Brazil - Last month, Lighting Latin America conducted its third training and product presentation for operators and programmers in Sao Paulo. "It was the most successful event we held in Brazil. The training was attended by some 70 people from Brazil as well as Argentina and Colombia," reports Daniel Ridano, technical manager and project coordinator of MA Lighting Latin America.

On the first day the whole range of MA Lighting products was introduced, with the focus on the grandMA range especially grandMA full-size, grandMA light and grandMA ultra-light. Additionally, the software grandMA onPC and grandMA 3D as well as MA Lighting's media server grandMA video together with the Schnick-Schnack-Systems LED-Paneel C100 were demonstrated.

On the second day the MA Training - Level Basic was held. This is aimed at programmers and operators of moving and conventional lights.

UK - Bandit Lites is again working with Leeds-based Production North and continuing its fruitful relationship, this time with Girls Aloud on their UK arena tour.

The production is headed by Iain Whitehead, lighting has been designed by Peter Barnes, with programming, operation and direction on tour by Tellson James.

The lightshow is big, bold and bright to match the primarily up-tempo set. Barnes conceived the design and briefed James with ideas on some of the songs, also allowing him latitude to make a creative contribution to the programming, which was done over four days in Sheffield Arena.

The back truss features four vertical legs, all of which flank three onstage video screens. The two centre legs are 6m high and the outer two are 4m. Rigged on and inside this structure are 11 Martin Professional MAC 2K Washes and 8 MAC 2K Profile moving lights.

In front of that are

UK - The Foo Fighters played their biggest gig ever at Wembley Stadium on Friday 6 June, and Stageco brought their global experience into creating the stage. The band played an 'in the round' style show, with a catwalk reaching nearly the full length of the stadium.

It took Stageco's 16-strong team just three days to build the 180 tonne stage, designed by the company's in-house R&D department to deliver an 'up close and personal experience' for every member of the audience.

The distinctive 26m x 26m Stageco 'Super roof' was the main stage, with a B-stage connected by a catwalk, enabling Dave Grohl to run the length of the stadium during the performance.The mixing tower was placed at the end of the catwalk, with a central delay tower, and two further delay / spot lighting towers flanking the B-stage.

Antonio Cruz, technical supervisor for Stageco explained, "The initial

UK - With special half-price pre-registration now live on the PLASA08 website, organiser PLASA Events has revealed that the host of its first ever PLASA Masterclass will be Funktion One co-founder Tony Andrews - the winner of last year's inaugural Gottelier Award.

A highly regarded designer and manufacturer of high quality point source speaker systems, with numerous patents to his name, Andrews' landmark developments include the hugely successful Flashlight and Floodlight systems, and more recently the distinctive Funktion One Resolution Series.

Andrews headlines a growing programme of educational presentations at the show, which include a number of exciting new initiatives and partnerships. There will be a strong focus on industry technologies, with several sessions addressing existing and emerging audio, AV and lighting technologies and how to maximise their application in t

UK - PLASA Events Ltd, the organisers of the PLASA Show at Earls Court in London (7-10 Sept 2008) have announced the official launch of the 2008 PLASA Awards for Innovation, which this year will feature some significant enhancements - and also the 2008 Gottelier Award, which recognises the contribution of an outstanding individual to product development.

Innovation: PLASA goes for Gold
During consultation with the PLASA Awards for Innovation Judges after the 2007 PLASA Show, the judges expressed a desire to be able to more accurately reflect the levels of innovation seen in the products nominated for the Awards. Specifically, they were looking for a way to highlight those cases where a product truly delivered something strikingly new and innovative to the industry.

Roland Hemming, a highly-respected audio consultant and a regular on the PLASA Awards for Innovation j

USA - The Joint Training Initiative of The ESTA Foundation and USITT has announced Lighting and Console Training Sessions to be held at Wharton Center for Performing Arts, Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan. This event is being hosted by The Wharton Center and IATSE Local 274 in East Lansing, Michigan.

The four-day schedule of courses is designed for lighting programmers, technicians, and electricians at a basic to intermediate level. Sessions will be held 28 July 28 through 31 July. The courses will be taught by ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician and ETCP Recognized Trainer, Eric Rimes.

