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14 March 2016

Stuart Gibbons, Le Mark Groups MD commented: "It's been a personal pleasure for me to have mentored Steve and see him develop into such a consummate professional and talented designer. Dirty Rigger products are available around the world through a network of partner distributors, this can be much attributed to the hard work that Steve has committed to building a 100% quality focussed brand. Steve has had to learn and develop his management skills along the w

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14 March 2016

Dance News - Sadler's Wells plans to create a new venue it hopes will help establish London as a global centre for dance to rival New York and Paris. The search has begun for the

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14 March 2016

According to reports, the accidental blast occurred on Friday 8 November shortly after 6pm when pyrotechnics under the musical's stage exploded, possibly due to a faulty power tool.

"An initial investigation determined that the explosion had been caused by the disc of a circular saw breaking away and igniting fireworks to be used in the show," reports the BBC.

A second explosion then caused a wall of the Palais des Sports arena to collapse. Technical director Marcus Toledano, one of many who rushed to the scene of the incident, is believed to have suffered a heart attack as a result of the explosions. When rescue workers

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14 March 2016

Never a company to shy away from such a challenge, the power, lighting and audio delivery for the Birdfair is something that Pearce Hire has been engaged in since well before 1995, demonstrating yet another longstanding customer-client relationship which has evolved over the years as the event has gone from strength to strength.

2013 saw the event celebrate its silver jubilee of offering a wide variety of activities for birders and naturalists. Known by some as the 'Birdwatcher's Glastonbury' the event continues to grow, providing greater challenges for the production team year-on-year.

The Birdfair is run by Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust in partnership with the RSPB and takes place at Rutland Water Nature

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14 March 2016

"We have decided to return to Nashville as the PLASA Focus event held there in 2012 was very well received well by both visitors and exhibitors, which is not surprising as the city is renowned for its vibrant music and entertainment scene. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the latest technology from the biggest brands, be provided with free access to a two-day education program, and network with industry colleagues." says Christopher Toulmin, head of PLASA Events.

Companies already signed up to exhibitor at the show include 4Wall Entertainment, DiGiCo, Altman Lighting, Barbizon, CAST, Chauvet Professional, Drape Kings, Elation, Martin Professional, Morpheus Lights and TMB. Space is limited so compan

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14 March 2016

.Low Key - The French government presented singer Bob Dylan with the country's highest award, the Legion of Honour, in a brief ceremony in Paris. Presenting him with the award, Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti said he was a hero for young people hungry for justice and independence. After the speech,

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14 March 2016

The award was presented to Rocky by Mike Garl, co-chair of PLASA's Technical Standards Council, who stated, "The person we are honouring tonight was one of the first members of the Technical Standards Program as well as one of the early supporters of what has developed into the ETCP. He has continued generously g

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14 March 2016

The award to Paul, owner of PRMi Consulting, was presented by Steven Way, a member of the Peer Group and President of ALPS / Advanced Lighting & Production Services. Paul was instrumental in helping develop the details of the Peer Group Program in 2008. He has since stayed on as the group's "parental unit," as they affectionately refer to him, to ensure the group is following anti-trust guidelines during its four meetings a year. Steven

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14 March 2016

Forty nominations were received from across the industry internationally and these were narrowed down to a shortlist of eight finalists for our distinguished panel of judges to review. The judges for this year's awards were: Sebastian Frost, Alan Jacobi, Tim Mills, Nick Pain, Richard Pilbrow, Lee Rose, Artie Siccardi, and Josh Weisberg.

The judges panel was chaired by Mike Wood, who said prior to announcing the winners, "A Rock Our World Award takes a look at the big pictur

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14 March 2016

Former participants including Slovakia, Czech Republic and Andorra will remain on the sidelines, while Turkey are shunning the competition for a second year in a row, saying they are unhappy with the rules. They have created an alternative contest called Turkvision, whic

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14 March 2016

Regarded as a "most modern studio" at the beginning of the 1990s, the privately operated radio station had outgrown its old location by 2012, and was no longer at the cutting edge of technology. Since then, the 'Löwenbräu' Area of Zurich has provided an ideal new space - not more than 1200ft from its old location. Here, SLG constructed an entire studio complex at the beginning of 2013 in the time-honoured 'blue hall' in the Löwenbräu Area.

In a record-breaking construction period of just two months, two state-of-the-art broadcast studios and associated equipment rooms were built, pl

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14 March 2016

Awarded in the Expendable Category was the Nano Spot by Darklight. As the smallest and more affordable LED spotlight on the market, members were pleased with its small size as well as the easily adjustable swivel head.

In the Gadget Category, members awarded the Source Four Mini by ETC. Impressed by its crisp Source Four optics and image projection, members appreciated its efficiency.

In the Equipment Category, members awarded the Phoenix LED by Altman Lighting, taking notice of its brand new 250 watt LED unit offered in 3K, 5,600K, RGBA and RGBW ve

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14 March 2016

Peterborough Regional College runs a BTEC Extended Diploma in Music Technology. It is a two-year full-time vocational course covering all aspects of music technology and is equivalent to studying for three A-Levels. Subjects covered include live sound and production; studio recording; acoustics and audio engineering; and media, marketing and promotional skills.

The link established between Pearce Hire and Peterborough Regional College has enabled those students with an interest in the Live Events sector to go into the workplace of this busy production and hire company and learn the ropes in a bona-fide work environment.

