Events

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19 November 2024

Spain - Following a memorable 2024 event, BikeFest Spain is set to return for its fourth consecutive year, inviting cyclists from across the industry to join the 360km ride towards ISE in Barcelona. From 31 January to 2 February 2025, riders will again rally in Valencia, cycling along the Mediterranean coast in support of industry causes.

Last year’s BikeFest raised an impressive £25,000 for Backup Tech, with the goal to surpass that and more this year.

In 2025, BikeFest will expand its support to Casa Caridad Valencia, a local charity assisting those affected by recent severe flooding in Valencia. 

Following the reduction of operating costs to run the initiative, 50% of the sponsored funds raised will go directly to Backup Tech, who run initiatives such as

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19 November 2024

Sold Out - Tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2025 sold out in under 40 minutes, organisers have said. The event will be held from 25 to 29 June before taking a year off in 2026 to allow the ground at Worthy Farm in Somerset to recover. Tickets cost £373.50, plus a £5 booking fee – an increase of £18.50 on 2024.

In a post on X, Glastonbury Festival said: "Tickets for Glastonbury 2025 have now Sold Out. Thanks to everyone who bought one and sorry to those who missed out, on a morning when demand was much higher than supply. There will be a resale of any cancelled or returned tickets in spring 2025."

An automatic queue system was introduced with fans needing to be online before the start of the sale with a valid registration number. Some reported issues with the new system, with one X user saying: "I was on the booking page, clicked proceed and then

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15 November 2024

UK - Lighting designer Phil Supple utilised 56 x Astera Tubes – 40 x Titan and eight each Hyperion and Helios – to illuminate 137 windows across 57 rooms at the George Heriot School in Edinburgh, Scotland, for Where to Begin, the opening event of the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival (EIF).

This Edinburgh International Festival production was created by Pinwheel and delivered in partnership with The Macallan, for which Phil worked closely with creative agency Pinwheel under the artistic direction of Katy Fuller and co-director Simon Sharkey, together with composer Roma Yagnik and video artists, Yeast Culture.

Where to Begin celebrated the energy, vibrance and spirit of Edinburgh, Scotland’s heritage and mythology as well as the alchemy of invention, carefully blended in with a festival atmosphere evoking emotion, inspirati

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14 November 2024

Australia - Following the recent appointment of Audio Source as HH Audio’s distributor in Australia, the partners staged a two-day official launch event at Vision Studios, a rehearsal and recording facility in Perth.

The full range of HH Audio products were demonstrated to a range of audio specialists including system integrators, rental companies, retailers, installers, and contractors. Ian Wright, HH Audio global sales director for HH Electronics, offers an upbeat view:

“The event was a great success in what is acoustically a fantastic space. The team demonstrated the range to groups of visitors over the two days, rather than staging one big presentation, something which worked extremely well. I think we had 14 groups in total who were able to see all our products patched in and individually demoed or used in whatever combinations customers wan

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13 November 2024

UK - The bang was provided by the starter’s pistol as the Day at the Races themed quiz night got underway. The DiGiCo quiz night is a celebration of hire companies and the communities they serve, with all proceeds from those attending going towards their two chosen charities, Backup Tech and Stagehand, the PSA’s benevolent fund.

The Quiz represents a chance for suppliers, hire companies, manufactures and businesses to get together in a relaxed environment to connect, do badly at quizzing and most importantly raise money. The evening was a complete success with £14,000 being shared between both charities.

On the night Backup was represented by Lee Dennison, trustee and vice chair, Scott Arnold, trustee, and Sarah James, PR, all raising awareness of the way that Backup can help industry professionals and their families.

“Backup

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13 November 2024

Germany - Following the success of LEaT con 24 in Hamburg, LEaT X is returning in spring 2025 and will take place on 19-20 March at the Ofenwerk in Nuremberg. The pre-season event for the event technology industry was fully booked in record time – clear proof of the enormous demand and strong interest.

“The enthusiasm for LEaT X is overwhelming,” says Duc Nguyen, director of LEaT. ‘The fact that we were fully booked in such a short time confirms that we have hit the nerve of the industry with the compact and targeted format of LEaT X. We are delighted with the positive response and the trust placed in us by the exhibitors.”

This year, LEaT X 25 will once again be supported by leading brands from the event technology sector, who will be presenting their innovative products and solutions in Nuremberg.