(Jim Evans)

Korea - The Conventions and Exhibitions Center in Seoul hosted Koba 2008, the international audio, lighting, and musical instruments exposition, which was held 28-31 May. D.A.S. Audio was represented by its distributor in Korea, Pro Audio Corporation Korea, who exhibited a wide range of D.A.S. products.

Sound engineer, Joan La Roda, arrived from Spain and Juan Luís García, D.A.S. Audio Asia director, from Singapore to give their support to the D.A.S. distributor at the stand. In Seoul, La Roda explained the technical features and applications of the line array systems in the seminar entitled Line Arrays: How they work. The next subject was Subwoofer Configurations and Time Alignment where he addressed the different types and features.

Joan La Roda's next stop was in Auckland (New Zealand) where he visited Edwards Sound's, a D.A.S. client, new installatio

UAE - Integrated Systems Events LLC, and CMP Information Ltd have announced the launch of a new exhibition for the professional AV and systems integration industry to serve the Middle East and African markets. The inaugural Integrated Systems Middle East Africa (ISMEA) will run from 23-24 March 2009 at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Center (ADNEC), the most modern convention centre in the world.

The agreement between Integrated Systems Events and CMPi will see the two companies being jointly responsible for selling, organising, and promoting ISMEA as the sole trade-only exhibition in the region fully focused on audio-visual and electronic systems integration technologies.

"Just as we successfully partnered with an organization that had strong local roots when we launched Integrated Systems Russia in 2007, so our partnership with CMPi is designed to ensure that ISMEA benefits fr

Italy - From 9-11 October 2008 Rimini Fiera will hosts the second edition of the seminar event for audio, video and lighting installation and integration professionals. The event will offer three days of meetings with high-tech content on networking, digital audio and video, with authoritative speakers in each field.

The SIB 2008 International exhibition in April, where the first SIB Forum was held, attracted a claimed total of 21,682 visitors to Rimini Fiera, of whom 1,350 were from overseas. This is the only Italian seminar event dedicated to professionals in the installation and integration of audio, video and lighting technologies.

Rimini Fiera general manager Piero Venturelli explains: "The convergence of the installation, system integration and entertainment markets is already the natural trend in these sectors - technologies and know how once limited to specific ap

UK - PLASA 2008 will be the second year of the prestigious Gottelier Award. Named in honour of the late designer, developer and commentator Tony Gottelier, this award aims to recognise the tireless product developers who have made a significant contribution to the development of the equipment and tools that enable our entertainment technology practitioners to continually push the boundaries of event production, presentation and installation.

Last year's inaugural Award was won by Tony Andrews of Funktion One for his decades of dedication to the advancement of loudspeaker design.

The Nomination phase of the 2008 Gottelier Award is now open, and industry professionals worldwide are being asked to put forward the names of individuals who they believe should be considered for this year's award.

Following the nomination period, a shortlist of the leading nominees will then be ope

USA - With fuel prices hovering at $4/gallon, NSCA made sure its grand prize at InfoComm 08 would save at least one lucky member some serious green. All NSCA members could visit the NSCA Zone to enter to win a 2008 Toyota Hybrid Prius, valued at nearly $29,000.

"Saving our members money is important to NSCA," said NSCA senior director of member services, Jodi Montgomery. "We're constantly looking for new solutions and new ideas to help members succeed."

Greg Bedross, regional sales manager for Kramer Electronics Sierra Video, was the lucky winner of the Prius, which averages 46 miles to the gallon. Bedross said he received the news via cell phone while working on the show floor.

"I just can't believe it. I want to thank everyone," said Bedross when he picked up the keys to his new car. "I think (NSCA) is a wonderful organisation and I'm ver

USA - Industry members had the chance to relax and raise money for charitable causes during InfoComm 08. During its first joint show with InfoComm, NSCA hosted many of its popular events from previous NSCA Expos.

The Systems Integration Industry Charity Golf Tournament, host sponsored by Atlas Sound/IED, kicked off the week and raised money for the NSCA Education Foundation, the International Communications Industry Foundation, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

"We were extremely pleased with all the NSCA-sponsored events during InfoComm 08," said NSCA Education Foundation president, Tom Frericks. "Our mission is to support education for industry professionals, but the Foundation also supports other charitable causes through its fundraising events. We accomplished both in Las Vegas this year."

