Events

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14 January 2025

City of Culture - Thousands of people braved sub-zero temperatures to watch an open-air spectacle starring magician Steven Frayne, formerly known as Dynamo, a 10-year-old rapper and a dozen aerial dancers to launch Bradford's year as UK City of Culture. Frayne told the audience he started his career performing street magic in City Park, where the opening ceremony was held, and that his home city was "going to make its mark on the world" in 2025.

Organisers said about 10,000 people turned out to watch the show, which took place in temperatures of -3C (26.6F). Bradford is the fourth UK City of Culture, a title that is awarded every four years. The scheme is designed to boost the chosen city's visitor numbers, economies and reputations, and Bradford's year has received £15m government funding.

Oh yes it is! - Robin Hood has be

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13 January 2025

UK - The Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) has revealed the nominees for the 2025 Excellence in Sound for a Feature Film. They are: A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, The Substance and Wicked.

The award recognises outstanding contributions from sound professionals who bring cinematic stories to life through the power of sound, and honours key roles including production sound mixer, supervising dialogue/ADR editor, supervising sound editor or sound designer, and re-recording mixer. Production sound mixers can nominate a key 1st assistant sound for exceptional contributions, ensuring all critical team members are acknowledged.

Now in its 12th year, the AMPS awards honour the creativity and dedication of professionals across five categories: feature films, TV dramas, factual films

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13 January 2025

Spain - Absen will unveil its latest innovations at ISE 2025 on Booth 3N400. The company will be showcasing a diverse range of display solutions, from digital art installations to versatile conference room solutions, creative retail displays, robust control room solutions, and dynamic DOOH applications.

Absen will be showcasing a digital art installation featuring the work of a renowned artist. “This installation will leverage the company’s state-of-the-art LED display technology to bring art to life in a truly immersive way,” the company says.

For the modern workplace, Absen, in collaboration with Yealink and Crestron, will introduce its 136'' all-in-one X Series 4K display as a comprehensive solution for modern workplaces. This display is designed to seamlessly integrate with Crestron's control system, offering both Yealink's Room-Based Meeti

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10 January 2025

USA - Organisers of the 2025 NAMM Show, scheduled to take place 21-25 January in Anaheim, are monitoring the wildfires in and around nearby Los Angeles. As of today, 10 January, the show will go on.

“We are closely monitoring the wildfires in Los Angeles and their devastating impact on local communities,” says NAMM president and CEO John Mlynczak. “During the past few days, our efforts have been focused on reaching out to our members and partners located in the metropolitan Los Angeles area to confirm their safety. Our thoughts are with them at this time.

“Anaheim is located 60 miles southeast of the wildfires and is currently unaffected.  We are actively working with our partners in Anaheim and the local authorities to ensure we have accurate, up-to-date information. Both Los Angeles International (LAX) and Orange County (John Wayne) airpor

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10 January 2025

Spain - Production Futures has announced that its team will be present at this year’s ISE in Barcelona, where it will take over the Live Events Stage on Friday 7 February for a focus on inspiration, networking, training, and career growth in live event technology and broadcast.

The organisation exists to create opportunities for young people to learn, train, network and develop careers in production across every area of the live event, music, touring, theatre, TV, broadcast and film industries, and this will be its first venture outside the UK.

Part of ISE’s Fast Forward Friday initiative, the takeover is targeted towards production newcomers in the first five years of their careers, and aims to promote a day of learning that will help develop the skills and confidence to meet career challenges head-on.

Mike Blackman, managing di

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09 January 2025

Europe - ISE 2025 returns to Fira de Barcelona Gran Via from 4-7 February 2025, offering a platform to connect with industry leaders, innovators, and peers.

With a wide range of categories and the experiential Audio Demo Room feature, ISE 2025 covers all technologies essential in creating impactful live events including stage lighting, rigging and staging equipment, loudspeakers, DIVA control consoles, spatial audio, holography, video mapping, intercom systems and more. ISE 2025 will showcase the tools and solutions that are driving the industry forward.

A ticket to ISE 2025 grants attendees access to eight expansive halls, including the newly added Hall 8.1. There are seven distinct Technology Zones and the Innovation Park, where startups showcase their groundbreaking ideas on the Pitching Stage.

