Denmark - The Eurovision Song Contest, celebrated its 50th Anniversary on October 22nd at the Forum in Copenhagen. The live event, Congratulations, was performed in front of a 5500-strong audience and broadcast to 31 countries worldwide with a viewer base of over 90 million. The show presented Eurovision stars from the original show held in 1956 and artists of today including special guests Ronan Keating and Riverdance.

The stage was an unusual shape but roughly 40m x 18 m, with three large screens dominating it. A curtain of approximately 700 square meters, consisting of 460 LCD elements, which were used to create different lighting effects in addition to 250 moving and 500 stationary lights, as well as seven XML 25's R18's and R8's.

Sound Designer Jens Elsborg of Nordic Rentals, assisted by the Adamson Shooter software, calculated placement and coverage for the venue.

Hungary - Midas' Hungarian distributor Bluesound reports the sale of a Verona 320 console to the Gönczi Ferenc cultural centre located in Zalaegerszeg, a small town in southern Hungary. The console will be used for theatrical performances and live musical events.

"The acquisition of the Verona is a big step for us," says Peter Bácskay, sound engineer at the centre. "The console is transparent, I can hear all my settings clearly and I don't have to tweak the knobs to their limits as I've had to do with other consoles I've used."

The sale is the beginning of a key strategy for Bluesound, which has represented Midas and Klark Teknik since May 2004. "We have sold five Midas Verona consoles this year, together with more than 30 Klark Teknik signal processing units," says Thomas Csernus, managing director of Bluesound. "This is a small step for M

China - Color Kinetics Inc has announced a series of newly completed marquee installations in mainland China, reflecting its growing momentum in the region. Most recently, installation of Color Kinetics systems was completed at LG Tower, a multi-million dollar construction by LG Building Development Co Ltd, whose 460ft towers will be lit by more than 7,600ft of Color Kinetics' iColor Accent system.

Additionally, Color Kinetics' systems illuminate Sands Macao and Grandview Hotel in Macau, Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, the China Resource Centre building in Shenzhen, Tianjin (Yi Do Cam) Business Centre in Tianjin, Lilly's Restaurants and Nightclubs in Shanghai, and Chongqing Times Square in Chongqing, among others.

"Color Kinetics' success in mainland China reflects the strength of our technology, depth and quality of our product portfolio, and the timely execution of our on-go

Europe - Lighting designer Craig Allnutt is using an Avolites Diamond 4 console on the current Bloc Party UK and European tour. Allnutt joined the Bloc Party team in February 2005 following the NME tour and had previously worked with Keane.

"I particularly like the way the Diamond 4 is set up and the fact that you can patch anything to anywhere," says Allnutt. "It's very simple to pick up, particularly if you have an Avolites background."

The rig on Bloc Party is slightly asymmetric to match the non-conventional nature of the band and their music. The rig consists of two 40ft trusses - front and rear - the upstage of which has four truss drop-beams off the bottom rail. There are five truss towers onstage all at different heights, to 'break up' the overall appearance of the space.

Moving lights are 11 SGM Giotto 400 Washes and 13 CMY Spots, which ar

UK - Kelsey Acoustics' boat took overall first place at this year's Audio Industry Regatta (AIR), fending off stiff competition from a fleet of thirteen others representing all branches of the industry. The winner's trophy is competed for over five races, which this year took place in The Solent.

The Audio Industry Regatta (AIR) is run annually to raise money for the Portsmouth-based Elizabeth Foundation, a voluntary organization for deaf babies, deaf pre-school children aged up to five years, and their parents. The Foundation provides parent-centred services on a nationwide basis and often without charge.

Following a disastrous last place in the opening race, the Kelsey Acoustics crew fought back to achieve first place in each of the remaining four races to cement their overall winning position for the weekend.

This year the regatta attracted nearly 100 crew members, while

Sweden - RCF S4012 subs have recently been installed in the Friskis & Svettis fitness centre in Stockholm. The S4012 is an extremely compact, high output bandpass subwoofer system delivering a tight and fast bass response using a new RCF high-powered 12" woofer, say RCF.

The subs, wall-mounted in this case, are part of a complete system for the centre. Erik Tapper of Luthman, RCF's distributor in Sweden, said: "It is not often that we see subs wall-mounted like this, but I have to admit that they sound great when working with the rest of the system."

