China - The 2007 Guangdong International Tourism and Culture Festival and PPRD Tourism Promotion Convention got off to an impressive start last month with a grand opening ceremony in front of 40,000 spectators held in Tianhe Sports Centre, Guangzhou in southern China. An InnovaSON Sy80 digital mixing console presided at FOH for this spectacular event.

The annual tourism gala - sponsored by China's National Tourism Administration and the People's Government of Guangdong province - is a massive week-long festival offering a series of events and conventions in cities all around the province and attracting huge numbers of foreign visitors. However, la pièce de résistance was undoubtedly the grand opening ceremony which began with the depiction of the epic Legend of the Ship of the Blue Ocean and terminated with a spectacular fireworks display. Performances from popula

UK - A.C. Lighting presented the prestigious British Racing Drivers' Club's Richard Seaman Trophy to F1 driver Lewis Hamilton at the 2007 BRDC Annual Awards Luncheon at the Savoy in London.

Taking place on the eve of the 80th Anniversary of the British Racing Drivers' Club, the Awards celebrate the achievements of the international racing season. Over 400 people gathered in The Savoy's Lancaster Ballroom for the star-studded event, which was packed with motor racing's finest heroes from past and present.

The Richard Seaman Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Club's Gold Star points scoring system. Lewis Hamilton's 2007 F1 achievements led him to top the Club's Gold Star table by a margin of 34 points at the end of his maiden season.

A.C. Lighting's UK sales director, Phil Capstick, presented the award to Lewis Hamilton along with BRDC President Damon Hill. Once on stage,

Iraq - The Basra City Rollers, a bunch of five lads from 158 Provost Company Military Police staged a gig in Iraq to raise over £1000 for the Sun's Help For Heroes campaign. When the band approached Peavey to ask if they'd be willing to donate some equipment to help out (as they didn't have so much as a single guitar string between them) Peavey was delighted to participate.

Peavey supplied a Delta Blues 210 guitar amplifier from their Classic Series of guitar amplifiers; a Max bass amplifier from the compact and affordable Max range; four PVi 100 microphones which are specially designed for musicians on the move; and a number of guitar accessories such as leads and stands. The band, who had never played together before, had three days to rehearse and get used to each other and their new gear before they faced their eager public.

According to a military spokesman,

Dubai - Production company HQ Creative devised and produced a multi-media spectacle to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Abu Dhabi Police Force.

The event - attended by General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces - was staged in the Zayed Sports City Stadium.

The show was a collaboration between HQ's artistic director Katie Veira and creative producer Daz Jamieson, the police and His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who played a very hands-on role in the event.

The Sheikh and the police had several specific ideas which were taken by HQ Creative, added to with their own input and integrated into the show's storyboard.

Lasting 90 minutes, the brief opening speeches were followed by poetry reading, a special choreographed candle 'shaping' parade with hundreds of can

UK - Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) has established a new operation - exclusively focused on the EAW brand - that "dramatically upgrades the company's ability to serve the crucial European professional audio marketplace".

The new EAW Europe, which officially opens its doors on 2 January 2007, is based in Wickford, Essex, UK, and is headed by Sean Martin, the company's veteran European sales manager. He is directing a team of six full-time, experienced professionals who will work in support of the EAW brand and its European customer base.

The new operation offers the complete inventory of EAW products on the European continent in order to dramatically shorten delivery times. An expansive inventory of repair and replacement parts are kept on hand as well, with an EAW Product Service Centre also instituted in Wickford, in very close proximity to the offices of EAW Europe.

UK - Britannia Row, Creative Technology, PRG Europe and Blackout, plus new hosts Stage One and Power Logistics, hosted their third annual Bloomsbury Christmas Ball at Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square on Wednesday, 12 December 2007.

"This year carried on the great spirit of the first two parties very well in that it gave everybody in the production community a chance to meet up and have some fun in a relaxed and social atmosphere. A lot of people thoroughly enjoyed the event and had big smiles on their faces," said Bryan Grant at Britannia Row.

