France - A total of 232 Robe moving lights - including 80 x BMFL Blades, 70 x LEDWash 1200s, 84 x Pointes and 8 x LEDWash 300s were part of a colourful opening ceremony for the new 415m euro Grande Stade de Lyon.

Lighting designer Tony Anzalone was working for Lyon based GL events Audiovisual, who co-ordinated and supplied the high profile event's technical production.

The 60,000 capacity stadium will be the home of Ligue 1 football team Olympique Lyonnais (OL) as well as hosting concerts and other sporting events including the upcoming European Rugby Champions Cup Final in May.

The grand opening show featured a high energy son et lumi

Denmark - SVT Swedish Broadcaster has awarded [LITE]COM Group the contract to be the official supplier of all lighting, control, truss, rigging and automation for Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The event will be taking place at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on 10, 12 and 14 May 2016, hosted by Petra Mede and Mans Zelmerl

UK - Following a year in which Doughty Engineering has upped its game in the film and TV industry, visitors to the company's stand E39 at BVE 2016 will see a range of its products specifically designed with the broadcast sector in mind. With two new additions to Doughty's award winning Modular Rigging System making their début at the show, as well as a selection of grip, rigging, suspension and lifting equipment on display, Julian Chiverton, sales director at Doughty, believes shows like BVE are more important than ever to the company.

"We really got our teeth into the broadcast space in 2015," he said. "We're involved in an ongoing job with the Stop Animation and Puppet Making faculty at the University of Staffordshire and have some fascinating projects within the media department at Queen's University in Belfast under our belt, as well as working with major shopping c

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Strictly FX, Pushing Boundaries

Strictly FX was founded in 1996 by industry veterans Mark Grega and Ted Maccabee. Our expertise and knowledge of the world’s leading pyrotechnic, laser, and flame manufacturers allows us to curate astonishing live events. With over 500+ shows performed a year, there’s good chance you’ve seen some of our work!

USA - The Knoxville Chamber Partnership recently held the Annual Governor's Breakfast at the Knoxville Convention Centre, where Governor Bill Haslam addressed a record breaking crowd of 660. Bandit Lites, a member of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, provided the lighting for the event as the Governor covered his legislative priorities for this session, which included increased funds for education and infrastructure improvement projects.

To keep the lighting fairly simple due to the ballroom being scheduled for another immediate event, Bandit utilized Chauvet Freedom Pars along the convention walls. These battery powered fixtures allow techs to turn on the pre-programmed colour, set it, focus it and walk away, while Chauvet Colordash Blocks added dimension for the Governor's address upstage.

"The upstage was wall-to-wall pipe and drape which we lit with GRNLite LED Pars i

USA - Hip Hop artist and producer J Cole toured his latest Grammy Award nominated studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive (titled after his childhood home), around the world in three 'Acts' - to venues across USA and Europe. The live album of the tour, Forest Hills Drive Live, was released in January, along with Cole's Road to Homecoming mini documentary series and the HBO TV special Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming.

The tour's production manager and Front of House engineer was Raymond Rogers who chose an SSL L500 console for FOH duties and used an SSL Live Recorder to multitrack every show and for virtual sound check.

The stage set was based on the Forest Hills Drive home, recently re-purchased by Cole, and included a flown model of the house and an original set, with the stage modelled on the roof of the house. The main audio inputs were from J Co

USA - Marking a half-century of America's singularly most important sporting event, Super Bowl 50 did not disappoint in delivering electrifying performances during both pre-game and halftime programming. With a viewership of 111.9m - the third highest in history - this year's Super Bowl saw energetic performances from Beyoncé, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga - all performing on Sennheiser wireless microphone systems.

Setting the stage for the Super Bowl's memorable 'golden anniversary', Lady Gaga delivered a soulful, classy rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner during the pre-game segment, crooning into a Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld transmitter coupled with an MD 5235 dynamic microphone capsule. Accompanied by just a solo piano, her performance was marked by her incredible dynamic range and subtle use of cadence - captivating the emotions of millions of viewers around the wor

UK - The Ministry of Sound London has carried out an elegant streamlining of its Harman Professional tools and distribution network, including an upgrade to the Soundcraft Vi3000 and Realtime Rack plug-in engine. These were supplied by Sound Technology, Harman Professional's UK and Ireland distributor.

"We had seen great service from our Si2 console - but we've been looking to upgrade for a while now to something with more screen real estate, and a platform which touring engineers are more comfortable with," stated MoS production manager, Chris Thoms. "The Vi3000 is a great trade off for its size and features - and of course the sound quality, steeped in Studer technology, is stunning."

The Realtime Rack plug-in engine connects directly to the Vi3000's built-in MADI interface, and MoS has installed a proprietary BSS BLU-Link card in the console, allowing a 32 x 32 digital

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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

The Netherlands - The City of The Hague's national theatre group, Het Nationale Toneel has incorporated TiMax SoundHub audio spatialisation and TiMax Tracker automation into its most recent touring production, The Revisor.

