UK - One of the first things that visitors to Wembley Stadium will see in 2021 are the bespoke LED screens created by LG Electronics (LG) as part of the remodelling of the stadium’s entrance that has seen the old concrete pedestrian flyovers replaced by a new set of Olympic Steps.
A joint project developed in partnership with stadium owner the Football Association, Brent Council, and surrounding landowner and developer Quintain, the most eye-catching aspects of the new design are the giant LED screens that dominate the entrance. Composed of one enormous 460sqm screen mounted on the inside of the Great Hall facing outwards, dubbed the Large External Screen or ‘LES’, and flanked by two 230sq.m displays, nicknamed the ‘Ears’, the screens are the most visible part of an enormous project undertaken by FA partner LG that will also see the venue’s 1200 plasma screens al

UK - Having given their new RCF HDL 30-A rig an auspicious debut at Rutland Water recently for the Frankie Valli tribute act, Frankie’s Guys, JPS Sound & Light were in action again at the Colesdale Farm festival site near Potters Bar for the now firmly established Zimfest Live - a colourful celebration of Zimbabwean music.
Working alongside Gareth Wildman’s Stage Tec as they frequently do, John Southee’s Peterborough based company populated the 12 x 10m Alidome stage with two hangs of eight HDL 30-A active two-way line array modules. These were underpinned with two 18 RCF SUB 9006-AS on the ground in front of the stage, while across the stage lip were RCF’s NX 15-SMA reference monitors.
Wildman, who has known John Southee for the past 20 years, has increasingly turned to the sound system specialist for his deployment of RCF’s control tool, RDNet.
W

Europe - Robe Esprite luminaires and RoboSpot remote follow spotting systems – the first installed on an ocean-going liner – are providing a flexible solution for the Two70 Theatre space aboard the new 1,138ft long, 169 gross tonne Odyssey of the Seas, the latest Ultra Quantum-class ship launched by Royal Caribbean International.
Built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, the technical specifications for the various onboard entertainment spaces were coordinated by Christopher Vlassopulos, Royal Caribbean’s sound, light and AV systems manager for new build projects. The installation was completed by media technology specialists and integrators, Amptown System Company (ASC).
Two70 is featured on all four of Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ships, and fitting traditional follow spots into these was always a challenge. Due to the steep angle of the sea

Italy - Sound engineers chose Point Source Audio's CO-8WL omnidirectional waterproof lavalier microphones for the immersive production of Puccini's Tosca, staged in the courtyard of Palazzo Farnese in Northern Italy's city of Piacenza.
Due to the necessary social distancing of the audience and performers, this production called on many more technical elements than you would usually find in an opera. From the projection mapping around the facade of the courtyard used for the staging to the immersive audio environment created by the Outboard TiMax system, this was a performance where technology came to the forefront to transport the audience back to Napoleonic Rome.
Creating the kind of audio environment where every nuance could be reproduced naturally and precisely required premium components at every stage of the signal chain.
"Point Source Audio's CO-8WL

Denmark - Copenhagen’s Østre Gasværk Theatre is staging a revival of the 2017 Danish production of Green Day’s iconic American Idiot sung-through drama directed and choreographed by Tim Zimmerman, which is proving to be every bit as popular as the original show.
Once again, the technical discipline of automation is crucial to Benjamin la Cour’s dramatic, stark scenography and production design, and a Kinesys Apex automation system - a combination of 1,250kg and 500kg Apex motors with Vector control - is at the heart of delivering the elegant millimetre-perfect movement control, advanced safety requirements plus other cool features like silent braking that are essential for the delivery of this captivating show. The hoists are moving three large scenery pieces making up a concrete-look scenic floor, which also transforms into separate ceiling pieces that work t

New Zealand - After more than a year of lockdown, the wait was finally over when the multi-platinum selling band, Six60, embarked on a massive tour across New Zealand. The Six60 Saturdays tour culminated with a historic ‘first’ when they became the first ever band to play at the Eden Park stadium in Auckland, with over 50,000 fans gathering to see the live show.
Video production and equipment supplier, Big Picture, provided a complete video system package both for the tour and the inaugural concert at Eden Park, which included Brompton Technology’s Tessera LED processing.
“Coming out of a year of Covid restrictions, we were excited to be given an opportunity to put together a video system package for the upcoming Six60 Saturdays tour,” says Paul Carppe, general manager – NZ at Big Picture. “We have a close working relationship with Eccles Entertainment (