Interested companies have the opp

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11 November 2024

France - Tickets have gone on sale for Showlight 2025. The much-anticipated networking event for lighting practitioners will visit Le Parc des Expositions et Congrès de Dijon in France from 19-22 May 2025 with Robert Juliat as its headline sponsor.

Traditionally only taking place once every four years, the last in-person Showlight was in 2017, with its usual quadrennial timeline disrupted due to the pandemic. An enduringly popular event, which encompasses a conference, an exhibition, workshops, networking dinners and more, Showlight 2025 offers three ticket choices to delegates: Full Delegate, Day Delegate (Papers Only) or Student.

Full Delegate ticket holders enjoy the whole event which, in addition to the papers sessions on all days, includes daily lunch and coffee/tea breaks, Monday evening’s welcome reception, Tuesday evening

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06 November 2024

Austria - The Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG) will participate in the bi-annual MEET (Messe für Eventtechnik und Theater) show for event technology and theatre, held at Messe Wien in Vienna 6th - 7th November. The WSDG team will not only host a booth (F2, Hall D) but also present an educational lecture as part of the event’s official programme.

As an international trade fair for event technology featuring a specialist conference for events and theatre, MEET blends technology and art with over 80 exhibitors. This event presents the latest innovations in event technology and provides a valuable platform for discussion among theatre and event managers.

WSDG's Dirk Noy along with Mario Reithofer will be available throughout the two-day event, where they will meet with clients, partners and industry professionals to discuss ongoing and future projec

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05 November 2024

UK - UKEvents, the umbrella organisation of the UK’s events industry, has announced the findings of its anticipated UK Events Report 2024. The report, compiled by Great Potential Consultancy, highlights the industry’s critical role in the economy, generating £61.653bn annually and affirming its resilience following the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Covering a wide range of events, including corporate, public, and charity sectors, the UK events industry has proved itself to be a vital economic driver, contributing not just financially but also culturally and socially. As the nation continues its recovery, the industry is paving the way for future growth and innovation.

Key findings from the report include:

Corporate events such as conferences, trade shows, exhibitions and product launches, generating £33.6bn.

Leis

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05 November 2024

USA - Wireless load monitoring brand Broadweigh has announced its presence at this year’s LDI Show in Las Vegas this December. Visitors to the show can find Broadweigh at booth #2019 where the 9-tonne load cell will get its North American debut. The team will also be giving an exclusive preview of its innovations set for release in 2025.

“This is an exciting time for the Broadweigh brand," said Matthew Youngs, marketing manager at Broadweigh. “Our innovations are developed with a deep understanding of the demands faced by today’s live event professionals. We are therefore thrilled to bring our latest solutions to LDI and demonstrate how our products support a safer, smarter approach to event rigging and structural monitoring.”

Broadweigh’s wireless anemometer will also be on display on the booth, illustrating how it enables precise monito

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05 November 2024

Japan - Following the success of last year’s event, Brompton Technology has announced its return to Inter BEE 2024. The expo will see an expanded presence of Brompton’s LED video processing technology, which will be featured on the booths of key partners including INFiLED Japan, Ark Ventures, Sony Marketing, Leyard Japan, AOTO Electronics, Innovator One Co and d&b audiotechnik.

Brompton highlights at this year’s show include the latest Tessera v3.5 features, such as Dark Time Insertion, Frame Store, Hidden Marker Improvement, as well as the recent Q-SYS plugin integration. These enhancements further cement Brompton’s leadership in the virtual production (VP) and high-end LED installations sectors.

“We are honoured to be featured on our partners’ booths at Inter BEE 2024,” says Elijah Ebo, director of APAC Operations at Brompton. “

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05 November 2024

Hammer Blow - Theatres across the country are braced to absorb yet more costs under Labour’s first Budget in office, with large tax rises labelled another "financial hammer blow” for pinched organisations. Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves’ increase to both national insurance for employers and the national living wage has left theatre buildings saddled with potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds more in annual expenditure.