ISE 2025 features an expanded Lighting and St

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08 January 2025

USA - Clear-Com has announced its continued role as the official intercom supplier for the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage at NAMM 2025, taking place 21-25 January at the Anaheim Convention Centre. Known as the centrepiece of NAMM’s vibrant live music scene, the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage will once again feature performances from world-renowned artists and rising talent.

Mastermind Production Group, Clear-Com’s long-time partner, will manage the stage’s audio production, integrating intercom into the setup. “Clear-Com continues to be our first choice for all of our events in the live music and corporate spaces. Their systems are reliable, flexible, and essential in live event production,” said Chad Griswold, CEO of Mastermind Production Group.

For NAMM 2025, the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage will deploy the Clear-Com Arcadia Central Station, a powerful s

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07 January 2025

Spain - Martin Audio is gearing up its ISE presence this year with The FlexPoint Pitstop Challenge, a competition to test your speed and skill in rotating the driver on its flagship FlexPoint loudspeaker, the FP8. The contestant with the fastest time recorded over the four-day event will be crowned ‘the ultimate speed champion’, and receive a prize package valued at £10,000, including 2x FP8, 2x SX112 and 1x iKON iK41.

Each model in the FlexPoint range – aside from the ultra-compact FP4 – features a multi-angle enclosure that allows seamless orientation in either portrait or landscape mode. Thanks to Martin Audio’s proprietary quick-release grille latches and captive release clamps, the FlexPoint driver can be effortlessly rotated 90° by hand, without any tools.

This design ensures quick adjustments in the field, a feature Martin Audio is

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07 January 2025

Spain - The OCA Alliance, the trade association supporting the AES70 standard for Open Control Architecture, is to host an event at ISE 2025. In partnership with the Audio Product Development Alliance (ADPA) – an association dedicated to improving the knowledge and skills of professionals involved in the development of audio products, from concept to delivery – the OCA Alliance is holding a product development meet-up on their stand 7-E260 at 2pm on Wednesday 5 February, 2025. 

Interested parties are invited to learn more about how the incorporation of open standards such as AES70 into their products can help get their products to market faster and appeal to a wider audience. It’s also an excellent opportunity to connect with fellow professionals and exchange ideas and insights. To enrol, register your interest here by 17 January 2025: https://ocaalli

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07 January 2025

Festival Finances - Glastonbury Festival has reported that profits more than doubled last year, as it faces criticism for being too "corporate". The festival brought in £5.9m in pre-tax profits for the year to March 2024 – up from £2.9m the year before. During the same period, the event also donated £5.2m to charitable organisations including Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid.

A spokesperson for the festival said "successful, dry Glastonburys in both 2023 and 2024" had helped to "rebuild the event's vital financial reserves". The spokesperson said it also allowed them to "continue to support good causes and charities". Like many festivals, Glastonbury saw record losses during the pandemic, with the event called off in 2020 and 2021, "costing the festival millions", said the spokesperson.

In The Courts - A cyber hacker has pleaded g

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17 December 2024

Europe - The Showlight Student Sponsorship deadline is approaching. Applications close on Friday 31 January 2025. The scheme is open to students and recent graduates of lighting for the performing arts, events, broadcast, film and architecture.

Successful applicants enjoy free-of-charge entry to Showlight 2025, with access to the full Programme of Papers, admission to the exhibition of major lighting equipment manufacturers, networking opportunities during the daily breaks and lunch, as well as a place at one of the Company Dinners on the Tuesday evening and the Conference Dinner on Wednesday evening. Around 30 places are available but spaces are filling up fast.

Former Showlight student participant and presenter of Sweeney Todd – A Site Specific Experience, Amy Mae Smith, comments: “Showlight is an inspiring few days where you

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17 December 2024

UK - Staged at the conclusion of its recent On Tour event at Production Park in Wakefield, this year’s Production Futures Breakthrough Talent Awards proved to be a major success. The awards recognise and mark the achievements of young talent within the production industries, with a mission to inspire the next generation.

Designed in cooperation with awards sponsors, the 2024 edition once again based its ‘prizes’ around ‘opportunity and access’ in contrast to the customary ‘glass trophy’ recognition. Winners received either mentoring sessions with judges and sponsors, all of whom are leading industry professionals, training sessions, or travel bursaries to visit next year’s ISE.