The production runs at the Koninklijke Schouwburg in Amsterdam from until 5 March 2016, after which it tours the country.

Four TiMax Tracker sensors are positioned above the stage area, picking up the zoned stage locations of the 20 'tagged' actors, using their exact positioning, or 'source zones', to localise their vocals via the distributed loudspeaker system. The TiMax SoundHub delay-matrix imaging creates a fully immersive and authentic experience that renders the production more intimate for all audience members regardless of where they are sitting.

The TiMax Tracker system controls the TiMax Soundhub processor, which automatically morphs

UK - Curtain Up: Celebrating 40 Years of Theatre in London and New York at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, celebrates the extraordinary story of theatre in both London's West End and New York's Broadway. Created in partnership with The Society of London Theatre, the V&A and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Centre, it explores the craftsmanship that goes into creating award-winning plays, musicals and productions. With its strong reputation in theatre lighting along with installations and museum-based work, White Light was called upon to provide the production support on this ground-breaking exhibition.

Curtain Up opened just over a week ago as part of a year-long programme to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Olivier Awards, with every show on display having a story to tell in relation to the Olivier or Tony Awards. The exhibition was

Norway - Olavshallen concert hall, located in Trondheim, Norway, and home to the Trondheim Symphonic Orchestra, recently upgraded the main hall with an Adamson S-Series sound reinforcement system.

The hall, which offers performances from a variety of genres, including classical music, opera, dance, pop, rock, jazz and family-oriented events, was long overdue for an upgrade. The existing system was installed back in 1989 when the concert hall opened. As a result, Stage Manager Henrik Torgersen began exploring options, ultimately contacting regional audio distributor Benum to assist him in the process.

"We began researching systems three years ago," Torgersen explains. "During that time we listened to demonstrations of many different systems. Last June Ronald and Kenneth from Benum visited - along with Adamson's Jochen Sommer - to demonstrate the new Adamson S10 system and o

USA - Meyer Sound systems deliver powerful and intelligible sound for a diverse array of events at the new UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) building. One of the nation's premier institutions for the presentation of cinema, the recently reopened BAMPFA has installed a 7.1 Meyer Sound cinema system in its 232-seat Barbro Osher Theatre, which hosts both film screenings and lectures and discussions regarding current films and art exhibits. Elsewhere, CAL column array loudspeakers provide sound reinforcement for a large, outdoor LED screen.

The Osher Theater is the first in the history of BAMPFA that was designed and built from the outset to meet the highest technical standards for film showings. "Aside from the 10 percent of our film screenings that are silent, sound is a key component of the experience," says Larry Rinder, director of BAMPFA. "We wanted to

New Zealand - Allen & Heath's Qu-32 compact digital mixers were used throughout the recent Auckland Folk Festival, managing FOH and monitor sound for all three stages.

The three stages comprised the Festival Stage, Mill Stage and new for 2016, the Village Stage. Selected by PA company, SoundandLight.co.nz, Qu-32 mixers were installed at FOH and monitors on each stage, with AR2412 and AR84 racks for additional remote IO.

"I have managed the folk festival for about 15 years. It requires 14 hours of mixing a day so reliability is key, which is why we have always used A&H mixers," comments Dave Hodge, director and engineer at SoundandLight.co.nz. "Due to the fabulous recall ability, we just use the compact QU-32 at FOH and monitors. Set up is so easy with scene recall for each band, song, individual instrument, and even a 'just in case' scenario, as acoustic groups often bring

Mexico - The people of Mexico enthusiastically welcomed Pope Francis to their country with a warm reception that included traditional songs and dances, heartfelt tributes and richly coloured light from a collection of 24 Rogue R1 Wash fixtures from Chauvet Professional. Provided by Mexico City-based Kona Productions, the 15-watt RGBW LED Rogue fixtures were used to accent a variety of performances at Mexico's Papal visit welcoming ceremonies.

"When we were invited to collaborate on this project, a mixture of emotions swirled through us," said Andres Marroqu

UK - Over 160 Core Lighting wireless LED fixtures were used to illuminate various areas in and around the Tower of London for an event attended by 200 guests and staged by Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) to showcase the capabilities of their event spaces at the attraction.

The ColourPoint, PinPoint, StripPoint and Flood30 fixtures were used to highlight architecture and enhance the evening atmosphere of this premier historic site and London landmark where the Core units were exclusively used for the lighting throughout.

The creative lighting schemes were a collaboration between Core and its European distributor White Light, designed to illustrate how the dynamics of the different event spaces can be transformed with the application of visual layers - from lighting and projection mapping to floral arrangements and catering - all adding magic and value to the equation.

Core

USA - The Miraculous Medal Shrine has been inspiring the faithful since it was completed in 1927. One look at this classic white statue of the Virgin Mary and it's easy to understand why visiting it has been such a moving experience for so many people. Nestled in a domed gold leafed alcove and flanked by engaged marble columns and mosaic murals, the life-like sculpture radiates a sense of peace and spiritual renewal.