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Sky News is now broadcasting from its new, state-of-the-art Sky News Centre studio complex in West London. Central to the operation is the main combined studio-newsroom, complete with the first LED backdrop solution in a 24/7 UK broadcast facility. Barco supplied all of the LED backdrop walls equipped with unique diffusers especially developed for the broadcast market, and projectors used in news studios and monitoring rooms in the purpose built facility.

Paul Vickerage, head of studio production for Sky News states, "One reason for the purchase from Barco was that Barco is a total solution provider and could provide us with all the LED and projectors needed for this new and technologically advanced studio."

At 7,500sq.ft Sky News' new newsroom is over twice the size of its previous facility, which was around 3,000 square foot. Measuring 14m x 3m, and 34 tiles l

Northern Ireland - ACK Productions of Belfast has become the first company in Northern Ireland to purchase HK Audio's COHEDRA Compact Coherent Dynamic Response Array system.

"We are trying to expand the market to which our sound systems are pitched," says ACK owner Alastair Kerr. "We do a lot of theatre and corporate events that our existing HK Audio systems are great for but we want to start looking at systems for bands and small outdoor festivals for which the COHEDRA Compact is ideal."

ACK has purchased 16 CDR 108 mid/high units, eight CDR 210 C subwoofers and two PR8 amp racks with additional controllers to enable two smaller systems to go out on hire at the same time. The company already has a substantial inventory of HK Audio systems. ACK's introduction to COHEDRA Compact came about when UK distributor John Hornby Skewes brought over a demo system for

USA - Compulite's Vector lighting console was chosen by LD Jeff Lava for Audio Adrenaline's fall tour. Established for ten years, Audio Adrenaline is a leading Christian music group, with sales of over 3 million album sales and 18 number one radio hits.

The AudioA tour ran 26 shows in six weeks, and was Lava's first experience with Vector. "After having seen a demo of the desk at Bandit, I was very impressed and decided to try it out on my next tour," he commented.

"The learning curve was immediate. Within a few days I was running the console as if I had been doing it for years. I was specifically impressed with Compulite's support. Whenever I had a question, I called their product specialist and got an answer within minutes. When I ran across things I didn't like, I had Compulite's engineers call me for details, and on several occasions I received a software up

USA - Sound, light, and stage production services specialists Big Mo Pro Inc has taken delivery of 12 Lake Contour digital loudspeaker processors and intend to invest in 12 more over the coming year. Big Mo Pro, based in northern New Jersey and founded by entertainment production industry veteran partners Glenn Radler, Greg Rosenkrans, and Jesse Hoefflinger, selected Lake Contour for its best-in-class equalization capabilities, tight integration with the L-Acoustics KUDO line array, and wireless control functionality.

"The control that Lake Contour gives you is unparalleled," said Greg Rosenkrans, president of Big Mo Pro. "The Mesa EQ filter is the big thing. The ability to split each side of a parametric filter and control the cut and boost of the slopes separately is huge. Loudspeaker response is asymmetrical, and Lake's Mesa filter gives you complete control ov

UK - Slingco has installed two CABLEnet tensioned wire grids into the new 1200 seater Perth Concert Hall in Scotland - the first new build full scale concert hall to be constructed in Scotland since 1990. The £17 million project is the result of an international architectural competition chaired by Eva Jiricna and won by BDP's Glasgow office in 1998.

The main Gannochy Auditorium is a completely flexible concert Hall space, and it's here that the two tensioned wire grids are installed. The grids were, originally specified by theatre consultants Carr & Angier as the safest way for technicians and maintenance staff to work flexibly at height in the roof space above the stage and auditorium. Slingco's Nick Dykins was contacted by BDP two years ago as the build entered its final phases, and asked to submit a tender for the grid installation.

The installation was project manag

UK - The South Bank Centre's head of production, Andy Scorgie contracted Richard Nowell Sound Services to install a new paging system in the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

"We badly needed to move with the times by finding a system sympathetic to the different requirements of the various art forms hosted at the Hall. Each event needs to have specific information relayed," explains Scorgie.

Needing to route messages over an increasing number of zones (which also incorporates the neighbouring Purcell Room), Scorgie wanted the new paging front end to be able to plug into the venue's existing infrastructure. He was also aware that the system needed to comply with Health & Safety audits, Lambeth Council inspections and LFB licensing requirements.

