Qatar - The Amir Cup Final 2020 Ceremony, the biggest football cup competition in the State of Qatar, and the inauguration Ceremony of Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, the fourth FIFA World Cup stadium to open in Qatar following Khalifa International, Al Janoub and Education City was recently performed using two grandMA3 full-size and multiple MA Network Switches.
Qatar Vision Company developed, produced and managed the inauguration and final, that took place during Qatar National Day and exactly two years before the country hosts the FIFA World Cup final. Mohammad Assaf and Mark Anton were the lighting designers.
Because of strict health and safety protocols, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium was only allowed to reach approximately 50% capacity. Any fan who attended the match had to return e

UK - The London skyline again turned into a beacon of blue at 18:00 on Thursday 7 January. Major sporting and entertainment venues, national landmarks and historic buildings across the capital illuminated in a gesture of thanks to the NHS, volunteers and all those on the COVID healthcare frontline.
Heading the list of venues were The O2, London Stadium and Olympic Park, the National Theatre and Madam Tussauds London.
The #LightItBlue campaign has been organised by mental health non-profit organisation Makeitblue CIC, formed last year by members of the live events and entertainment industry.
Tim Owen, Makeitblue director of strategy and engagement said, “With the support of the Mayor of London, we want to light the city blue as a public demonstration of continued support and admiration for all those working under immense pressures to look after COVID and other e

UK - ON LX Limited has announced the latest release of its bespoke user interface creation tool, Ctrl for iPad. The release features a host of key time-saving and practical features taken directly from user feedback and designed to make configuration and multi-protocol support even faster.
Matt Didon, ON LX’s managing director says: “Our users are the most important part of our product, they heavily drive development and this release was a great opportunity for us to focus on feature requests and meet the changing needs of the industry.”
Alongside the new features and improvements, a new ‘Lite’ license tier has been introduced. ON LX’s James Walton adds: “The motivation behind the Lite tier is to open Ctrl for iPad up to creative applications where full commercial grade interfaces with user permissions and support for HTTP, TCP, UPD and modules simply ar

USA - LEA Professional has announced a partnership with C&E Marketing Pro to serve the company’s growing customer base in Florida.
“LEA Professional represents everything we look for in a partner - innovative, agile and run by a highly experienced expert team,” said Mike Sajecki, president and CEO of C&E Marketing Pro. “Their industry first technology has gained a lot of traction in the market and we look forward to helping them grow their presence further in Florida.”
C&E Marketing Pro will represent the full suite of LEA Professional Connect Series amplifiers.
“2020 was a difficult year for the pro audio industry, but at LEA Professional we have aggressive growth plans for 2021. Our offerings address many pre-existing challenges which are now exacerbated by the pandemic. By coupling leading amplifier technology with proven IoT expertise,

USA - The 1,500-seat Marque Theatre was virtually empty, save for a few widely separated family members on hand, when Spafford took to the stage for its 2021 New Year’s Eve livestream. Matt Collier, the jam band’s longtime LD, couldn’t help but contrast the scene to the one he remembered from the band’s last NYE show, when they played before a packed house at Great American Music Hall, more than 750 miles (and a whole world) away in San Francisco.
“What a difference a year makes,” said Collier. “There was less stress than there was last New Year’s Eve, because we played in a virtually empty hall, but I missed the energy of the crowd so much. Just as the band feeds off crowd, I also do as an LD. So, it was a bit of a bummer not to have them there this year.”
Setting his disappointment aside, Collier became completely immersed in the moment once his bus

Thailand - Upgrading its facilities, the Montatip Hall, Udon Thani International Convention and Exhibition Centre hired integrator Mahajak Development Co to design and install Harman Professional network AV and lighting solutions throughout its meeting spaces.
Continuing to establish the province of Udon Thani as a growing business centre, the Montatip Hall, Udon Thani International Convention and Exhibition Centre is a premier enterprise venue. The facility covers 25,000sq.m and features 80 meeting rooms, several banquet halls and a convention and exhibition centre that accommodates up to 5,000 people.
“The client wanted powerful, flexible AV and lighting systems to support events of any scale, reinforce brand image and ensure customer satisfaction,” says Pongsakorn Kanchanachayphoom, project director, Mahajak Development Co. “It was challenging to design the a

USA - When Seattle was forced to adapt its customary New Year’s Eve celebrations due to the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19; necessity, once again, proved itself to be the mother of invention.
The result - a collaboration between event production company, Modern Enterprises LLC, and projection mapping specialist Maxin10sity - was a revolutionary ‘sky mapping’ show that saw virtual lights, projection, and special effects superimposed on live footage of the city’s leading landmark, the Space Needle, and the sky above.
CEO and founder of Modern Enterprises, Terry Morgan, reports: “I’ve worked with Tamás Vaspöri (managing director at Maxin10sity) for years and have always been so impressed by what we were able to create together; namely the Borealis Festival of Light here in the US, which debuted to a wonderful crowd of over 120,000 people.”
A