Curve chief executive Chris Stafford told The Stage: "While we actively support increasing the national living wage, this rise in cost alongside the hike in national insurance payments is another financial hammer for theatres and producers. Based on very early projections, the Budget will hit our bottom line by at least £350,000 next year. This is on top of the money we will need to allocate to implement Martyn

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04 November 2024

UK - Later this month, Chauvet and its family of brands will take part in Light24 (Light Expo, London) which is built around the theme Step Into The Light. The company will be at the expo to showcase a wide range of solutions that will not only invite visitors to step into the light, but also create and control it in myriad ways, by doing things like using advanced graze and cove fixtures, outputting up to 48 universes from a rail mounted system, and much more.

The entire Chauvet family of brands will be on display at Light24 booth 45, with much of the emphasis being placed on the latest lighting and control innovations from Iluminarc, ChamSys and GeNetix.

The Chauvet booth will offer demonstrations of products like The Logic line of interior architectural lights from Iluminarc. Featuring streamlined form factors that will fit beautifully in

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29 October 2024

UK - The much-anticipated James Eade Rigging Power Systems training course, in partnership with EXE Technology, returned mid-October, leaving participants inspired and empowered with new skills to tackle rigging challenges in today’s demanding live entertainment sector. The event drew rigging and technical professionals from across the country, all eager to deepen their expertise and experience of rigging electrical systems using the latest technology.

The 2024 Rigging Power Systems course, hosted at Rigging Team’s HQ in Stevenage on 10-11 October, boasted a sell-out event attracting delegates from various sectors of the industry and as far afield as Tahiti.

Running for the second year, the course was developed by Matt Millward, head of automation at Area Four Direct UK and chartered engineer James Eade, who has a wealth of industry knowledge in

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29 October 2024

Oasis on File - Thousands of tickets sold on resale websites will be cancelled by Oasis ahead of their upcoming reunion tour. The band’s promoters, Live Nation and SJM, have told BBC File on 4 that it will cancel more than 50,000 tickets for the band's UK dates listed on secondary platforms. It said that all invalidated tickets will be made available again through the official seller, Ticketmaster, at face value.

There were 1.4m tickets on sale when Oasis announced their UK tour in August, but more than 10m fans from 158 countries joined the queue. Within hours, thousands of tickets appeared on resale sites at inflated prices. When tickets for the 2025 Oasis reunion tour went on sale, fans were told they could only purchase tickets at face value through Ticketmaster or resale partner, Twickets. The band's promoters said this was done in order to c

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23 October 2024

UK - Polar will stage a demonstration day for the Turbosound Manchester Series of loudspeakers at the Old Savoy Theatre, Northampton on Tuesday, 19 November.

The Turbosound Manchester Series is designed for large-scale sound reinforcement at concerts, festivals, and stadiums. It features advanced waveguide technology and custom transducers. Its modular design allows scalable configurations for indoor and outdoor venues, ensuring superior performance and reliability for touring professionals and large events.

The event will provide an opportunity for sound engineers, audio professionals, and industry peers to listen to the Manchester Series in action. Visitors will experience its sound performance, discuss specific technical features, and get hands-on experience and insight into how the Series can be deployed in a wide variety of professional audio en

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22 October 2024

Europe - Showlight 2025 is offering a sponsorship scheme for a number of students and recent graduates of university, college or school courses related to lighting for the performing arts, events, broadcast, film and architecture.

Say the organisers: “We are now inviting international students to apply for placements which allow free of charge entry to Showlight 2025 in Dijon, France from 19-22 May 2025. At least 30 places are up for grabs, and you’ll need to be available for the entire four days as they will be packed with special events you won’t want to miss.”

All students get to enjoy the full Programme of Papers, admission to the accompanying exhibition of major lighting equipment manufacturers between Papers Sessions, the networking opportunities of the daily morning and afternoon tea breaks and lunch, as well as a place at one of the C

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22 October 2024

Tourist Tax - Bosses at Royal Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe are among more than 300 business leaders calling on the chancellor to axe a so-called ‘tourist tax’. Alex Beard of the ROH and Stella Kanu of Shakespeare’s Globe have added their signatures to a letter appealing to Rachel Reeves to reintroduce tax-free shopping for tourists ahead of this month’s budget.

Business leaders, including those who run department store John Lewis and make-up giant Charlotte Tilbury, claim the tax is deterring some two million foreign visitors from coming to the UK, thereby diminishing their spend on British products, hospitality, and culture.