21 categories were covered by the awards, including six for outstanding achievement, reflecting the wide diversity of opportunity within the

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17 December 2024

Ticket Tax - Glasgow councillors have backed the introduction of a new £1 levy on tickets for ‘mega-gigs’ in the city – with the proceeds used to support small music venues. The levy would apply to the 14,300-capacity OVO Hydro which regularly hosts major artists, potentially raising hundreds of thousands of pounds each year. A motion was passed with cross-party support at a meeting of the full council, and the authority will now look in more detail at how to implement it.

The Scottish Greens, who led the motion, said upcoming performances and events by Kylie Minogue, Sam Fender, Olly Murs, comedian Peter Kay, Strictly Come Dancing and WWE could alone raise £160,000. Campaigners including the Music Venue Trust, external have called for smaller venues across the UK to receive a contribution from the p

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16 December 2024

Spain - Italian digital artist Quayola’s Creative Keynote presentation on 5 February at 15.30 will give ISE visitors insights into his projects, including the mesmerising Arborescent projection mapping experience on Casa Batlló, which takes place on 1 and 2 February as the next edition of ISE kicks off in Barcelona.

Celebrated for his pioneering fusion of technology and art, Quayola will also present his artwork Promenade on Tuesday, 4 February at 18.30, on the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via’s award-winning south access welcome screen, providing both the citizens of Barcelona and ISE visitors with another chance to witness his creative talents in action.

“In Arborescent, I aimed to identify, catalogue, and digitally reconstruct a variety of tree species. I am interested in studying their growth systems and understanding

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10 December 2024

UK - Sarner International has announced its appointment by East Staffordshire Borough Council to lead the initial visitor experience design stages for the ambitious Brewery Heritage & Social History Experience in Burton-upon-Trent.

This new immersive visitor attraction aims to celebrate Burton-upon-Trent’s pivotal role in brewing history and revitalise its standing as the home of IPA. Blending advanced technology, engaging storytelling, and interactive elements, the experience will reveal the art and science of brewing beer while highlighting Burton’s historical role as a global leader in beer production and the social fabric that shaped the town.

Through a sensory journey into Burton’s brewing heritage, visitors are introduced to the concept of Burton’s naturally mineral-rich water and immersed in the tale of the ‘waters of life’. Th

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06 December 2024

UK - Production Futures’ next On Tour event will take place at the Roundhouse, London, on Tuesday 4 March 2025.

The free-of-charge event will promote employability, transferable skills, diversity, free training and networking, and will present paid work opportunities to newcomers across the live event and broadcast production industry.

Visitors to the show will enjoy a packed schedule, which includes special guests, talks and panels, while industry workshops will offer young visitors the chance to engage in a wide range of activities, from preparing to be job-ready with industry-oriented CVs, to hands-on exploration of lighting programming, CAD, audio engineering, as well as getting under the skin of music production, virtual production and event production planning.

Hannah Eakins, CEO at Production Futures comments: “We’re abs

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04 December 2024

France - Showlight is extremely excited to announce the first of its speakers who will present Papers in May. The selection draws from a mixture of lighting disciplines covering site-specific installations, mixed lighting challenges, product innovation and circus spectaculars with speakers, new and familiar, travelling to Dijon to be part of this exceptional networking quadrennial.

Here’s the first of what the Showlight 2025 line-up has to offer:

The Magic of Cirque du Soleil - Mikki Kunttu will explain how he turns magic into reality as the lighting & set designer and programmer for a number of spectacular Cirque du Soleil shows.

The Power of Light: From Myth to Science to Control - Anne Militello will examine how lighting techniques used today to stir emotional reactions, date back centuries to when man first incorpor

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04 December 2024

UK - Stephen Daldry’s National Theatre production of An Inspector Calls is a gripping and vivid adaptation of JB Priestley’s classic thriller. Having won numerous awards, including the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design, and having played to over five million theatregoers, the show has now returned for a new UK tour, with the previous one in 2022 being a record-breaking sell-out.

Having lit the original production back in 1992, and all of its subsequent runs, Olivier and Tony Award-winning lighting designer Rick Fisher is once again part of the creative team and approached White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to supply his rig; with the company having worked on the show since its original West End debut in 1995.