The next evening the Drunk Unkles band made its I

India - PALME India 2008, which will be held from 3-5 October at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai has already signed-up industry majors such as Harman Pro, Modern Stage/Philips Lighting, Meyer Sound and Coda Audio. Modern Stage/Philips Lighting have booked over 450sq.m of floor space, with a distinct Bollywood theme. All of Modern Stage's principle companies will be represented, ranging from Vari-Lite, Elgin Electronics, Stark Illumination, Philips Lighting and Studio Due from Italy.

However, while the Bollywood film industry is the central entertainment focus, the events industry also continues to record dramatic growth. With over 8% GDP growth, India's main conurbations and resorts are witnessing a boom in leisure and tourism infrastructure. To provide specific platforms for both of these distinct areas, PALME India features two separate but complementary vertical shows, I

UK - In 2000, the Forestry Commission organised its inaugural forest tour, launched with the intention of bringing new audiences into the UK's forests and encouraging them to see the country's woodlands in a new an exciting way.

In the intervening years throughout the months of June and July, the forest tour has attracted an array of top class acts to a variety of locations, giving audiences the opportunity to enjoy both the music and the environment in which it is performed. The atmosphere is invariably as relaxed and friendly as one could wish to experience and, with crowd management company AP Security on hand, it is sure to remain that way.

"AP has been working on a number of the Forestry Commission's sites for the last five years," says AP's national sales manager, John Phillips. "Our initial contract was for Westonbirt, The National Arboretum in the Cotswo

UK - UBM's Live Media business is delighted to announce the acquisition of Mondiale Publishing's Sleep and Arc Exhibitions, Conferences and The European Hotel Design Awards.

Sleep and Arc were both launched in 2005. Sleep, comprising a design-led exhibition, high-level conference and prestigious awards ceremony; has rapidly established itself as Europe's leading event for all those involved in the creation of new hotels. Now in its third year, the show is bigger than ever and has moved to a new venue; the Business Design Centre, Islington, to accommodate the increasing participation demand.

Arc exhibition and conference, is the UK's leading event for Architectural, Retail and Commercial lighting. UK architects, designers and lighting designers are creating stunning high profile projects across the world as emerging economies transform their cityscapes. With such an influential

UK - After a successful trial in 2007, The Championships 2008 - more commonly known as Wimbledon Fortnight - saw the hosting All England Lawn Tennis Club elect to replace its longstanding scoreboards on Centre and No.1 Courts with state-of-the-art LED screens.

The new screens meant that the scoreboards could be put to a much wider range of uses, so improved communications between the court control booths and the main screen control room were essential. And these communications were significantly aided by four Yamaha DME4io-C high-performance terminal I/O processors.

Wimbledon-based RG Jones Sound Engineering has been the main audio contractor for the All England Club for over 20 years "At such a high profile event, reliability is everything. A breakdown in communications would cause huge problems," says the company's Jon Berry. "We needed a straightforward devic

Show News - Loudspeaker manufacturer Tannoy makes a welcome return to the PLASA show after being absent for a couple of years. The company will be using the Earls' Court event as the platform for a first UK demonstration of its newest pro-audio product lines, VQ and QFlex, as well as exhibiting some of the existing V-Series loudspeaker range.

Executive News - Bandit Lites has announced that Peter M. Heffernan, a 30-year veteran, has been named president of the firm. Effective immediately, Heffernan will take the reigns and serve as both president and C.O.O., a role he has held for the last 15 years. This move comes at a time of growth for Bandit and is the logical step in taking the firm to the next level, says the company. Heffernan began his full time relationship with Bandit Lites in 1978 and he has risen through the ranks. He served as lighting director and/ or production manager f

Australia - Dante digital audio networking technology proved its reliability and cost-effectiveness at one of this year's largest public gatherings - World Youth Day 2008. Huge crowds attended the July events in Sydney. Crowd estimates for Pope Benedict XVI's final mass at Randwick Racecourse ran as high as 400,000.

Scott Willsallen of Auditoria was charged with delivering a high quality audio experience to everyone in attendance at both Randwick and the "Super Thursday" opening mass, which drew 140,000 to Barangaroo on Sydney Harbour. He relied on Dante to distribute signal from the mixing desks to speaker towers throughout the enormous audiences.

