Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
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Forever Young - Bob Dylan and Neil Young have been announced as joint headliners at London's Hyde Park as part of British Summer Time on 12 July though it's not yet clear in which order they will play.
Lip-Syncing - Rita Ora has been accused of lip-syncing during her performance at America's most famous Thanksgiving Day event. Organisers apologised to millions of viewers watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for "technical difficulties" during the holiday feature. Rita Ora appeared to be out of sync with the vocals viewers heard during her televised performance.
Macy's, the American department store chain that throws the parade, released a public apology. The company said "several recording artists experienced technical difficulties that negatively impacted their performance." It added: "We apologise and want fans to know these issues were out of the artis

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UK - Technical entertainment charity Backup received donations in excess of £25,500 during September alone, thanks to the generosity of Ambersphere, Claypaky, DiGiCo, Lightpower Collection, PLASA and LSi.
The month started with PLASA’s on-going collaboration with the PSA, which saw a group cycle from Chippenham in Wiltshire to London Olympia on the Saturday before the PLASA Show to increase awareness of mental health within the entertainment and events industries. Not only did they achieve their awareness raising goal, they also raised £1,615 for Backup.
Next to show their support was the Lightpower Collection, which exhibits its impresive collection of rock‘n’roll art - of which legendary rock photographer Neal Preston’s work is the core - around the world, with proceeds from the sale of its original prints donated to Backup and US charity, Behind the
Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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UK - SXS Events recently used Current RMS’ Open API to create a number of integrations to streamline workflow. The Open API is available for any of their software users to access and build with, for them to develop exciting and useful integrations that utilise their data within Current RMS.
Established in 1998, UK-based SXS Events specialises in event production and dry hire, and has grown to be a multi-million pound event production company. Using the Current RMS Open API, they created X Hire, a platform for their clients to view products directly on their website and hire them. Built to work alongside their normal website, this space allows them to pull across products and key information from Current RMS and onto a platform their new and existing clients can easily access and view.
“The website is a great tool for both the office team and clients. Instead of t

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Sustainable Art - An environmental programme designed to help arts organisations become more sustainable has helped its participants reduce their energy consumption by almost a quarter in the past six years, saving £16.5m as a result. The group of 136 of Arts Council England’s national portfolio organisations have also decreased their carbon emissions by 35% in this time period, according to a report on the scheme by ACE and green arts charity Julie’s Bicycle.
These figures are the culmination of a partnership between Julie’s Bicycle and the Arts Council that began in 2012 with the aim of encouraging arts organisations to become more environmentally sustainable. As part of the six-year programme, the 136 participating organisations consistently reported data at regular intervals across the period. 47 of these were theatre organisations, including the Royal Court and t

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The Long Goodbye - Elton John has announced UK dates for his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, saying they will be emotional and "incredibly special". The singer, who began his mammoth three-year goodbye tour in the US in September, will continue to play across the world until 2021, with more than 300 shows planned. Two UK dates had already been confirmed for next year, and there will now be more again in November 2020, kicking off at London's O2 Arena. Sir Elton will also play arena shows in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Leeds in 2020.
"The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour will take us to many places that have meant a lot to me over the last 50 years, but these UK shows will be incredibly special," he said. "The UK is home, and where my heart will always be. To celebrate some of the incredible moments we've shared with my Britis

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USA - Lighting designer Herrick Goldman, principal of HG Lighting Design and Evoke Collaborative recently presented the Behind the Scenes charity with a $1,000 donation representing a portion of the firm’s design fees over the last year. HG Lighting Design was the first company to pledge a service rather than a product to Behind the Scenes and this donation marked HGLD’s second annual cheque presentation.
HG Lighting Design provides lighting services for a wide variety of markets including theatre, dance, and corporate events, as well as permanent installations for museums and other venues. Goldman, who designs all around the globe, has long been a supporter of the Behind the Scenes charity. Goldman says: “Our industry is filled with so many wonderful people, it’s a pleasure to be able to support our family members in times of need. In late 2018 HGLD is launching Evo

