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Rigging / Staging

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Europe - Prolight + Sound 2022 attracted 20,000 visitors from 93 countries, according to the organisers.
After a break of two years, the Frankfurt event brought together companies and professionals from all segments of the industry. Wolfgang Marzin, president and chief executive officer of Messe Frankfurt, reflects: “By all pulling together, we have achieved something that, at the beginning of the year, many people thought would be impossible: the companies and associations of the event and media technology sector joined forces with us to show once again how much life and positive energy is to be found in this industry.”
“We are delighted we have succeeded with Prolight + Sound in triggering this important restart and that we can once again all come together with no restrictions. Both exhibitors and visitors were hungry for spontaneous meetings,” adds Linda Res

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UK - Harlequin Floors has launched a pioneering new floor system. Harlequin Liberty Switch is a professional multi-use floor that can be switched from a rigid theatrical floor to a sprung dance floor at the touch of a button.
This innovative and versatile floor has been designed for venues who regularly put on both dance and theatrical performances and so require both a sprung and a rigid floor in the same performance or rehearsal space.
Harlequin Liberty Switch is a modular multi-use floor system comprised of a base unit with the drive and control mechanism topped with a Harlequin Liberty sprung floor. The base units house a series of moving carriages connected by rods running on high-strength carrier rails powered by electric actuators located at the ends of each row. Each actuator and associated controller are linked to a master control unit located off-stage.
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UK - Area Four Industries UK continues to expand its operations with the appointment of Matthew Millward as head of automation to manage its EXE Technology brands.
Millward comments: “To be finally working with the world’s largest manufacturer of truss, staging and automation products has a great sense of achievement and pride. It is an extremely exciting phase for EXE Technology with the introduction of the All In One / One for All smart solutions.”
Sales & marketing director Glen Brown adds: “I am delighted with Matt joining the A4i UK team at this time. He is the perfect plug & play solution for this new role and joins with a vast knowledge and practical experience of entertainment / theatrical environments. Our customers and users will feel the benefits immediately with his level of professionalism and empathy.”

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Germany - Kinesys product engineering and Tait Navigator control technology will introduce new products at Frankfurt in Hall 12.0, stand C96.
Tait will reveal three adaptable winches: suitable for scenic movement, and with the requisite SIL3-rated safety features now mandated for performer flying. The team will also introduce new drives optimised for installation requirements and providing an impressive powerhouse for precision position control.
Visitors to the stand can enjoy a hands-on experience with Tait’s latest automation console, epiQ.
Joining the new machines on the stand will be the tour-proven Kinesys Apex hoist system, the Kinesys Vector control console, and the Kinesys Libra range of load monitoring safety tools that ensure all static and dynamic loads are continually and precisely measured in real-time.
The Kinesys DigiHoist fixed speed chain

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Germany - HOF will launch its new Post Dolly at Prolight+Sound 2022. The Post Dolly offers a variety of possibilities to create different structures and layouts on stage. It can be used for single lamps, but also as a stacked dolly with, for example, 1m standard conical tubes between the dollies to create different levels.
The components can be mounted standing or hanging on the 15mm plate. Further, the user can mount 2-point, 3-point or 4-point trusses in sizes 290mm or 400mm on the dolly in different positions, using the optional adapter plate.
Likewise, the MLT trusses can be positioned upright in centre or off-centre positions. Multiple Post dollies can be combined to create various constructions. The components remain in place during the show and during transport, saving a lot of time. The wheels are black & grey and therefore almost invisible on stage.

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Europe - Prolight Concepts Group has added Robolights IWB components to its product portfolio. These modular installation solutions are now in stock and ready to ship directly from the Prolight warehouse.
The new addition “bolsters our product offering in the stage, theatre and installation sectors”, says Prolight.
Robolights’ Julian Baycock comments: “Robolights are delighted that Prolight will be distributing our products, their ethos of holding stock on the shelf for same day dispatch allows installers to access the product range without delay.”