Willsallen is an expert in designing audio systems for major events. His resumé includes the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, 2006 Commonwealth Games, 2006 Doha Asian Games, 2006 Eurovision Song Contest and the 2003 Rugby

UK - Baldwin Boxall's OmniCare system will be demonstrated at Firex North. Also on show will be Vigil Eclipse2 stand-alone VA/PA system.

Vigil OmniCare is an addressable emergency voice communication system that allows disabled refuge, fire telephones and disabled toilet alarm remote units to be wired in one system. It has been developed in accordance with BS5588, BS5839 part 9 and BS8300:2001 (for the disabled toilet alarm).

The system has two main components: a Master Control Panel and the Remote Units. The Master Control Panel is available in various options: 8-128 way. Control panels also function as slave panels when wired into a Vigil OmniCare system on the ring circuit loop. The Master Control Panel is normally wall mounted within a central control room, with additional panels at other locations for control of local areas.

Vigil Eclipse2 is a wall-mountable voice alar

UK - Stage Electrics is supplying in house sound and audio visual equipment for the entire run of Lift Festival 2008 which takes place this summer at Stratford and the Southbank Centre. Since 1981, Lift has been recognised as one of Europe's leading arts festivals, introducing theatre from over 60 countries to venues and unusual sites across London. At the heart of the festival is The Lift, a mobile venue and meeting place that hosts performances, exhibitions, workshops, discussions and screenings.

Andrew Sugg, business development manager at Stage Electrics says, 'The project requires a flexible system which can be used for many applications, from live music, dance and film to individual speakers. On top of this, we have also provided additional sound and audio visual equipment for one off special events such as outdoor film showings.

Robin Shepherd-Blandy, technical m

UK - PLASA Media has revealed this year's short-listed nominees for the prestigious Gottelier Award, and opened up the online voting form at the PLASA Show website.

The voting is open to industry professionals worldwide, and will remain open until 12.00 midday (UK time) on Friday 29 August 2008. The winner will be announced at the PLASA Show on Monday 8 September.

Named in honour of the late designer, developer and commentator Tony Gottelier, this award aims to recognise the tireless product developers who have made a significant contribution to the development of the equipment and tools that enable our entertainment technology practitioners to continually push the boundaries of event production, presentation and installation.

Last year's inaugural Award was won by Tony Andrews of Funktion One for his decades of dedi

UK - The promise of new technologies and applications, plus a dramatically expanded educational programme, has helped drive the PLASA Show to its highest-ever pre-registration figures, with a record total of over 10,000 industry professionals already registered to attend.

With the show a year on since its redesign, the one-floor, two-hall layout has been refined and expanded to allow for new and returning exhibitors, say organisers PLASA Events Ltd.

And with new products topping the 'wish list' of the majority of visitors, there's no doubt that PLASA08 will definitely deliver, according to show director Nicola Rowland. "There's a real buzz building around the wide range of technologies and expertise on offer at the show and how these can be applied across the industry. It's a unique chance to see how projects are being delivered, how lighting, sound and AV systems are bei

UAE - Gearhouse Staging Connections has secured an exclusive three-year appointment as the event services partner of the new 1539-room ocean-themed Atlantis, Palm Jumeirah - the flagship resort of the man-made palm-shaped island development The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.

A culmination of almost two years of planning with Atlantis, Palm Jumeirah management, the contract marks the group's first foray into the high-growth venue services market in the United Arab Emirates.

Gearhouse Staging Connections will assemble an onsite team of 15 "world-class technical and client services personnel" from its Dubai and Australian operations to deliver conferences, concerts, launches and events of any scale at the prestigious resort. The company will also install a range of multi-million-dollar audio-visual technology into the resort's facilities.

Staging Connections Group CEO Michae

UK - Impact Products (Europe) Ltd, a leading trade-only supplier of professional audio and lighting products, is highlighting five leading manufacturers at PLASA08.

Adding to its comprehensive collection of amplifiers and speakers, Brooke has two impressive new ranges of line array speakers, suitable for every kind of venue from small club to stadium.

Rhino have introduced the robust Twin Table DJ Rack Case, whose removable doors with folding legs fix securely to the 19" flight case to form two tabletops for decks and mixers.

Business manager Keith Williams says: "We are proud to now be the stocking distributor for Litestructures and exclusive stocking distributor of US-based Chauvet Lighting in the UK."

Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, Chauvet's new MiN Spot is a portable moving head LED fixture with RGB mixing and nine gobos, whilst Impact's P

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