The event saw around 900 friends and clients from each of the companies enjoy flamboyant Burlesque Music and Entertainment in a classic and Western themed venue.

Entertainment was supplied by Lost Vagueness who provided the main focal points in party areas including a Golden Nugget casino, Gaol and a Pamper Parlour. Other en

UK - The iconic Morecambe and Wise gold drapes with a contrasting MW on them were made by Rex Howard Drapes back in the 1970s for the original Morecambe and Wise TV show.

They went on to appear in every Morecambe and Wise show, returning to Rex Howard for maintenance and storage in between shows.

Rex Howard Drapes is now a trading division of Hawthorn, and the company report that these unique tabs are going to be used again in a Morecambe and Wise Christmas Memories TV tribute special, to be shown this Christmas. The gold drapes have been fully cleaned and serviced ready for the show by Hawthorn's in-house specialist maintenance team.

Mike Watling, general manager of Rex Howard Drapes said: "These gold tabs are part of TV history. It's been a real pleasure for the whole team to be involved in getting this special piece of TV memorabilia ship shape for the Christmas TV s

UK - Friday 14 December 2007 saw the official opening of the Mojo Barriers Education & Training Centre, part of the Centre for Crowd Management & Security Studies at Buckinghamshire New University.

The Centre was opened by the University's vice-chancellor, Dr Ruth Farwell, and Patrick Jordan, managing director of Mojo Barriers, in the company of many distinguished guests from the security, crowd management and close protection industries.

The Mojo Barriers Education & Training Centre is the world's only centre for training staff indoors on using pressure sensing equipment with the Barrier Load Measuring System (BLMS).

The launch featured a full demonstration of the BLMS, lead by Patrick Jordan and Warren Tucker, who provides technological support for the Centre, enabling guests to witness the benefits of the system at first hand. Mojo Barriers has donated the BLMS to Bucking

UK - Following its £1.3 million revamp the Wyvern Theatre Swindon is opening its doors on 4 February 2008 for a special Venue Technology Day. Coordinated by Stage Electrics the day promises the opportunity to explore some of the latest in venue technology in an operational setting.

On 25 September 2007 the Wyvern, a busy receiving venue, reopened after nearly a year in the dark following the discovery of asbestos in the auditorium roof (see Lighting&Sound International magazine November 2007). Stage Electrics was contracted by Swindon Borough Council to design, install and supply technical infrastructure and equipment to the venue.

The Wyvern Theatre is a truly multifunctional venue hosting everything from Shakespeare to ballet, live music to comedy and conferences to cinema. With a reasonably small team of staf

UK - Today's news will be the last update of the year at LSI Online, as the team at PLASA Media is taking a break for the Christmas holiday.

The news service will resume on Wednesday 2 January 2008, and the next email news bulletin will be sent out to subscribers on Tuesday 8 January.

Until then, our thanks to all our readers for making use of our website through the year, and our best wishes to one and all for the holiday season and a happy and successful 2008.

The PLASA Media team.

USA - The registration deadline for The ESTA Foundation's Mid-Atlantic Technical Training Week has been extended to Friday, 11 January 2008. The training will be held 21-26 January at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Maryland, 12 miles from Washington, D.C. The training is co-sponsored by Theater & Entertainment Technology at Prince George's Community College and The ESTA Foundation's Seminars & Training Committee.

This six-day professional training week includes courses for lighting programmers, technicians, and electricians, as well as for arena and stage riggers. Some of the courses carry re-certification credits for ETCP certified electricians and riggers.

Courses offered in the Rigging Track are: Arena Rigging Math Fundamentals on 21 January taught by G. Anthony Phillips and Stage Rigging Fundamentals on 22-23 January taught by Jay O. Glerum. The Lighting/Elect

UK - VISLINK Group has announced a number of strategic appointments to augment its specialist Defence, Law Enforcement and Security (DLES) business development initiative, with dedicated sales appointments to cover Europe and Asia.

Lee Norton has been appointed as DLES regional sales manager for Europe, and David Ayotte has transferred from group company Microwave Radio Communications (MRC) to take up the position of International DLES regional sales manager, with responsibility for Asia. In addition, Laurence Venner has joined the team as a specialist systems engineer.