Italy - Located on the coast of the Gulf of Portofino, in Santa Margherita, Italy’s Covo di Nord-Est, or the North-East Lair, has recently undergone an extensive rebuild with a new audio system. Originally built in 1934 as a private residence, the venue quickly became a popular club during the 60s and 70s, and after storms ravaged the venue in late 2018, it has once again opened its doors to the public.
“After the storm in 2018, we undertook a complete rebuild the entire venue,” said Stefano Lo Sardo, owner of Vibra Service and project manager for this build. “But we didn’t just want to rebuild, we wanted to upgrade, and that meant a new audio system that would rise up to the challenge.”
Together with Italian distributor Audiosales, they designed a completely new sound system. Featuring both Martin Audio speakers and subwoofers, the system was supported by
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The Netherlands - The increasingly popular EclPanel range from Prolights is making waves in The Netherlands with the help of newly appointed distributor Full AVL. Adding to the list of companies adopting the Italian products are Dutch companies Stagelight (SL), First Impression, Purple Haze and Freek Gerris Stagesupport.
Marcel Bruijns from Stagelight (SL) said, “We have tested a lot of manufacturers who offer a soft-light panel and found Prolights' EclPanel TWC to be the best performing and well-equipped for mobile use in rental companies."
At First Impression, adapting the business for COVID was extremely important: “Due to the pandemic we had to transform our rental department into several streaming studios,” says Ron Haans from the Tilburg-based company. He added: “The EclPanels were the perfect solution for this due to their intuitive use and excellent on-

France - New sonic technology developed in France by Amadeus was revealed in a new artistic work during a ceremony presided over by Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, to celebrate the renowned French writer Maurice Genevoix as he was entered into the Panthéon.
Within the scope of the Armistice Day commemorations, French author Maurice Genevoix, who wrote the four-part Ceux de 14 (The Men of 1914) about World War I, joined other luminary writers such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Dumas, Hugo, and Malraux, along with revered figures from culture, science, and politics in France’s secular temple, the Panthéon.
For the celebration, the President of the French Republic commissioned a work from two major figures of the contemporary art scene, German painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer, and French composer Pascal Dusapin. This is the first public co

UK - Projects Department Ltd (PDL) specified and installed two Zero 88 FLX lighting control consoles, four SCD Servers and a ZerOS Wing for YouTube’s Space London facility in the Kings Cross area of the UK’s capital.
Projects Department, led by Peter Daffern, is an independent company specialising in a wide range of technical services for assorted entertainment lighting industry sectors including broadcast, and is well known for its adaptable and lateral thinking approach.
The three main studios at Space London are available for YouTube’s top creators and influencers - those with 10,000+ subscribers to their channels - to use for content creation and other related endeavours, offering a vibrant community, an imaginative workspace and well-equipped environment to encourage the production of more high-quality material.
When they needed a multifunctional lig

France - David Guetta played a live New Year’s Eve set at the Musee du Louvre in central Paris.
Celebrating the roll-over from 2020 to 2021 in this special environment, 116 x Robe iPointe moving lights on the rig helped make it impressive. It was also the third in David Guetta’s United at Home concert series to raise money for those in need in what’s been a tough year for everyone.
Director Romain Pissenem’s and his UK and France based creative production company High Scream were also the stream’s executive producers, working directly for the artist and collaborating closely with staff from The Louvre. The 15-camera stream was directed by Job Robbers.
Romain’s team included lighting designer Ian Tomlinson and lighting programmer and operator James Betts Gray.
His starting point for the production design was the 21.6m-high glass and metal

UK - The live events industry has launched a fresh appeal for a government-backed COVID-19 insurance scheme with a letter signed by 120 sector representatives and MPs.
In the letter, written by the chair of the DCMS committee Julian Knight and addressed to the chancellor Rishi Sunak, the sector - which has largely been shut down since March 2020 - warns that “[w]ithout insurance, the events we know and love simply won’t take place this year - vaccine or no vaccine”. “Sustaining losses like those we’ve seen in 2020 for another year isn’t an option, and hundreds of businesses in the events supply chain have already been forced to fold,” the letter continues. “The Government has backed insurance for the film and television industry to the tune of £500m. It’s now time to do this for other creative industries.”
The signatories, which include P

Middle East - L-Acoustics has announced the appointment of two regional industry experts to support existing partners and grow the company’s presence in key vertical markets. Over the last decade, the region has been supported by L-Acoustics sales manager, Peter Owen, who will now concentrate on developing key territories in Russia and Eastern Europe.
The appointment of a new, dedicated and locally based team will allow the company to nurture new and closer relationships in the Middle East, India and East Africa. Chris Mead, sales manager for the Middle East, India, and East Africa will build relationships and develop business in the region while Rahul Samuel, application engineer for the Middle East and India, will provide technical support, design assistance and training to partners and projects throughout the area.
“The Middle East and India regions are very div

