UK - Fibre Optic Systems (FOS) will be exhibiting at this year's ABTT Show (15-16 June, 2011). Joining Rope & Rigging, FOS will be showcasing products from their range of fibre optic carpets, curtains, lightsources and chandeliers, to the theatre market.

Rope and Rigging will be demonstrating products from the company's specialist inventory of suspension steels and safety bonds. MD Jacqui Hilton, commented, "Theatre is a staple element of our market and we like to reconnect to our customers and all visitors at ABTT."

FOS is also using the show as a platform from which to launch the company's new rental division, FOS Rentals. Customers will now be able to rent lengths of fibre optic carpet and drapes, as well as stunning chandeliers and all fibre optic accessories, for short periods and specific events.

FOS is well-established as a manufacturer and supplier of a vas

Macau - Opened in May 2011, Galaxy Macau was billed as Macau's first integrated leisure and entertainment resort, designed to help the region achieve its aim of becoming a diversified 'Global Centre of Tourism and Recreation'. LED screen manufacturer Lighthouse Technologies had successfully acquired the contract for the provision to the resort with a series of visual elements.

Lighthouse's first involvement with owner Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) was at the beginning of 2008, when it supplied two LED screens to GEG's flagship StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau Peninsula.

Lighthouse provided the 550,000sq.m Galaxy Macau, the newest integrated destination resort in the Special Administrative Region's Cotai entertainment area, with six LED screens.

Two Pi10-ER 10mm screens are situated at the entrance to resort, each measuring 12.8m (w) x 9.6m (h) (10 x 10 panels), display

Australia - Footscray Community Arts Centre is widely acknowledged as one of Australia's leading centres for contemporary arts and community engagement. October last year saw the opening of a new 250-seat performance space plus a new gallery, computer lab, and other multi-use spaces for meeting, seeing, creating and talking about art.

With the new venue came some new gear including four 53 cm ETC Selador Vivid-R LED fixtures and an ETC Element console.

"The Seladors perform really well, deliver strong saturated colours and have great optics," remarked Darren Gee, venue & operations manager. "We don't have a lot of power in the building so the more LED fixtures we can put in the roof, the better. It also means we don't have to get up and down all the time to change colour as that can now be done from the console.

"I looked at some of the other LED fixtures

Israel - Wireless Solution Sweden AB was a key participant in the grand opening of Ariel Sharon Park on 18 May in Tel Aviv. The opening is the first in a series of phases that once complete, will result in a landmark area larger than Central Park in New York.

The park is on the site of Israel's biggest garbage dump, the Hiriya Landfill, a mountain of garbage that was used from 1952 until 1998. The government has now transformed the site and the area around it into one of the largest parks in the country, named after Israel's ex-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The ongoing restoration project will transform Hiriya from a waste landfill into a flourishing, green park which will attract thousands of visitors each year, providing recreational opportunities, walking paths, a 50,000-seat amphitheater and a large recycling facility, designed to symbolise the potential of recycling. The p

UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light will play host to a London stop of Engineered for the Eye a travelling roadshow organised by Martin Professional to give lighting professionals the opportunity to get hands-on experience with the company's latest products.

The tour will visit White Light's base in Wimbledon, south-west London, on Thursday 30 June. Martin's aim is to let those working in every area of lighting, including the live-entertainment, commercial and architectural sectors, see Martin's gear in action, receive hands-on training, and talk to Martin's staff about the products and their many possible applications.

In addition, visitors will be able to see the facilities and comprehensive range of equipment offered by White Light. The company's rental stock includes a wide range of Martin equipment. The stock has recently been expanded with the addit

Chile - ChileVision TV continues to invest in Robe moving lights for their HQ in Santiago, which has seven studios. The commercial channel is owned by Turner Media and broadcasts nationwide, primarily specialising in producing light entertainment programmes which need exciting eye-catching lighting and scenic elements.

Robe was first introduced to ChileVision by the station's chief lighting technician Mario Navarrete and chief engineer Luis Silva. They made their first Robe purchase in 2007 and currently have over 60 Robe fixtures, including ColorSpot and ColorWash 575 and 1200E AT moving lights, Scan 1200 XTs and LEDBlinders.

They chose Robe because of its "reliability, quality, good prices and also because of the excellent after-sales service offered by Robe's Chilean distributor explains Navarrete.

The purchase coincided with the opening of a new studio at the comple

USA - TED is a global set of conferences formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading". Held in Long Beach and Palm Springs, California, the four-day US programme featured TED's famous 18-minute talks by headline-makers and creatives on a wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture.