USA - Robert John Baker was called upon to light the award-winning Andrew Lippa musical based on the famously eccentric Addams Family, at the historic (121-year-old) Casino Theatre in Vandergrift, PA.
“Before designing this show, I went back and watched some of the old Addams Family programmes and the film to see the world through their perspective,” he said. “The way they saw the world was quite different than what we deem to be normal. I wanted that to inform my design.”
Baker’s empathy for the characters in the Addams Family is readily apparent in the way he uses light to distinguish their unique personalities, express their hopes, and accentuate key moments as their stories unfold in this darkly funny musical comedy.
Helping him convey the family’s emotions, while creating a sense of mystery around them were the Chauvet Professional Ovation E-910

UK - A South-West event production company has successfully delivered the UK leg of international yacht race, SailGP, which was hosted in Plymouth for the first time.
Cornwall-based JHAV worked with SailGP’s UK event director and global team to design, organise, and manage the event, which took place on 17-18 July.
Known as the F1 of sailing, SailGP saw eight international teams from Australia, France, USA, Great Britain, Denmark, Japan, New Zealand, and Spain compete in front of more than 4,000 fans each day at Plymouth Hoe.
John Hibdige, JHAV’s production manager, said: “We’re well known for our AV services, though we also specialise in production and event management, tailoring our services to client’s needs. Our team provided a full event service for SailGP, and I’m really proud of the outcome.
“Plymouth Hoe is one of the world’s best na

Australia - The first Astera NYX Bulb installation in Australia has been completed by Elite Event Technology at One22, a new music-driven bar and night entertainment concept in a reimagined space that has long served night and party people in Canberra.
Owned by the same team who also run the popular Fiction Club and Fact Bar, ACT’s largest club, One22’s new lighting design includes 60 x Astera NYX bulbs in an individually mapped ceiling art piece.
EET’s Darren Russell was invited to create a fresh new lighting look to match the eye-catching raw industrial chic of One22’s interior design, and integral to this is the NYX bulb roof installation.
“The client wanted to be able to change the mood and dynamic of the venue instantly and drastically but without having any roof trusses full of lighting and rigging,” explained Darren.
Having invested ste

USA - Meyer Sound will take over the 2,643-seat Linda W. Chapin Theatrein the Orange County Convention Centre at InfoComm 2021 in October for “real world” demonstrations of Spacemap Go. During that time, the theatre’s permanent Meyer Sound reinforcement system will be augmented with additional AVB Milan certified Galileo Galaxy Network Platforms and surround loudspeakers to support the demos and special guest presenters joining the Meyer Sound team.
“This is our first major trade show since we introduced Spacemap Go, so we are going all-out to make these demo sessions an InfoComm highlight,” says Tim Boot, Meyer Sound’s director of global marketing. “Instead of the scaled-down demo room simulations others have shown, at InfoComm we will launch a full-blown experience of what Spacemap Go can do in immersive music concerts and sophisticated theatrical productions

The Netherlands - Following a year-long hiatus, the Eurovision Song Contest returned this year with a lavish production that met the immense expectations of dedicated Eurovision fans the world over.
Ampco Flashlight was awarded the role of official technical supplier, with group member Purple Group supplying an extensive L-Acoustics loudspeaker system as part of the overall audio-visual requirements. Erwin Rintjema of Sightline Productions was leading the ESC-team as head of production.
Jeroen ten Brinke was ESC head of live sound. Ten Brinke designed an audio system around L-Acoustics K and X Series, with a total of 300 L-Acoustics cabinets deployed.
Commercial and operational director, Dennis van der Haagen, was overseeing the project on behalf of official technical supplier Ampco Flashlight. “Ampco Flashlight was awarded the contract for rigging, lighting an

South Africa - Following a successful install at The Foschini Group’s (TFG) Foschini store in Canal Walk, Cape Town, the South African retail group recently commissioned another product from the Stage Audio Works’ Pixel Plus range for their Sportscene brand, located in the same shopping centre.
This time, the project witnessed the implementation of a curved Pixel Plus LED wall as the centrepiece of the store’s new visual concept. TFG called upon retail solutions specialists, Lumalytic (PTY) to create a new look with hi-tech audio-visual and lighting solutions. The Sportscene store is now home to a new, custom Pixel Plus digital signage screen as well as an improved audio system complete with zone control, and innovative lighting that cultivates a vibrant shopping experience.
The curved Pixel Plus display is the focal point of the installation. Set amidst the rack