RNSS' operations manager, Andrew Cotton recommended the Australian Monitor DigiPage system (distributed in the UK by Fuzion plc), the

UK - Shepherds Bush Empire recently hosted singer James Blunt on the first leg of his UK tour. Lite Alternative provided the lighting, with MAC 2000 Profiles and MAC 250 Washes. The MAC 2000s were chosen for their reliability, brightness and colours, say Lite Alternative - and as far as the lighting team were concerned, the fixtures lived up to their workhorse reputation: ". . . just worked and worked on a demanding tour where we played a huge variety of venue sizes . . ." says lighting operator Glen Johnson.

Paul Normandale, lighting designer at Lite Alternative, noted: "The MAC 250 Washes are small and punchy. We found them reliable and surprisingly bright, which was everyone's reaction that evening."

Johnson talked animatedly about the lights: "They are great units, which we are keeping on the design even for the Arena leg early next year. Nice beam

UK - black light has played a pivotal role in bringing over 10,500 visitors into the Perthshire Big Tree Country, by designing and building a spectacular lighting and video installation for the annual Enchanted Forest project.

For seventeen consecutive nights in late October and early November, visitors enjoyed the spectacle, with black light's work recognised by an interview on prime time BBC news programme Reporting Scotland.

Several different areas of woodland were looked at as potential venues by landowner the Forestry Commission. Faskally Wood, near Pitlochry, was chosen after consultation with black light project manager Paul McGreal about the creative possibilities it offered. "The site surrounds a small loch, so there was a lot of potential for using the water as a canvas," says McGreal. "It meant visitors would see the various installation

Australia - ARX Systems has announced the addition of the DI Pre microphone pre-amplifier to its AudiBox range of precision tools, designed "to perform essential professional audio functions in an ultra-compact, flexible package".

The DI Pre features balanced XLR mic input, balanced jack output, user-variable+10 to +60dB Gain control, 20 dB Pad with status LED, Clip LED and Phantom Power switch with status LED. Typical applications include interfacing microphone and line level signal sources to professional audio systems for studio, performance, broadcast and Installation.

The DI Pre is powered by an external 12 VDC supply and is housed in a heavy duty all-steel chassis finished in matt textured powdercoat, with epoxy screen printing and slip resistant rubber pads. Security features include Kensington-type computer lock slot and optional bracket kit for under-table m

Ireland - SLS Ribbon Speakers (PRO8CON) were recently installed as part of the audio system in a new restaurant/club in Ireland. Bru Venue situated in the historic town of Drogheda on the east coast was installed by Grandstand Audio and supplied through SLS Irish distributor Aquarius Sound and Lighting.

Barry O'Loughlin, MD of Grandstand, commented, "As a longtime advocate of Ribbon, I was delighted to bring the technology to the appreciative ears of the owners of Bru."

Jim Donohue, who was consultant on the project, said SLS ribbon provided the clarity, coverage and sonic quality required in Bru. Making the install a truly international effort, Aquarius Sound and Lighting supplied processing by XTA (England) with sub-reinforcement by Musicson (Spain) and amplification by RAM Audio (Spain).

(Jim Evans)

Afterdark is the first CD compilation album in a new series presented by Stealth, the label of US house music maestro Roger Sanchez. Compiled and mixed by Sanchez and the electro-tribal-phile Tom Stephan aka Superchumbo - Afterdark Volume 1 "exposes some exclusive cutting edge frequencies".

In producing the set, the DJs used two new digital DJ devices from Pioneer - the award-winning DJM-1000 mixer and EFX-1000 effects unit.

Pioneer's '1000 series' (the DJM-1000 mixer and the EFX-1000 effects unit) is reportedly a sought after digital set-up for DJs performing in studios as well as in clubs, with a wide range of artists creatively exploiting this combination on CD mix compilations this year. Included among these are two albums presented by Renaissance: James Zabiela's Utilities and Yousef's Frontiers mix. While Wally Lopez, resident DJ at Pacha,

Italy - During SIB 2006, which takes place March 11-14 2006 in Rimini, leading entertainment venue designers will take part in a round-table debate with trade suppliers and manufacturers. The aim is to "analyse the transformation under way in entertainment and the evolution of the sector according to the experience of professionals who have designed Italy's leisure venues over the last 20 years". The gathering is running under the banner Where Will We Go Tomorrow Evening?.

Those expected to take part include owners and managers of Italy's major clubs, art directors, DJs, light jockeys, entertainers, PR staff and the key players in venues created by the designers, who "will participate actively in the discussion, asking questions and explaining their respective points of view".