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USA/UK - ESTA and PLASA have announced the release of an updated Version 2.0 of the International Code of Practice for Entertainment Rigging (ICOPER), which is available as a free download at www.esta.org/icoper or www.plasa.org/icoper.
Submissions from the international rigging community were received in response to a call for comments in late 2021. The document’s authors, Nick Barnfield (New Zealand), Tiny Good (Australia), Chris Higgs (UK), Ed Kish (United States), Bill Sapsis (United States), and Roy Schilderman (The Netherlands) praised the commentors for their thoughtful consideration and the obvious expertise they brought to the task.
Chris Higgs notes, “Each comment was discussed at length in our zoom calls, which were facilitated by Lori Rubinstein from ESTA. Some comments acted as a catalyst, causing us to rethink and rewrite the language in the code, wh

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Italy - When Spazio Bizzarro, a red and white big top circus tent in Casatenovo, Milan, launched its latest project In The Air, it turned to BroadWeigh for its load monitoring requirements. The project, which was conceived in 2012, is a cultural sports and social centre, offering annual courses and workshops in contemporary circus and performative arts, including street art, music, theatre and dance.
Nicola Bruni, director of Spazio Bizzarro explains: “We knew we would need a reputable partner for this venture and selected Monkey Rigging to help us devise a rigging structure for our new indoor space, Il Delado. Working with Monkey Rigging’s Andrea Mammolenti, we came up with a solution that would give us a safe system for both the big top and Il Delado - the training spaces for this project.”
Andrea adds: “The challenge was to design a structure for th

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UK - When Matt Strigden of SRD Projects was looking for a track solution for a new drama venue at Channing School in Highgate, North London, he turned to Doughty Engineering.
Having worked with the Doughty team for years, Strigden, who heads up the projects department at SRD, knew that they were the right team for the job. He said: “I know Doughty well - the people and the products. I have known sales managers, Dan Phillips and Laurence Dyer for nearly 20 years. Both are extremely helpful whenever I have a design question and are really good at providing the answers we need.”
SRD Projects works across all sorts of sectors; theatres, education, fitness, houses of worship and retail, providing lighting and audio solutions in these spaces and so regularly find themselves turning to Doughty for the right kit. This project at Channing School involved restoring one of th

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UAE - Fantek Industrial, part of the Equipson Group, is playing a key role at Expo Dubai 2020 by supplying all the rigging and structures needed to create audiovisual displays and performance stages in both the Spanish and Angola Pavilions.
The Angola Pavilion pays tribute to its indigenous traditions by taking inspiration from Sona geometry, the ancient art of sand drawing that has been used by generations of its citizens to transfer knowledge. Using interactive spaces and a multimedia show that combines different audiovisual technologies, the Pavilion highlights how traditional wisdom can be used as a starting point to develop innovative solutions to local and global problems. The Angola Pavilion’s central square also features a Fantek stage where leading African artists host daily performances.
Spanish company Eikonos was responsible for designing and installing

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USA - The organisers of the 2022 New World Rigging Symposium (NWRS), which will take place online on 5-7 April, have announced the programme of sessions and the presenters who will speak at the event. Highlights for this year include a follow-up to the popular Rope 201 where Stu Cox, Eric Rouse, and Andy Schmitz will dive even deeper into the intended uses, benefits and drawbacks of ropes, lines, and ties.
Also featured will be the Rope Access session, featuring industry experts from around the country who will explore rope access use in the entertainment industry.
Loading into a university theatre can be significantly different from backing the trucks up to a commercially operated roadhouse. A panel of university venue managers will ask, and then answer, What makes them different? by focusing on the unique challenges of the university setting incl

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UK - Moulin Rouge! opened at London’s Piccadilly Theatre last month. The intimate theatre has been transformed into a world of splendour, romance, glitz, grandeur and glory - with Unusual Rigging brought onboard to help create a world where Bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows and revel in electrifying enchantment.
Jeremy Featherstone, senior design engineer at Unusual Rigging, explains: “We were contacted by production manager Matt Towell to help bring this extraordinarily heavy show into a relatively small venue. The idea was always to create the feeling that the audience is involved in the show - a recreation of the intimate feeling of being at the actual Moulin Rouge. The production weighs in at over 23 tonnes, but the Piccadilly’s grid was only really equipped to deal with half that weight - so we needed to come up with a workable solution.”
With U

