting our ability to fill the venue, w

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UK – AED Group has launched a ‘Mid-Air Disinfection System’ (MADS) for the UK market under its Luxibel brand.
Developed since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it is made up of UVC ventilation cylinders that disinfect the air using UVC light technology. It has been specifically designed to cater for larger spaces with an audience where air circulation needs to be taken into account.
Glenn Roggeman, CEO of AED Group, used his knowledge of aerodynamics gained during his training as a helicopter pilot to drive the design forward. He comments: “This system sucks air breathed out by people into our aerodynamically-patented system. Micro-organisms such as bacteria and viruses are neutralised, meaning germ-free air is blown back into the room.
“When we are able to meet up again in enclosed spaces with groups of people, air disinfection will contribute to reducing in

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Japan - Founded in Los Angeles in 2012, 800º Degrees Woodfired Kitchen boasts eight outlets across the US, two in the Middle East and three in Japan. The latest, at the Tokyo International Forum, features a Yamaha background music system.
The first 800º Degrees restaurant in Japan opened at Tokyo’s Shinjuku City, followed by one in nearby Minami Aoyama. The latest is in the heart of the city’s Marunouchi business district, with seats for 100 diners and a VIP room for 10 people.
“While maintaining the core Californian brand and taste, we have a dedicated concept for each restaurant, with a specially-designed interior and menu in each location,” says Mr Kazuma Suzuki, general manager of the market development department of Lumine Co, the Japanese retail developer which has brought the 800º Degrees brand to Japan.
“The new restaurant is relatively large

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Iceland - The National Theatre of Iceland has made the leap to digital with Sennheiser. Reykjavik’s premier arts venue regularly attracts large audiences who expect the very highest quality every time the curtain raises. When it was time to update the venue’s audio equipment, Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 wireless microphone system - including the SK 6212 mini-bodypack transmitter - was the choice for Kristinn Gauti Einarsson, head of sound at the theatre.
With three different shows every day and more than 10 premieres each year across its five stages, the National Theatre is operated with a leaner team and budget than most national theatres.
Einarsson shares the secret behind their success: he has worked with the same musical composer, set designer and director for six years. “It’s so amazing to start new, great shows with the same team. Our collaboration and co

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UK - PLASA has launched #WeMakeEvents, a new campaign with the aim of amplifying the industry’s voice and gaining meaningful Government support. Central to the campaign is a video highlighting the vital role of supply chain companies along with the freelance community and the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic upon the live events sector.
PLASA is calling for people from across the industry to share the video across social media to give much needed exposure to the supply chain to events including production and rental companies, manufacturers and freelancers, to raise awareness of the need for longer term financial support.
In addition to sharing the video, PLASA has published two infographics illustrating the complexity of the live events supply chain and
  1. NEP and Skyway launch LED smart stage
  2. OSF and ARRI build virtual studios
  3. Collective Sessions launch COVID-safe facility
  4. Lucid Technologies and Black Light open studio
  5. OutBoard introduces TiMax Crowdscape
  6. Texas church revitalised with Chauvet
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