USA - Following the success of the Element HEXIP outdoor-rated wireless up-lighting fixture, ADJ has introduced the Element HEX IP Chrome model. Offering the formula of 6-in-1 HEX LEDs, a powerful rechargeable battery, WiFLY EXR wireless DMX and an innovative casing design, the new version features a striking chrome housing. This makes it suitable for applications where, instead of blending into the background, lighting fixtures are required to make a bold statement.
The Element HEX IP Chrome is powered by four 10W HEX (RGBWA+UV) LEDs, which generate a consistent colour wash with a 20° beam angle. The 6-in-1 LEDs allow for the creation of a huge palette of colours ranging from vivid saturates to subtle pastels.
In addition to the primary colours of red, green and blue, the inclusion of both white and amber LED elements allows for the generation of a wide variety of co

UK - Cranborne Audio and UK distributor Sound Technology have announced immediate availability of the Camden EC1 which combines the Camden preamp technology with a reference-grade headphone amplifier ‘to elevate your audio interface’s front-end to a professional level’.
“We designed Camden EC1 to make it easy for musicians, vocalists, podcasters and video producers to achieve elite-quality recordings and reference headphone critical listening,” says Sean Karpowicz, managing director and founder.
“Camden's unprecedented performance allows you to vastly improve the quality of your tracks,” says Elliott Thomas, product manager. “Using its ‘Mojo’ control, Camden EC1 goes from extraordinarily clean and natural sounding, to thick, vintage-style analogue saturation that can add that ‘magic colour’ to your tracks.”
The Camden EC1’s reference-

USA - Located in Nashville, Tennessee, The Belonging Co. (TBCo) is becoming one of the fastest growing in the USA: its congregation has increased from just seven at its outset to many thousands in only six years. Along with weekly worship services, the church also includes a worship collective comprising a number of well-known Nashville-based artists who call the church home, an annual conference, and even a college.
TBCo has always prioritised excellent live production. With a recent video system installation by integrator Diversified, in partnership with THOR AV, developer of LED video walls and headset microphones, TBCo now has a LED video wall to match, driven by Brompton Technology’s Tessera S8 LED processor.
TBCo has lots of experience with LED wall products from multiple manufacturers and of various quality levels, but when it was time to develop the look and

USA - Livestream concerts are not just for rock. The Augusta Symphony demonstrated that in spirited fashion recently with its A Little Night of Music, a pay-per-view Friday night show that drew an enthusiastic response from music lovers throughout its market.
Taking place at the historic Miller Theatre in downtown Augusta, the livestream performance followed strict social distancing guideless. A very limited crowd was allowed to buy tickets for the performance in the spacious venue; and there was no intermission during the show to minimize contact. The orchestra itself was reimagined to include a smaller number of musicians on stage, led by music director Dirk Meyer, and featuring principal violinist Anastasia Petrunina, oboist Brian Lyons, and trumpeter Brian Winegardner.
Despite the limited number of musicians, the livestream show encompassed a bold and divers

Singapore - Founded over half a century ago by 25 original members, Bartley Christian Church has grown organically into one of the largest churches in Singapore.
To keep up with that growth, the church built a new fan-shaped sanctuary in 2006 that can accommodate 1,200 congregants. However, sightlines were challenging from the start, and as the system aged, it could not keep up with the church’s shift to higher impact music. Local AV integration firm and regional Danley distributor, Soundsmith Solutions, designed and installed a new sound reinforcement system for the church that centres on two Danley J7-95 Jericho Horns, a variety of Danley smaller full-range boxes for fill, and four Danley TH118XL subwoofers for low-end support.
“The existing system at Bartley Christian Church, being 10 years old, was showing its age and struggling to keep up with the higher impac

USA - The Floridian in St. Petersburg, Florida, began life in the 1920s as a bank, then was transformed into a cinema, and later a concert hall known as the State Theatre before being shuttered in 2018. Designed in the neo-classical architecture style - arched doorways, Greek columns, ornate carvings - the venue has stood the test of time.
Now, purchased by St. Pete native and entrepreneur Kevin Chadwick, who oversaw an estimated $1m-plus renovation that he described as ‘a passion project’ it has become the Floridian Social Club, a lounge, concert venue, and event space in the heart of the city’s downtown Central Avenue entertainment district.
At the heart of the Floridian is an L-Acoustics Kara PA system, installed by local integrator ESI Production Services. The new loudspeaker setup comprises two hangs of nine Kara boxes per side and a single flown ARCS Focus

UK - Crosstown Concerts made a successful entry into the broadcast market, with its first online concert for English folk act Bellowhead, selling 8,200 tickets on 5 December 2020.
After live shows fell casualty to pandemic shutdown from March 2020, Crosstown Concerts spent months researching options for their artists to connect with fans, and start reinstating the all-important revenue streams.
Stabal’s concert broadcast for Bellowhead’s first show in four-and-a-half years, proved very popular with gig-starved fans, with 70% of ticket sales being the higher value option for 30-day video-on-demand passes. Irish singer Damien Dempsey also enjoyed a successful stream on 23 December, with further streamed concert tickets available for Seth Lakeman in February.
Crosstown Concerts director, Conal Dodds, said: “We knew the return to full-capacity shows would be so

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