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USA - Four board members have been elected to the EST board of directors following an election that ended on 30 October (Tuesday).
Steve Surratt of Texas Scenic Company will fill the office of treasurer.
Steve Roudebush of BMI Supply will return as the dealer and distributor director.
Steve Terry of ETC was elected as manufacturer director.
Mike Garl of Mike Garl Consulting will serve a second term as professional services director.
All will begin their three-year term of office on 1 January 2019.
(Jim Evans)

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UK - Following a collaboration at the recently completed White Rose leisure extension in Leeds, Studiotech was approached by tensile fabric specialists, Base Structures, to assist with the multi-million pound transformation of the NEC in Birmingham.
Included in this transformation was the facelift of the façade. The new design included patterned coloured panels and 37 tensile fabric pyramids, designed by Base Structures. Each translucent pyramid was to be backlit to create a more attractive and engaging environment for all stakeholders.
Studiotech assisted Base Structures by providing the detailed design, supply, installation and programming of the feature lighting. They chose to use Traxon Washer Allegro RGB LED luminaires to wash gracefully behind the pyramids.
The complex façade design meant that a number of trades were involved in completing this facelif

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Europe - There are three days left for the entertainment lighting industry to respond to the EU Commission’s revised version of the Ecodesign regulation.
The consultation period ends on 9 November (Friday) and the draft is open for one last review before the final parliamentary vote. Those who wish to respond should follow this link or visit plasa.org for instructions.
Whilst the outcome overall has been positive, European entertainment industry bodies have proposed four ‘small but essential’ amendments ahead of key talks in December.
The European Entertainment Ecodesign Coalition (EEEC) -

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Record Breakers - Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa, are among the artists who helped propel British music to a record year in 2017, according to a new report. Export revenues grew by 7% to a new high of £2.6bn, UK Music's Measuring Music report said.
For the second year running the number of successful records by British artists bucked the trend for annually declining music sales - which had slumped to £610m in 2015.
Festivals and live events, including world tours by Coldplay, The Rolling Stones and Sir Paul McCartney, also accounted for £1bn of revenue - with the report confirming the O2 in London was the world's most popular arena.
Overall, the UK music industry contributed a record £4.5bn to the UK economy last year - up £100m on 2016. The report said more people were employed in the music industry than ever before, with almost 146,000 jobs.

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UK - A performance by final year BA (Hons) Acting and BA (Hons) Actor Musicianship students from Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance has raised over £550 for the Mayor of Bexley’s charity appeal.
The College annually donates proceeds from box office sales and audience donations from one of their public performances to the Mayor of Bexley’s chosen charities. This year a record amount of £586 was raised to support those in the borough who suffer daily with mental health issues and children with Autism.
The performance of Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale on Thursday 1 November, also gave an opportunity for students from the Colleges’ School of Design, Management and Technical Arts to showcase their talents. Designer Kelli-Mae Crossman, lighting designer Adam Richardson and sound designer Rachel Goldberg transformed the Rose Theatre into 19th Cent

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UK - The UK entertainment technology industry is valued at £1.28bn in 2017/18 and its value is predicted to grow over the next five years, according to a new research report by PLASA.
The study - said by PLASA to be 'the most comprehensive study of the entire entertainment technology industry in many years' - is available to download from plasa.org. It delves into each market sector’s performance and also looks at the effects of macro-environment trends and employment.
According to the findings, all sectors have experienced growth, particularly AV and audio, which represent 38% and 27% of the market share respectively. AV is currently valued at £490m and has an increasing presence in many sectors including architectural and retail. Audio is valued at £340m due to its

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UK - NEC Group Arenas has taken two electrical apprentices on a three-year placement with the Group’s Arenas ElectriX team.
Liam Dyde, 21, and Mohammed Waseem, 28, will receive mentoring as they bid to complete their NVQ Level 3 in electrics.
Throughout their apprenticeship, Dyde and Waseem will gain theoretical and practical knowledge and be involved in testing, inspection and delivery of the electrical supplies. One day per week in term time will also be spent at Solihull College & University Centre for additional practical and theory lessons.
NEC Group Arenas chief electrician and mentor Peter Hammond comments: “There is a noticeable skills gap in the arenas electrical industry, something that we too have noticed with our in-house team. As skilled individuals retire, there’s be a decline in numbers of those able to step into their positions. With d