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UK - FIX8Group has launched a new in-lift AV experience, designed “to deliver content to customers in a fully immersive, captivating and memorable manner”.
Called elev8, it enables clients ranging from museums to malls, airports to attractions to reach lift users with customised displayed messages.
The elev8 project involves the installation of audio-visual display solutions within an elevator, to which everything from simple static marketing video, 2D animation, landscapes, audio experiences and fully immersive 3D worlds can be delivered.
FIX8Group has already completed a major elev8 installation, at the St James Quarter, Edinburgh. This encompasses a new retail led, lifestyle district that fully integrates into and enhances Edinburgh’s City Centre providing an inspiring, attractive, and vibrant destination for locals and visitors to live, shop, eat, sleep

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Europe - Prolight Concepts UK has expanded the eLumen8 Tank Trap range with the addition of a version with wheels.
Tank Trap consists of a 600mm square steel plate fitted with a 50mm receiver that features wing bolts to firmly secure aluminium or steel tubes in place. A cut out in the base allows compact stacking for transport and storage. Heavy-duty 75mm wheels are fitted to one edge for ease of transportation.

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USA - ESTA has released six documents for public review on the TSP website. The publications are free to download and read, with comments due by 21 March.
E1.26, Entertainment Technology - Recommended Testing Methods and Values for Shock Absorption of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues sets out the energy absorption requirements for floors in venues used for live performances, and the methods for testing them. This document is to be used in conjunction with all applicable local building codes and requirements. The existing American National Standard is being considered for reaffirmation.
E1.36, Model Procedure for Permitting the Use of Tungsten-Halogen Incandescent Lamps and Stage and Studio Luminaires in Vendor Exhibit Booths in Convention

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USA - Organisers of the New World Rigging Symposium has announced the 2022 edition of the event will take place online on 5-7 April. The symposium will carry nine ETCP education renewal credits for re-certification, and the admission cost is $99.
“We’ve turned the table on the ever-popular session featuring some of the industry’s top structural engineers - Bill Gorlin, Dan Louis, Miriam Paschetto, and Jeff Reder,” say the organisers. “Instead of getting to ask your questions, they are going to tell you the things they want you to know. There was so much we’ve given them two sessions to cover subjects such as ballast, wind speeds, site safety, codes, AHJs and why things don't always stay the same.”
Paul Sapsis will walk attendees through a complicated custom flying system designed for a concert and DVD shoot at the Wembley Stadium - from concept to implem

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USA - Lighting and rigging company RZI Lighting has added a significant number of Stagemaker products to its rental inventory. Acquisitions include a large quantity of Stagemaker award-winning SR10 D8+ compliant chain hoist as well as Motion Labs Hoist controllers.
“Stagemaker continues to impress us with consistent quality and a robust feature set of their products,” says RZI president, Ray Ziegler. “The SR10 series will be a workhorse for our clients. The hoists are a natural fit with our continued growth in the rigging market. The sales and technical support we receive from Stagemaker is fantastic.”
RZI Lighting has remained open throughout the pandemic. Once events started happening again RZI worked quickly in procuring new gear their team had been evaluating during the downtime. Additions to RZI inventory include a full hoist certification centre from Proo

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UK - Thomas Heatherwick’s Materials House was commissioned by the Science Museum in London as an exhibit to show “everything that anything can be made of” for the Challenge of Materials gallery. The idea was that, instead of prioritising any one material to make the house from, and then exhibiting small samples of all the other materials within it, the studio chose to make the house itself from all of the materials.
The result - six-metre-high pieces of each material bonded together into a single element of many strata was built in situ on the first floor of the museum in 1999 and remained a centrepiece of the gallery until December 2021, when Unusual Rigging was called upon to help the museum remove the exhibit from its long-time home, and lower it to the ground floor, ready for transportation to be held in storage.
Robin Elias, director at Unusual Rigging expla