A spokesman for SIB 2006 says, "An extremely interesting debate is pr

UK - Bristol nightspot Panache boasts a Harman Pro integrated audio system, that provides discrete dance floor, live performance, and ambient sound reinforcement. The 850 capacity night club comprises a restaurant, three bar areas, dance floor and live stage area, effectively in one open plan space.

Panache is locally-based installer CMP's largest audio project to date. CMP's Trevor Brooks collaborated with Harman Pro UK in designing a system that achieved its objectives through a process of zoning control, and careful placement and focusing of speaker coverage.

Separate speaker systems were configured for stage and dance floor, but with a control and amplification system common to both, while varying levels of background music were provided for distinct bar and seating areas.

For the dance floor there are four JBL AM4215/95 enclosures, plus two ASB6128 subs built into the b

UK - The new Infinite bezel-less plasma wall proved a popular choice at the hairdressing and design exhibition Salon International, held at Excel this October, incorporated into both the Wella and Toni & Guy exhibition stands.

Salon International brought together hairdressers and hair brands for the three day event, with live shows and hair design taking place across the day with celebrity hairdressers and leading professionals in the industry demonstrating their work.

Wella designed and built its own 'village' at the show, and used the Infinite bezel-less plasma as the focal point for the Wella show stage. AV production company Mindset built a plasma wall using 16 Infinite plasmas which allowed images from the show to be displayed to the seated audience in the arena.

A second stand featured the world's first hanging Infinite screen, hung from trussing above an exhibition st

The Netherlands - The latest theatre production from Joop van den Ende Productions, Beauty & the Beast is reinforced through an Alcons ribbon sound system. Ticket sales of this touring musical have now exceeded those of the previous record holder, The Sound of Music.

The show requires 14 trailers to transport and will take in the thirteen largest Dutch theatres until June 2006. Sound design is by Jeroen ten Brinke, who has worked on many top musicals including 42nd Street, Rent, Saturday Night Fever, Cabaret and Miss Saigon.

For Beauty & the Beast, a co-production between Joop van den Ende Theatre Productions and Disney Theatrical Productions, ten Brinke used an Alcons ribbon sound system for the first time. The system consists of 28 Alcons LR14 ultra-compact ribbon line-array, four LR14B compact line-array bass, four BF3

The Netherlands - This November, Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first Russian leader to visit Holland in more than 300 years, and Mojo Barriers were contracted to provide the security barriers.

The two day official visit involved the Russian President visiting Amsterdam's Dam Square to lay flowers on a national monument and Zaandam's City Square, before moving on to the Royal Palace in The Hague. The following day, he remained in The Hague for meetings with the Dutch Prime Minister.

Mojo Barriers worked with (Amsterdam and Zaandam) City officials and police officers to create safe areas within the cities so that President Putin's safety during the visit was ensured.

Across the two cities, more than 1300 metres of barriers were used to seal off areas of the Cities to the public and there were twenty road closures achieved using vehicle gates. Mojo Barriers was re

UK - Alton Towers has once again celebrated the end of season with three evenings of spectacular fireworks, lasers and special effects, and for the second year running Stage One built the huge supporting structure for the event's giant video screens.

The structure consisted of two 10 metre high scaffolding towers, positioned 18 metres apart and connected by a run of truss and track. Running along the track were six screen columns, each 1.2 metres wide by 6 metres high. The screen columns were directed by Stage One's Q-Motion control system, enabling them to move to the left and right in a pre-programmed set of sequences and groupings.

Marcus Exelby, Stage One's project manager for the job, said, "We can provide expertise and professionalism in abundance and linking that in with our unique Q-Motion control system really is a winning combination."Chris Foster, producti

UK - Blackburn-based HSL supplied full lighting production and all lighting and video rigging for the recent Happy Mondays tour. This culminated in a massive sold-out late night show in Manchester Evening News Arena, taking the Madchester dance gurus back to their clubbing roots.

Lighting designer was Andy Liddle, who last designed for the Mondays back in the mid-eighties when they were supporting New Order. He was asked onboard to do these shows by tour manager Neil Mather. The tour was project managed for HSL by Mike Oates.

Liddle designed an adaptable rig based on four upstage/downstage 'fingers' of truss which were assembled in 10ft modules. This was for easy break down and installation into the smaller venues, whist still retaining the look and aesthetics of the stage. The fingers were raked with the upstage ends lower and the downstage ends higher points. At Manchester t

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