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Argentina/USA - Over $10m worth of equipment has been seized from a black market organisation in Buenos Aires following a two-year undercover operation.
The equipment was retrieved on 13 September in a joint operation between Argentinian police forces, the NYPD major crimes squad, the FBI and the US embassy. The authorities said 10 raids had been carried out, with the kit believed to have been stolen from the USA and rented out to film and TV production companies on the black market in Argentina.
ESTA’s Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG) worked closely with the police to coordinate the identification of the recovered items via its searchable online database for missing equipment, Rental Guard.
Martin Pastor, NYPD major case squad detective, comments: “We have recovered over $10m in stolen equipment thanks to Rental Guard. I urge anyone who suffers a th

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Olympia Plans - Plans have been submitted for a 1,500-seat theatre and 1,000-capacity performing arts venue in the Olympia London exhibition centre. The new venues are part of a £700m redevelopment of the West Kensington events space, which was first announced in July. Now the owners of Olympia London, Yoo Capital, have requested planning permission from Hammersmith and Fulham council.
The planning documents reveal further details of the proposed performing arts offering, with developers aiming to create a cultural hub in the area. As well as the previously announced 1,500-seat theatre, there will also be a flexible performing arts venue with a capacity of 1,000 seated or 3,000 standing, which will be used for music and potentially also for theatre and dance. There will also be 10,000sq.ft of performance rehearsal space, which will be primarily for use of local charities an

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USA - Three more ESTA standards have been posted for public review.
ANSI E1.34 - 2009, Entertainment Technology - Measuring and Specifying the Slipperiness of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues is being considered for reaffirmation again (i.e., no changes in requirements, only updating organization name, address, copyright date, etc.) The document describes a simple means of measuring and specifying the slipperiness of floor surfaces used by performers in live entertainment venues. The standard is not for normal walking and working surfaces, but only for those floor surfaces used by actors, dancers, and other similar artists when performing before an audience. Comments are due before the end of the day on 17 December; the review is over when 18 December starts.
BSR E1.37-5, Gene

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Then Play On - Fleetwood Mac have announced they will perform at Wembley Stadium next summer as part of a European tour. The veteran rock band, who are currently touring the US, will play Wembley on 16 June after gigs in Berlin and Dublin. Fleetwood Mac have a new line-up after guitarist Lindsey Buckingham was fired back in April due to "scheduling conflicts". Guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn have joined existing members Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and John McVie.
The group have said they are "thrilled" to welcome the new two musicians, adding: "With Mike and Neil, we'll be performing all the hits that the fans love, plus we'll be surprising our audiences with some tracks from our historic catalogue of songs. Fleetwood Mac has always been a creative evolution. We look forward to honouring that spirit on this upcoming tour."

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USA - ESTA's Technical Standards Programme has published one revised standard, put another up for public review and a third one is available for public review for reaffirmation (no changes planned).
ANSI E1.1 - 2018, Entertainment Technology--Construction and Use of Wire Rope Ladders, was approved by ANSI's Board of Standards Review on 27 September. It is a revision of the 2012 standard, which was a revision of the 2006 standard with changed load ratings to accommodate heavier workers. Wire rope ladders are commonly used in concert touring for access to lighting trusses, but are rarely used in other industries.
ANSI E1.48 - 2014, A Recommended Luminous Efficiency Function for Stage and Studio Luminaire Photometry is being considered for reaffirmation. It is available for public review for free at

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Hold The Music - The family Prince has hit out at Donald Trump, calling for the US president to stop playing the star's songs at his rallies. The late musician joins a growing list of other artists who have also objected to the billionaire tycoon-turned-world leader playing their music at public events. Omarr Baker, Prince's half-brother, tweeted: "The Prince Estate has never given permission to President Trump or The White House to use Prince's songs and have requested that they cease all use immediately."
Purple Rain was reportedly part of the president's playlist in Mississippi last week. It comes after Trump's team reportedly included the star's hit song in a campaign rally playlist in the lead up to the November midterm elections. Others who have spoken against their music being played at Republican rallies include the Rolling Stones, Adele, Queen, George Harriso