The play tells the story of Inspector Goole who arrives unexpectedly at the prosperous Birling family home where th

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03 December 2024

France - Ayrton, which has recently undergone a major expansion of its headquarters in Villebon-Sur-Yvette, south of Paris, showcased its new showroom and immersive museum with a series of events in November.

Over a two-week period, four events saw over 450 international guests, distributors, partners and lighting designers gather to immerse themselves in designs, innovative lighting solutions, and a world of creativity to inspire their next projects.

The new 1,200m2 x 8.5m high wide-format demonstration room, complete with luxurious theatre seating, provided the ideal forum to discover all of Ayrton’s products, while the immersive museum showcases the luminaires that have made Ayrton’s history. Guests were treated to cocktail receptions and dinner in the breakout rooms at every event which gave ample opportunity to network, ask questions and mak

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03 December 2024

USA - Robe returns to Las Vegas for LDI 2024 where the moving light manufacturer will be launching two new products, the T.5 Profile – a smaller version of the T1 – and the LedPointe, the new LED member of the Pointe family.

Also highlighted are four more new products seen for the first time at a US trade show – the iForte Fresnel, the Painte Fresnel, the SVOPATT and the SVB1.

Robe’s new expo live show, The Fifth Dimension, features ‘three live performers, jaw-dropping action and plenty of imagination’.

Robe’s other businesses – architectural and LED lighting manufacturer Anolis; UK-based lighting console and media server manufacturer Avolites; Australian-based power distribution gurus LSC Control Systems; and lighting control and integration solutions specialist Artistic License – will all be located on adjacent st

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03 December 2024

USA - Hive, a specialist media control manufacturer, is making its debut at LDI 2024. The show will serve as the stage for Hive’s latest innovation, Nucleus, a compact, rack-mountable 1U media player designed ‘to redefine affordability and scalability in live events and fixed installations’. Hive will exhibit alongside its exclusive distributor, Show Sage, at booth 2123, where attendees can experience live product demonstrations and explore the Hive ecosystem.

The Nucleus media player combines powerful functionality with a sleek, portable design, featuring a 1U rack-mountable chassis with dual SDM sockets that support all of Hive’s Beeblade computing modules, including Minima, Osmia and Pluto.

Built with a machined aluminium chassis, the Nucleus is engineered to withstand the rigours of touring while maintaining the portability and reliabilit

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03 December 2024

USA - Mega-Lite will showcase its latest products at the LDI Show. Visit Mega Systems at booth #2283, next to the Circle Bar, for the launch of five new products from the Mega-Lite family and the latest innovations from Mega Systems Inc.

Guillermo Cabada, head of marketing at Mega-Lite, said: "We are excited to be part of this year’s LDI and can’t wait to see all our customers and friends. We look forward to creating new friendships as we release five new products this year.”

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03 December 2024

Artistic Freedom - Theatres, opera and dance companies from across the European Union have warned the European parliament that "brazen attacks on artistic freedom" are posing an existential threat to creativity across the continent. Almost 250 artists and 178 cultural institutions from every EU nation are represented in the open letter to the parliament, which is also backed by UK figures including Battersea Arts Centre’s head of programming Pelin Başaran, reports The Stage.

The European Theatre Convention, Opera Europa, the Prospero – Extended Theatre platform, German and Swedish theatre academies and the national theatres of countries including Slovakia, Albania, Greece and Croatia are among those raising the alarm about an "orchestrated cultural-political strategy aimed at the disappearance of a diverse European culture".

According t

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02 December 2024

UK - Billed as “the most diverse music meeting in the world”, WOMEX (Worldwide Music Expo) is an international music event, renowned for staging a vibrant annual gathering of music professionals and music enthusiasts. WOMEX features live music, films, a trade fair, panel discussions and presentations in a different European location every year, showcasing breakthrough artists and talent from around the globe.

2024 was the 30th anniversary of the WOMEX Festival event, and it was brought to Manchester, UK by host partner Manchester Music City, where locally based creative audio specialists Tube uk provided sound systems and engineering services for the four largest live performance stages.

Says Tube uk’s Melvyn Coote: “We were hugely excited to be asked onboard for this event in our home city and to work with some incredible line-ups and musici