"TED is an unbelievable event where the best of the world's minds in art, science, philosophy, politics and business gather to share ideas with talks and presentations ranging from poetry to music to amazing medical advances," says Bob Bonniol, principal creative director of Seattle's MODE Studios, a grandMA2 user who was asked to provide video design for the main sessions and several social spaces. "I know that MA has put a lot of time into this console. What I hear from everyone, and what I experienced myself at TED, is that the grandMA2 is

The Netherlands / Sweden - Visual Productions has announced the appointment of Svensk Ljussupport as its new Swedish distributor.

At the recent LLB show in Stockholm, Ljussupport launched the Cuelux software lighting controller with the aid of Visual Productions' Maarten Donath.

Sales director Hakan Bergh says of his choice to represent Visual Productions, "With new brands and products we don't like to take them on if we don't believe in them. Visual Productions have a truly great range and we did not have to think twice when we saw the potential."

Zoe Castle, sales manager for Visual Productions states, "The enthusiastic response, technical support and fast reaction to our products leads us to believe that this partnership with Ljussupport will prove to be fun and productive for business on the Swedish market."

(Jim Evans)

New Zealand - Philips Selecon head Jeremy Collins has announced he will be leaving Philips Selecon at the end of June.

Collins, who bought the company in 1985 (with colleague Andrew Nichols) and has been instrumental in building the Selecon brand over the past quarter of a century, says he is moving on "to a new stage' in his life".

Since Philips acquired Selecon in April 2009, Collins has been a driving force in ensuring a smooth transition and further development of the Philips Selecon products.

"For 25 years Selecon has been a major part of my life,' says Collins. "To my Selecon New Zealand colleagues and those around the world, a very special thank you - we successfully worked together and created a successful global business, which led our niche in many markets around the world. A fantastic achievement, which I hope you all take pride in, as I do.

UK - The CometFlame, distributed by Le Maitre, is "a spectacular new machine which produces incredible flames up to 6mhigh and is designed for both outdoor and indoor use". It fires for five seconds at a time and can be set to fire in high frequency or at preselected intervals. Further, the flame can set at five different firing angles - 45, 22, 0, 22 and 45 degrees - to create different effects.

A feature of the system is that unlike other models, the flames can be produced in multiple colours, with six colour fluids in the range: red, green, yellow, blue, purple and orange.

The CometFlame doesn't need any gas, which means there is no need for any external pressure vessels containing gas or CO2. The absence of gas makes the system much safer and enables it to be used in environments where gas systems may not be used. No special license is required to operate the sys

UK - PR Lighting has announced the release of its new XS 1200 Spot - a versatile, bright moving head, with rapid beam movement. Its power is due to the use of a 1200W short arc discharge lamp, which is optimised by the super-efficient optical system, says the company.

The XS 1200 is fully featured, with smooth CYM colour mixing system with macro function, six dichroic colour filters (plus white) and linear CTO, as well as five indexable rotating gobos and seven fixed gobos plus white (all easily interchangeable). There is a motorised 12°-22° linear zoom, extended to fixed 26° (16-bit adjustment).

Other features include: DMX controlled, linearly adjustable focus (8- or 16-bit); 0-100% linearly adjustable dimmer and 5-100% adjustable iris; 1 linear lens, two frosts and one prism (bi-directionally, rotatable, indexable); effect wheel with one CTC, one CTO, one bi-colo

UK - Adele is in the midst of a world tour that sees the soul/R&B singer visiting Europe and North America in support of her second studio album, 21.

Handling production design for the tour is Rob Sinclair who has created a minimalistic, elegant design that reflects the feel and emotion of the singer herself.

The set is dominated by a series of warm lampshades with Martin Professional MAC 101 washes used as backdrop lighting and Martin MAC 700 Profiles rigged overhead.

Sinclair, who uses the lighting more for mood and performer lighting than effect, says the MAC 101s have performed and held up "really well" and that he chose the compact moving heads for their small size and bright output in an affordable package.

Lighting supply for the spring European leg of the Adele 21 tour was by UK company Neg Earth while Upstaging is handling the North America

Sweden - The recent LLB fair in Stockholm, the Nordic region's largest trade fair for sound, light and multimedia technology, was a triumph for German optical fibre specialists Optocore.

Swedish distributors Arva Trading AB welcomed many visitors to their stand at the Stockholm Exhibition and Congress Centre and Optocore was well represented right across its product range.

"Optocore is well known in Sweden among pro audio users and has an extremely good reputation," stated Peter Beckman, the company's PA/Live and installation specialist. "We have been representing the brand for a year and this was our first opportunity to really test the market at a trade fair."