Recently, the transformative elements of the Shrine were enhanced even further with the addition of a vibrant lighting system anchored by Chauvet Professional fixtures that add layers of depth to its surroundings and changes to reflect different times of the day.

Tyler Hoffman, the owner and principal designer of Spire AVL created the new lighting system, using COLORado 1-Quad Tour pars, an Ovation C-640FC cyc light and Ovation E-190WW LED ellipsoidals, as wel

South Africa - Lightship Productions, owned and run by the enterprising Ni-Lou Breytenbach, is the latest South African lighting production, design and delivery specialist to invest in MA Lighting control with the purchase of a grandMA Command Wing, delivered by SA distributors, DWR.

Lightship works across all industry sectors including corporate and live events, TV productions and theatre shows, the latter hailing back to Ni-Lou's industry roots. His varied workload includes designing and programming his own shows, providing operating and FOH co-ordination / support services for others and working as a lighting systems engineer.

Ni-Lou owns some control kit himself - to keep the business agile and flexible - and has developed symbiotic relationships with other rental and equipment suppliers, a main one being Pretoria based Stage Effects run by Theo Papenfus - to help deli

UK - Two of the most renowned companies in touring and production - Cato Music and Production Park - have confirmed that they are to join forces. Touring specialists, Cato Music, will become part of the Production Park family based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

The acquisition will pave the way for Production Park's popular Backstage Academy and Cato's specialist "Roadie School", Cato Academy, to create a Centre of Excellence for training the next generation of touring and production professionals.

The Cato Academy - based in South West London - is the only training centre in the world that educates future tour and production managers, backline techs and live sound engineers under one roof; whilst the Backstage Academy is renowned for its high quality delivery of degree programmes and courses dedicated to the live events industry. Both Academies have been pioneers in the f

USA - In a brief that's pure music to any LD's ears, progressive rock Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) founder and producer Paul O'Neill's instructions to award-winning production and lighting designer Bryan Hartley regularly includes getting 'as many lights as possible' on the rig.

The latest Letters from the Labyrinth tour by the maverick prog rock band - which saw two TSO troupes simultaneously play the east and west coasts of America, eight shows a week reaching up to 45,000 people per day for two months - featured over 100 Robe moving lights on each rig - 60 x Pointes and 44 LEDBeam 100s.

These were part of design number 19 by Bryan for TSO, who are well known for their spectacularly visual live performances which have always enthusiastically embraced lighting, video, lasers and pyro. Bryan has been on-board with TSO since it started touring in 1999 and had also previou

New Rules Please - New rules have been announced for the Eurovision Song Contest in the biggest change to voting since 1975. In previous years each country's jury and public votes were combined and announced in one go. Now the votes will be split with each country's jury vote cast first, and votes from viewers in all countries combined and announced at the end. Organisers say this will create a "dramatic finish" as the winner will only be revealed at the very end. In previous years the winner has been known for up to 20 minutes before the end of voting. "This format change will inject a new level of excitement into the finish of the Eurovision Song Contest," said Martin Osterdahl, executive producer for this year's show.

Beatles For Sale - A lock of John Lennon's hair that was cut off as he prepared for a film role has sold for $35,000 (£24,298). The four-inch pie

UK - Crestron has announced that it has promoted Phil Breitschadel to the role of European VP of sales effective 1 February. This is the second promotion for Phil in the four years that he has worked at Crestron. He began his career with the company as UK sales manager and in 2012, he was promoted to regional director - UK and Ireland. Under his tenure, the company doubled its business both in the commercial and residential markets.

In his new role, Phil will become a key member of the senior management team and will be responsible for over 70 sales personnel including all regional directors and managers. He will primarily be responsible for spearheading the company's growth plans to double in size again over the next five years. Matthew Buck will succeed Phil as UK Sales Manager.

Commenting on his promotion, Phil said "This is an amazing opportunity to lead our highly ski

World - A series of world-leading artists and DJs have confirmed to be a part of the first international tour for PLAYdifferently - a series of events to showcase the final prototypes of the brand's new mixer. The DJs and artists who will join Richie Hawtin and perform on the mixer include Carlo Ruetz, Chris Liebing, Cinthie, Diego Krause, DJ Tennis, Dubfire, Ean Golden, Fabio Florido, Francois K, Hito, Joris Voorn, Joseph Capriati, Loco Dice, Maceo Plex, Matrixxman, Matt Karmil, Mike Servito, Nastia, Paco Osuna, Roi Perez, The Martinez Brothers, tINI and Whyt Noyz.

The Prototypes Tour will start in Los Angeles at Sound on Monday 14 March and go on to visit club venues around the world including Fabric (London), Robert Johnson (Frankfurt), Watergate (Berlin), Tenax (Florence) and Output (New York). The tour will stop at leading music conventions including Musikmesse (Germany),

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