The idea was originally moot

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14 March 2016

Junior Eurovision - Malta has won this year's Junior Eurovision Song contest held in Kiev, Ukraine. Eleven-year-old Gaia Cauchi scored 130 points with her ballad, The Start, which she also helped compose and write. She beat 11 other countries to win the trophy, with Ukraine and Belarus finishing second and third. It is the first time Malta has won the contest, after retur

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14 March 2016

"This app was developed by ETC software engineer, Chris Mizerak as a cool tool that ETC thought some might find interesting," says ETC. "When another employee in ETC's London office (Luke Delwiche) suggested that we give the profits to Behind the Scenes and its UK counterpart Light Relief, Fred readily agreed. Since then the sales of the app have exceeded expectations and both charities have benefited greatly."

ETC CEO Fred Foster says: "It's wonderful to see how successful this program has been. Simply by purchasin

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14 March 2016

Critics' Choice - Three artists have been shortlisted for this year's Brit Critics' Choice award, won last year by singer Tom Odell. Chloe Howl, Ella Eyre and Sam Smith are in the running with the winner to be announced on Thursday 12 December. Howl has been compared with Lily Allen, while former Brit school student Eyre scored a number one as the vocalist on Rudimental's Waiting All Night. La, La, La, Smith's collaboration with producer Naughty Boy, also reached number one in the UK singles chart.

Voting for the 2014 Brit Awards opened for members of the music industry last week. Their shortlists fo

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14 March 2016

The 268-seat Performance Hall has been created to provide a reconfigurable space for larger events and functions. Charcoalblue's head of technical design, Paul Franklin, advised on the design and fit out of the performance hall and oversaw the works on site during construction.

"The Performance Hall is a flexible, multi-function room, capable of hosting a wide range of events, including drama, dance, live music - both amplified and acoustic - as well as film and 'NT live' type events, lectures and workshops," explai

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14 March 2016

This will specialise in the design and manufacture of tough, hard-wearing and practical bespoke padded bags, covers and associated products that will complement the vast range of case and trunk products offered by the 5 Star Group.

Manufacturing for ProTect is based at the existing 5 Star site in Cambridgeshire in a separate production unit recently acquired to help facilitate a general increase in business throughout 2013.

Being in a dedicated space will keep a separation between the case and the bag divisions and ensure maxim efficiency for the ProTect production process, which is headed up by operations manager, Andy Hudson, who has worked for 5 Star for over 23 years.

ProTect's products will bear all the h

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14 March 2016

Cirque Du Soleil's Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour was second on the list, followed by singer Pink. The Rolling Stones were the highest placed British act - at number six - raking in $126m (£75m) from 23 shows. They finished behind Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, who were fourth on the list after grossing $147m from 53 shows. Rihanna was at number five in the rankings after she played to more than 1.5m fans during the year, bringing in £137m.

Ticket pricing - A majority of audiences say booking fees for concert and theatre tickets are too expensive and any extra charges should be revealed up

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14 March 2016

The students are about to embark on a three-month Advanced Industry Practice module whereby they will be seeking work in the events industry, before they finish the course in March, when they will be free to seek full-time employment.

The Wakefield training centre has a number of students on its FdA Live Events Production course with a range of interests across lighting, live sound, staging, live visuals, set design, artist liaison, production assisting and stage management, to name a few. On top of their core subjects, they have also completed a range of industry-standard certificates to make them competent to work on site, such as the Event Safety Passport (SPA), Manual Handling, Working at Height, Emergency First Aid,

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14 March 2016

"I've been willingly seduced back to the events industry - and my year's sabbatical has shown me just how far the bar has been raised in expectations of gold-standard event delivery," he said. "Many companies are taking speed, efficiency and safety really seriously nowadays, while others simply want to operate within the law. Either way, training has become an essential, not a luxury."

Gallowglass Training was launched in 2011, to build on the basic on-site induction cour

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14 March 2016

The latest exhibitors to sign up include AC Lighting, Apollo Design Technology, Doug Fleenor Design, ETC, LSC America, Philips Entertainment Lighting, Show Sage and Link. They will share the show floor with other industry leaders including; Aeson, ETC, Bandit Lites, Group One, Chauvet Professional, Lightronics, Elation Professional, Creative Stage Lighting, and Applied Electronics, to name a few.

Three new sessions have been added to the PLASA Focus: Nashville 2014 Professional Development Programme, a two-day programme of free educational seminars and workshops running alongside the event.

Ben Jumper, the owner of Soundcheck, will present After the Flood

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14 March 2016

Three new faces have joined the internal sales team - Nigel Brake, Alison Knight and Allison Geal, whilst Jo Griffin has joined the accounts department (purchase ledger). On the logistics side, Juan Recouso has joined to bolster the warehouse operation.

POLARaudio MD John Midgley welcomes the new arrivals with enthusiasm, "2013 saw us take on a number of new and exciting brands, the addition of which, we believe, will continue the onwards and upwards trend of the business in 2014. Strengthening staffing levels is vital to supporting our operation as it strives to meet the increased demand brought on by our expansion. We place great emphasis on the value of our team members and are delighted to welcome the new recruits to the POL

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14 March 2016

In recognising his outstanding contribution to theatre - including work as both production and technical managers and service as vice-chairman of the ABTT, as well as an executive member of the Society of West End Theatre - Nimax Theatre chief executive, Nica Burns, praised the former chief executive of Sadler's Wells Theatre, acknowledging the importance of Albery in her own career.

The list of ABTT Fellows now reads as follows: David Adams, Ian Albery, Jason Barnes, Fred Bentham (deceased), Richard Brett, William Dudley, Tim Foster, Roger Fox, Roderick Ham, Chris Higgs, Ethel Langstreth (deceased), Iain Macki