DLES business unit director, Matthew Richards, commented: "These appointments reflect the market opportunities for our unique combination of solutions, providing best of breed systems for a range of government agency and defence applications."

(Jim Evans)

USA - Biamp Systems has confirmed the appointment of Peter Owen as regional sales manager for Western Europe. In his new position, Owen, who most recently served as international sales manager for Martin Audio, will be responsible for managing sales operations in the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, France, Spain, Iceland and Greenland. Owen reports directly to Graeme Harrison, Biamp Systems vice president of international sales and will be based regionally in Bedfordshire, UK.

Owen joins Biamp Systems with extensive sales management experience in professional audio and systems integration. He became international sales manager for Martin Audio in 2003 and was responsible for all operational and distributor management in 20 key territories. Prior to Martin Audio, Owen was project sales specialist at Arbiter Group in London where he managed projects including installations at major stad

China - Procon Event Engineering has been awarded a major order for technical provision of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games venues, in a deal worth more than $4 million USD.

This contract continues Procon's involvement with the Olympic Games, having previously been one of the main service providers for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 and at Athens in 2004.

Morten Carlsson, CEO of Procon MultiMedia comments: "This order shows that Procon is able to stand up to the Asian competition. Essential criteria for the assignment have been our 20 years of experience of more than 10,000 successfully executed events as well as our reputation in the area of large scale events. Based on our sales focus in this market, we are confident to gain further orders for international events in 2008."

(Jim Evans)

UK - SAE Institute reports that, along with two of its educational partners, it has been awarded Skillset Media Academy status by the Government.

The new Middlesex Skillset Media Academy - a three-way partnership between the SAE Institute, Middlesex University and Top TV Academy - is one of only 17 institutions in the country to gain this recognition.

Matthias Postel, head of SAE Institute in the UK, commented: "SAE is excited to be part of this vibrant partnership. We bring our expertise in audio engineering and digital film production to the table, augmented by Qantm College, our specialist division of games design and 3D animation. We have been a global partner of Middlesex University for the past ten years and the Skillset partnership is yet another milestone."

(Jim Evans)

Equatorial Guinea - The National Parliament building in Bata the capital city of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, has been provided with a Digital Congress Network (DCN) Next Generation conferencing system from Bosch Security Systems. It was selected and implemented by Bosch's engineering partner Ratti Renato, based in Milan.

The main criteria on which the decision was made in choosing the DCN system were ergonomic design, total control through a central PC and high-quality speech intelligibility. Added to these features were Bosch's proven product reliability and superior after-sales service support, says the company.

The National Parliament DCN system includes 225 discussion units in Bosch's flush-mount version that allows easy 'click-to-fit' installation and choice of functional panels that can be customised according to requirements. The specification also includes votin

USA - A.C. Lighting Inc has appointed a new North American Sales Representative to support the company's continuing growth plans in the US and Canada. Graham Likeness joins A.C.'s sales team in the newly created position of sales representative - Western US and Canada.

Based in Calgary, Alberta, Likeness will provide in the field support for the company's stockholding of general distribution products and leading technology brands - including the exclusively distributed Jands Vista, Hog 500/1000, Event, ESP and Stage lighting console ranges, and the Chroma-Q range including colour changers, gobo rotators, PSUs, and the Color Block, Color Split and Color Web multi-purpose LED solutions.

Likeness has nearly 20 years' entertainment lighting sales experience, holding the previous positions of VP for sales and marketing at Pathway Connectivity Solutions for 11 years and eight years

UK - Media Powerhouse has appointed Howard Jenkins, formerly of Blitz Vision, as account and project manager where his priorities will be "to ensure that the company delivers the highest quality of services to Media Powerhouse's rapidly developing AV project rental business, catering for small and medium sized production companies".

Jenkins has over 30 years' industry experience. He was employed by Blitz for 17 years and prior to this he worked at Hammond AV for 13 years. Jenkins joins forces with Alan Macdonald and Kevin Orwin who are already installed in the new enterprise.