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USA - The 2022 New World Rigging Symposium, taking place virtually on 5-7 April, will bring together professional riggers, engineers, manufacturers, venue managers, educators and students to further their rigging knowledge, hear about challenging projects, get up to speed on new technologies, discuss current industry challenges, and get their questions answered.
The session line-up features an array of subject matter experts sharing their knowledge on: Rope 201, Load Monitoring Systems: Know Your Limits, Rope Access in Entertainment: Training and Usage, Performer Flying Case Study: It Happened at Wembley, Hosting Road Shows at a University, What the Engineers Want You to Know, Touring Overseas: Getting Your Ducks in a Row, Rigging Challenges: Infrastructure Case Studies, Women Riggers of ETCP and Intro to Mental Health First Aid.
The three-day symposium will also inclu

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Germany - HOF is expanding its company management team with immediate effect. Dennis Klostermann and Isabel Inclan, two experienced employees are joining the management. Together with Björn Heinzmann, managing director and shareholder at HOF since 2003, they will lead the company as a trio.
Björn Heinzmann will continue to manage the areas of technology and finance. Dennis Klostermann, who has been with HOF since 2006 and was previously key account manager, will be responsible for sales and product development. Isabel Inclan was previously in charge of marketing and will now represent the marketing and human resources departments.
Hans-Wilhelm Flegel, who founded HOF 25 years ago, is retiring from management and operations, but will remain with the company in an advisory role. "I am pleased that a new generation is now taking over the company management at HOF. I a

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Sweden - Power distribution specialists StageSmarts has added Pierre Nyström and Jakob Aronson to the team at their manufacturing facility in Arboga.
Nyström has extensive manufacturing and testing experience from the electrical power industry, most recently from Alstom. Aronson is an experienced field service engineer who joins the company from Kone lifts.
“Guys of this calibre are very hard to find, and we’re super excited to have them join our growing team of craftsmen. Their extensive expertise will strengthen our company and help us innovate and build even better products,” says Mats Karlsson, CEO of StageSmarts. “We’ve seen steady growth over the past nine months, and with Pierre and Jakob onboard, we can increase our capacity while at the same time maintaining the highest build quality.”

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USA - Area Four Industries has announced Will Todd as the new president and CEO of Tomcat US and Area Four Industries America. Todd has been with the Tomcat brand for more than 20 years, working through various departments. He began in sales covering the central region of the US, then moved to project manager, followed by product support supervisor, then design manager, then COO and now president/CEO.
“The best part about Tomcat is the relationships we forge in the industry and within our own building,” says Todd. “We strive to create relationships that are more than partnerships with our customers. If our customers are successful, then we are in turn. Within our building, we all work together towards our goals. The goals for the company are shared within the building, everyone provides ideas and input to help us all reach those goals.”
He adds: “The wide var

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Germany - Sixty82 has confirmed Berlin-based edelmat. as its newest reseller for Germany.
Edelmat. services include consultation, conception, implementation, as well as service, for rental and installation projects in the field of event technology. It is here that the human being is in the foreground, and edelmat.’s well-trained specialists maintain consistent contact with each and every client to develop budget-oriented and individual solutions.
Sixty82 and edelmat. have very similar values and goals, and the cooperation between the two companies has proved promising. “At edelmat. we connect people through conception and technology,” says edelmat.’s Ayke Bröcker. “The innovative solutions of the Sixty82 brand fits perfectly into our portfolio and our joint work is successful and fun. It is partly for these reasons we chose to become a reseller for Sixty82.

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UAE - The United Arab Emirates marked 50 years as a nation with 50 days of celebrations, culminating in a spectacular live show from Dubai’s Hatta Water Dam in the Hajar Mountains featuring a floating stage and drone-launched fireworks, produced by live event specialists, LarMac Projects.
The show charted the country’s history in the lead-up to its inception in 1971 and across the subsequent 50 years.
For the country’s Golden Jubilee, the creative team - led by artistic director and designer Es Devlin and LarMac executive creative producer Jo MacKay - knew that the boundaries of possibility needed to be pushed to their limit.
The initial show was live streamed on 2 December and followed by 10 additional performances that took place between 3-12 December, featuring specially composed songs and poetry, drone-launched fireworks, a light show, water displays a
  1. Adrian Skelton joins Rigging Team
  2. Main Light expands inventory with GT Plus
  3. London welcomes 2022 with spectacular show
  4. Live events supply chain ‘back on the brink’
  5. Perinic Sistemi to distribute Sixty82 in Croatia
  6. Dushow delivers for Global Citizen Live
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