The letter reads: "In 2021, in the aftermath of the pandemic that had hit businesses like ours hard, the then chancellor Rishi Sunak scrapped the tax-free shopping scheme for tourists that had existed for decade

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18 October 2024

South Africa - FBT’S distributor StageOne hosted the ArtOfTech event in Johannesburg, marking the South African launch of the FBT Myra Line Array System.

Peter Berry, founder of StageOne, tasked his team with transcending traditional demo events to deliver an extraordinary experience. "ArtOfTech was more than just a product launch; the production successfully merged technology with creativity to produce something truly special,” said Berry.

Over 350 select clients experienced live audio demonstrations of FBT's line arrays, Horizon, Muse, and the star of the show, Myra, the line array system for mid to large-size touring applications and high-end fixed installations.

Kyle Freemantle, a respected freelance sound engineer, praised the Myra for its user-friendly rigging and exceptional sound quality. "The FBT Myra features one of the most str

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17 October 2024

Germany - Prolight + Sound has announced the reintroduction of an advisory board. The committee, consisting of representatives from well-known companies, trade associations and industry experts, will serve as ‘a source of inspiration and impetus in the future’ and will make ‘a significant contribution to the further development of the event’.

At regular meetings, the advisory board will discuss current industry topics and provide strategic advice in order to define future-oriented goals for Prolight + Sound and to align it even more closely with the needs and requirements of the global event industry.

Particular attention is being paid to the further internationalisation of Prolight + Sound. On the basis of the broad network of contacts and the different strategic orientations of the companies, the advisory board, together with Messe Frankfur

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09 October 2024

UK - Guildhall School of Music & Drama has announced Backstage Roadshow, a series of free backstage arts skills workshops that will be given directly to UK state schools from September.

The initiative will introduce children and young people to the variety of creative pathways that exist within theatre, live events, television and film. Led by industry professionals and designed by Guildhall School’s Production Arts tutors, the Backstage Roadshow will provide participants with a crucial insight into one of the UK’s fastest growing sectors, inspiring young people to train and work in the creative industries.

The roadshow also seeks to demystify production arts language and career paths for teachers within schools and support them in helping find the right paths for young people. Jon Hare, outreach manager (production arts) at

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09 October 2024

USA - Renkus-Heinz is set to return to one of the largest events in the worship market, Church Facilities Expo (CFX). Taking place at the Chattanooga Convention Center in Tennessee from 21-23 October, the show will spotlight technology innovations, including Renkus-Heinz’s OmniBeam software, designed to transform live audio experiences in houses of worship.

Previously hosted in Dallas, Texas, CFX 2024 will feature a loudspeaker demo experience where attendees can hear OmniBeam in action against industry competitors. Taking place in ballrooms I & J, the round-robin demos offer an opportunity to directly compare solutions from leading manufacturers in a controlled acoustic setting.

Renkus-Heinz’s flagship IC Live X Series of modular, beam-steerable loudspeakers will take centre stage – in both a large flown array and a portable ground-stacked

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08 October 2024

New Zealand - Produced by Semmel Exhibitions, Marvel: Earth’s Mightiest Exhibition, offers a fresh perspective on Marvel’s rich 80+ year history. With its world premiere having taken place in Wellington, the exhibition gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creation of some of popular culture’s most famous stories and characters – enhanced by an immersive soundscape from Genelec.

The audio for the project was a collaboration between Sebastian M. Purfürst of Berlin-based LEM Studios and acoustic scenographer, Markus ‘Hossi’ Hossack. Commissioned to realise the artistic and technical concept of the immersive sound installation, they developed a soundscape that guides guests into the world of Marvel.

“As composers, media artists and engineers, we like to call the development of the sonic layers of the exhibition experience 'a

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08 October 2024

Serious Risk - Councils will be forced to abandon the arts and other non-statutory duties without an urgent "injection" of government funding in the upcoming Budget, local authorities have warned. Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre have called the £54bn shortfall in local council funding a "serious risk to cultural provision" in England and have responded by reiterating their demand that the government strategically review public investment in the performing arts.

According to a new report submitted to the government by the County Councils Network, England’s councils face a funding "black hole" of £54 billion over the next five years, fuelled by the soaring cost of social care. Confronted with an "unpalatable trade-off" between bankruptcy and minimum services, the shortfall could lead to local councils being able to provide "little more" than care