USA - tvONE has announced that a CORIOmaster mini video wall processor is driving the new Church of God – a Worldwide Association (COGWA) - TV Studio at its Texas headquarters.
The high-tech HQ is a vital communication centre for the church’s members and includes the delivery of its weekly broadcast news magazine, In Accord, among other outreach programmes and publications.
The In Accord TV set was designed by Kelly Cunningham, assistant manager AV/Data/Web at COGWA, and utilises a 1x3 monitor wall of NEC 46” tiles.
Created with viewer engagement in mind, the new video wall displays vibrant colours, multiple shooting angles, and ample space for guest interaction.
tvONE dealer Dave Pollock, from supplier AV Dallas, says: “The church approached AV Dallas with the desire to install a high-functioning 1x3 video wall to act as a ticker/mult

UK - Vintage Martin Audio modular stacks have helped support an experimental work at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in central London.
It is fitting that as the manufacturer celebrates its 50th year, Alex Czechowski of Ace Vintage Systems should be commissioned to provide a classic Martin Audio rig from yesteryear, exemplifying its formidable history.
Created and performed by influential dance and performance artist, Samir Kennedy, it was show designer, Simon Vincenzi, who came up with the idea of using speakers to create a ‘portal’ or proscenium for The Misery Portal.
Simon is a London-based theatre director, choreographer and designer who has created a huge body of work over the past 20 years. He searched far and wide on the internet and came across the Ace Vintage Systems website which provided him with inspiration for the show, together w

China - The original TAXX club in Shanghai was one of the city’s largest clubs, boasting over 3,000sq.m of partying space over two floors. KV2’s Chinese distributor, AVMedia based in Guangzhou City, designed and installed a KV2 Audio system based on the powerful VHD2.0 long throw system supplemented by SL412s and several ESD12s.
From the day it opened, TAXX established itself as one of Shanghai’s hottest venues with a record-breaking monthly turnover. It therefore comes as no surprise that the TAXX investment team decided to open a second venue – this time even bigger and demanding an even more powerful system. Having decided to stick with a winning formula, the investment team opted once again for a KV2 system, this time for the company’s flagship VHD5 – the first installation of its kind in China.
TAXX II, with a capacity of 1000 people, is a club designe

UK - Doughty Engineering and PSI have teamed up to deliver the design and installation of specialist infrastructure at the Grand Opera House in Belfast.
PSI were contracted by Tracey Brothers to facilitate the design and installation on the project which included a complete rewire of the production lighting and control, dimmers, audio, comms, stage management desks, show relay, foyer paging as well as providing a new house lighting system and additional elements to the in-house stage engineering system. All packages were specified by Charcoalblue.
PSI, who are dealers for Doughty in both Northern Ireland and Ireland, brought Doughty on board very early on in the project. David Mckeown, project manager explained: “Work commenced on site in January 2020 and then the pandemic hit in March. Initially the programme was ten months to hand over at the end of October 2020, b

USA - The one hour syndicated daytime show The Kelly Clarkson Show (TKCS) produced by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios is an energetic mash up of chat, stories, opinions, humour, and surprises involving an array of guests, personalities, and music.
The role of lighting this ever-shifting environment recorded on Universal Studios in LA’s Stage 1, has been down to Darren Langer of DCLighting, a lighting design and direction practice also based in LA, specialising in television and multi-camera environments. Their work encompasses broadcast, streamed shows and events, awards extravaganzas, talk shows and music-based projects of all sizes.
Darren has relied on several specific Robe products throughout series 1 and 2 of The Kelly Clarkson Show – Pointes, BMFL Spots and BMFL Blades, PATT 2013s, Spiiders and Tetra2s – to ensure that the studios and sets have looked fre

Serbia - Crt Birsa of Blackout Lighting Design designed a compelling lightshow for Bosnian stars Dubioza Kolektiv at Arsenal Fest 2021.
Birsa began lighting the genre-smashing band in late 2010 and soon after that he had bought his first ChamSys PC Wing. In all the years since, he has built on this experience with every single Dubioza Kolektiv show. Using ever-more advanced ChamSys consoles, he has continuously taken earlier looks and bent them in original ways to create designs that build on a rich legacy, while reflecting his client’s music in refreshingly original ways.
“My show contains 10 years of history,” said Birsa. “This is a history that is constantly updated with new ideas for old songs, and also new songs being reflected in new and traditional ways.
“Designing for Dubioza Kolektiv is a wonderfully rewarding challenge, because the band combin