(Jim Evans)

Asia / Middle East - Creative Technology reports expansion into Asia, plus continued growth within its established office in Dubai. Both locations work closely with the UK and are the responsibility of managing director, Charlie Whittock, who has overseen the development and continued growth of the Creative Technology operations in the UK, Dubai and China.

The new CT office in Shanghai, China joins the company's well-established offices in UK, USA, Germany and Dubai. "CT Shanghai will enhance our already excellent global coverage to further support existing and new CT clients," the company says.

General Manager Tom Hui heads up the day-to-day operations of the Shanghai office and warehouse. Hui has been in the industry for over 25 years, having managed a large, full service AV company in Shanghai and brings invaluable knowledge and experience of the market and requir

USA - Students interested in the commercial electronic systems industry will have another tool to finance the education they need. The NSCA Education Foundation will award five $1,000 scholarships in 2008. The money will be available to students for tuition in a college or technical school programme.

Students interested in the following fields are encouraged to apply for the scholarship: acoustics, audio, automation and control systems, AV, communications, data networks, digital signage, information technology, interactive display, life safety, lighting, telephony or video.

"NSCA Education Foundation scholarships provide people interested in the commercial electronics industry with the means to get started with a broad-based, practical and theoretical education," said Tom Frericks, president of the Foundation Board. "Students participating in the NSCA Education

New Zealand - Klotz Digital has appointed Amber Technology - New Zealand as its new distributor for its broadcast product range in the region.

Rodney Houston, product manager at Amber Technology NZ says, "After watching Klotz Digital build up an impressive market share in Australia, we are very happy to be representing their market leading products now here in New Zealand. I am happy to start our working relationship off with a multi console sale including routers to Radioworks and look forward to the growth of Klotz Digital in New Zealand."

Amber Technology has already received an order for two Aeon consoles with Vadis 212 routers which will be installed in one of the Radioworks' On-Air studios in Auckland in the next couple of weeks.

"I am certain that this will be a long and prosperous partnership for both of our companies. We have learned a lot during our

USA - Aviom has announced a collaboration with Digidesign to extend Aviom's A-Net capabilities. Digidesign's D-Show 2.6 software has been upgraded with key new features including support for Aviom's Pro16 Series. Aviom's Pro16 Series will be showcased at the NAMM show, 17-20 January in Anaheim.

The Digidesign ANO A-Net output card is an option for Digidesign's Venue Stage Rack that now allows users to connect the popular Aviom Pro16 Series personal mixers and audio networking devices, including the Aviom A-16II Personal Mixer, directly to a Venue system, providing "a simple and cost-effective artist-driven monitoring solution." It integrates with Digidesign's D-Show 2.6 software, and offers features such as Auto Link, which automatically links channel pairs across all Aviom personal mixers.

"We're very excited to add Digidesign to our family of A-Net partners,&q

UK - Leisuretec Distribution CEO and founder, Mike Henden, has returned to head up the company following the departure of managing director, Nick Spalding.

"As would be expected, we are in the process of re-aligning our operation; however we will not be recruiting anyone to the position of managing director," said Henden. "I am now heading up the business with the existing management team."

To further develop the logistics aspect of the company, two new recruits have joined Leisuretec - Cliff Dounting to the position of operations manager, and Bill Daniels as Logistics team leader. Brian Payne has also joined the company in the capacity of technical sales back in August and Leisuretec is now recruiting further personnel to bolster the logistics team.

Despite 2007 being another challenging year in terms of the economy, Leisuretec achieved a year-end sales

Germany - With effect from 1 January 1st 2008, Laauser & Vohl GmbH is the new exclusive Powersoft distributor in Germany.

The former distributor AST and its owner Friedemann Wüstner joined Laauser & Vohl to form an extended and strengthened operation for the distribution of Powersoft products in this market.

With this enlarged team of pro audio professionals, Powersoft will benefit from a broader market coverage and a deeper market penetration, with the aim of enhancing the brand perception and the relevant business growth, says the company.

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