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UK - Stage Electrics has announced the appointment of Adam Blaxill as operations director. His responsibilities include managing Stage Electrics’ engineering workshop, service department, purchasing function and sales warehouse. He continues with his marketing responsibilities.
Maria Townsend, Stage Electrics’ group CEO, commented, “Adam was the obvious candidate for this role. He has a great deal of knowledge of the Stage Electrics operation, as well as the technical entertainment industry. His appointment strengthens the team and allows us to continue our plan of further sustainable growth.”
(Jim Evans)

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Europe - On Tuesday 9th October, the EU released a revised version of their proposed new Ecodesign and Ecolabelling Lighting regulations. These are the intended final versions of these regulations.
The full texts are available to read via the links below.
From an entertainment lighting perspective, this version is almost entirely unchanged from the draft published in July. There is a minor addition of a new exemption for some specialist fluorescent lamps used in the film industry. And the exemptions established in the July draft, which cover many areas of entertainment lighting, remain in place.
However, this draft does not address any of the issues that the entertainment lighting industry’s Ecodesign Task Group have been trying to raise with the EU since the publication of the July draft.
This means that some key issues remain:
- requirement for lig

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Protest Song - Bob Geldof is spearheading a campaign to warn of the impact of Brexit on the music industry. Sting, Rita Ora and Ed Sheeran and many others have joined forces to warn Theresa May a no-deal Brexit will put Britain in a "cultural jail".
Geldof said: "It's two-fold. One is the income it generates for this country, £94bn, contrast that to the NHS spend, of £115bn, almost the same. The second reason is cultural - the voice of Britain, the genuine, global British voice is music, it has been since the Beatles. No one knows quite why this tiny island produces such vast reservoirs of talent but we do know the entire planet dances, eats, sleeps, and plays hard to our noise. That is being endangered by a recklessness which is existential and historically self-damaging."
A joint letter states: "Imagine Britain without its music. If it's hard for us, then it's impo

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Here We Go Again - Comedian and Great British Bake Off host Sandi Toksvig will adapt the story for the Mamma Mia! spin-off show when it opens at the O2 in London next August. The writer and broadcaster will adapt Calle Norlen, Roine Soderlundh and Bjorn Ulvaeus’ original story into English for the immersive theatrical and dining experience, Mamma Mia! The Party.
Set in a Greek taverna, Mamma Mia! The Party will take place in a venue within the O2. It will seat 500 audience members, who will experience the show alongside a Mediterranean meal. The show has been created by Abba’s Ulvaeus, with producer Ingrid Sutej, and features music and lyrics by Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. It will be directed by Soderlundh, with set by Bengt Froderberg, costumes by Annsofi Nyberg, lighting by Patrick Woodroffe and sound by Gareth Owen.
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UK - A special benefit concert is being held for musician and loudspeaker manufacturer, Paul MacCallum at the O2 Academy Islington, on October 29th.
The popular bass player, who was diagnosed with an advanced form of Multiple System Atrophy some years ago, was not only the brainchild behind PLASA member company Wembley Loudspeaker, but also bass player with Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band, and other major names.
In addition to playing their own set, Zoot will provide the rhythm section for guest musicians who will appear on the night.
Affectionately known as ‘The Womble’ from his days as Uncle Bulgaria in Mike Batt’s original Wombles, MacCallum has also played in many bands during his career including those of Helen Shapiro and Billy Fury.
Sadly, Paul MacCallum is now confined to a hospice, and all proceeds from the event will go towards funding his med
  1. ESTA publishes new standard for raked stages
  2. The Week in Light & Sound
  3. MDG weathers the storms at PLASA 2018
  4. Lightpower Collection supports Backup at PLASA 2018
  5. Deadline for BTS holiday cards nears
  6. Blitz and Glisser in strategic alliance
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