USA - Prestonwood Baptist Church, one of the largest churches in America with a membership of over 45,000 and a weekly attendance of around 17,000, is emblematic of the Lone Star State’s scale. When the church realised that it needed to revitalise its audio mixing, routing, and management capacity, DiGiCo was chosen.
Working closely with integrator Paragon 360, the church installed three DiGiCo Quantum7 consoles in the 7,000-seat auditorium of its main campus in Plano, Texas, used for front of house, monitors, and broadcast, and one more Q7 at its newer Prosper, Texas campus, used to simultaneously handle front of house, monitors, and broadcast for the smaller yet substantial 1,500-seat sanctuary there.
The 140-acre Plano campus is also now fitted with an ample complement of I/O stations, including two SD-Racks backstage, along with an Orange Box loaded with DMI-DANT

USA - The BYU-Idaho Centre, on the western edge of Brigham Young University-Idaho’s Rexburg campus, is an architectural marvel. Dedicated in December 2010 after three years of construction, the ‘I-Centre’ is a 435,000sq.ft facility combining two distinct gathering places: a large athletics centre equipped with 10 multi-use sporting courts and a 15,000-seat auditorium used for student devotionals, ecclesiastical meetings, graduation exercises, and select artistic and cultural events.
Recently, the auditorium became more intimate sounding when an L-Acoustics loudspeaker system was installed by Clearwing Systems Integration.
The fan-shaped venue with its 7,500sq.ft stage is one of the largest production theatres in North America, offering only 6,000 fewer seats than its sister facility, the LDS Conference Centre at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
Familiar wit

UK - Scottish Ballet has recently taken possession of a second consignment of Robert Juliat Dalis 860 cyclorama lights bringing its total inventory to 26. The award-winning Dalis 860 fixtures were supplied quickly and efficiently by Adlib’s Glasgow branch to provide Scottish Ballet with a versatile tool that can adapt to many environments and design requirements.
The upgrading of Scottish Ballet’s lighting systems began with a focus on cyclorama fixtures. “Cyc lighting is a fairly constant requirement at Scottish Ballet, and we don’t anticipate models to change dramatically. We wanted an LED replacement for our existing fixtures that looked the part as well as doing a great job,” explains Scottish Ballet’s technical director, Matt Strachan.
“I have been looking at Robert Juliat’s Dalis at trade shows for several years but never had a chance to use them

UK - Marta Minujín’s provocative work Big Ben Lying Down With Political Books is a centrepiece of the Manchester International Festival. The work takes the London landmark and turns it on its side in Piccadilly Gardens. Stretching 42m and reaching as high as 8m in some places, the structure commands immediate attention. But the Argentinian pop artist had more than novelty in mind when she created the distinctive structure.
Covering the tower are 20,000 books donated from various Manchester groups. Representing a range of literary eras and styles from Marx’s Das Kapital to Marcus Rashford’s You Are A Champion, the books have been selected for their roles in shaping Britain’s culture and influencing its future. Collectively they serve as a source of reflection for the nation during a time of profound change with Covid and Brexit.
Adding impa

Australia - To create an innovative space for industry experts to effectively interact and communicate with students, Videopro collaborated with Harman Professional Solutions to outfit James Cook University’s new JCU Ideas Lab with a cutting-edge networked AV solution.
Established in 1970, James Cook University (JCU) has campuses in Cairns, Townsville, Singapore, and Brisbane, as well as research and learning sites in Mackay, Mount Isa, Rockhampton, and Thursday Island.
JCU recently completed its new $30m facility, the JCU Ideas Lab, creating a place for researchers, entrepreneurs and students to share ideas and innovate together. The facility houses an atrium, meeting rooms, electronics labs, workshops and teaching spaces to create, prototype, test, develop and scale innovative technologies, products, and business concepts, including a Narrow-band Internet of Thing

China - On 18 July, the Shanghai Planetarium opened in a blaze of bright lights nearby the Dishui Lake in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. It covers an area of 58,603sq.m and a building area of 37,741sq.m, making it the largest planetarium in the world.
With the vision of "shaping a complete view of the universe", Shanghai Planetarium strives to stimulate people's curiosity, encourage them to appreciate the starry sky, understand the universe and think about the future. The main exhibition area includes three parts: Homeland, Universe and Journey, which show a panoramic view of the vast universe, create a multi-sensory exploration journey to help the audience shape a complete view of the universe.
The What If theatre is located in the Universe exhibition area and uses a highly immersive 360-degree circular screen with 7.1.4 3D immersive sound to create an enveloping univers

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