Arva Trading received an unexpected boost when theatrical sound engineer, Aaron Beck, assistant head of sound for the latest Cirque du Soleil production in Las Vegas, Viva ELVIS, presented

Attendance Figures - Star performers, including Keira Knightley, helped ensure that the proportion of West End theatregoers watching plays in 2010 rose again. The share of attendances for plays last year was 26.2% - up 0.7% from 2009, the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) said. It was already up 4.3% from 2008. The share for musicals was 59.5% - down 1.2% from 2009. It fell 4.4% from 2008 to 2009. Total attendances topped 14m. Figures refuted "claims that musicals are taking over", the SOLT said. Plays also achieved a record attendance total of 3,702,031, while the musicals attendance total was down 3% to 8,423,430.

In its box office data report, the SOLT states that "the big driver" behind business in 2010 was major name actors in plays. They included Knightley and Damian Lewis in The Misanthrope, as well as Sex and the City actress Kim Cattrall and Matthew M

USA - R&B artist R. Kelly recently wrapped up a European leg of his Love Letter world tour that sees him playing shows across the US this summer. Lighting director for the tour is Alex Skowron who programmed and operates the show on a Martin Professional M1 lighting console.

"I've been programming on a Maxxyz since 2006 and made the transition over to the M1 on this tour. The M1 is noticeably faster than its predecessor," says Skowron.

"The bulk of my work is overseas, so I'm constantly repatching and cloning shows to accommodate local gear, so for the console to execute these tasks in a timely fashion means hours saved reproducing the show.

"One of its greatest benefits is its size. To have all the capability of a full size console in such a small footprint, and to be able to check it as luggage and travel with it around the world is priceless. I

UK - MHA Lighting has been recognised for its outstanding performance by being shortlisted in the Energy Innovation Awards 2011.

The Atherton-based lighting specialist was today announced as a finalist in the Existing Performance Improvement category. The winner will be announced at a gala dinner at The Hilton, Manchester, on 23 June 2011.

The awards, now in their second year, are the brainchild of the world-class Energy Innovation Centre, and celebrate the outstanding achievements of individuals and organisations flying the flag for energy innovation and sustainability.

Entries were received from across the UK and as far afield as Eastern Europe, from a wide range of organisations including start-ups, research centres and multinational organisations.

MHA Lighting managing director Tom Harrison said, "Innovation is paramount to tackling national and global energy dema

Kuwait - Hala Febrayer is Kuwait's leading music and poetry festival and one of the cultural highlights of the Gulf, attracting some of the most creative and talented musicians, singers, writers and intellectuals from across the Arab world.

Currently in its twelfth year, the series of concerts was televised by Kuwaiti TV Network Al-Watan over the course of several nights, starting 3 February 2011.

Once again, ACT Lighting Design of Brussels, Belgium were invited to design the production and given responsibility for the set design, lighting design, and video content. The challenge was how to raise the bar set high from the previous year. ACT principal Koert Vermeulen took on the role of lighting and production designer working alongside ACT set designer Marcos Vinals.

The team proposed a striking design dominated by concentric rings of video arranged in stacks across the stag

Sweden - Seeking to satisfy his curiosity, or perhaps confirm industry buzz, Stephan Aue, lighting and scenic designer for Swedish electronica band Covenant, decided to see how bright the compact Martin MAC 101 really was.

"When I started using them I was blown away by the light output they had and amazed by their physical size and weight," Aue comments. "The low power consumption and the easy cabling due to PowerCon outlets were the final argument to bring them on a small club tour with a low budget and limited transport capabilities."

Aue, who also serves as lighting op for part of the band's Modern Ruin tour that has the band touring Europe throughout the year, is using 24 of the compact wash lights, which he transports in a single Sprinter van. Lighting supply is by Ambion GmbH.

"This is by far the smallest lamp I had on the tour when it c

UAE - Ampco returned to the simmering heat of Abu Dhabi this spring for the third WOMAD (World of Music and Dance) event to be staged in the UAE capital, supplying audio control and crew for the festival's three main stages.

Staged by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and WOMAD, the multi-cultural festival is unusual among international events in being staged in two separate locations. Three stages grace the Abu Dhabi Corniche beach's white sands, while the historic Al Jahili Fort in the desert town of Al Ain provides a picturesque setting for two further stages. In all the festival attracted some 22,000 people a day, a total of 80,000 over the weekend.

Artists included Paloma Faith (United Kingdom), Baaba Maal (Senegal), Toumani Diabaté (Mali), Tarab Al Emarat (United Arab Emirates), Hindi Zahra (France/Morocco), El Tanbura (Egypt), Jimmy Cliff (

UK - Each year the UK's Comic Relief appeal seems to go from strength to strength, with some of the biggest names in comedy and entertainment coming together with a simple plan to 'do something funny for money'.

So far this year, £74,360,207 has been raised, proving that even in a recession, people can still find it in themselves to dig deep and do their bit for others.

Richard Martin Lighting (RML) showed its support by supplying lighting equipment for the Red Nose Day event, which was filmed live at BBC Television Centre (TVC). The show was themed with a bright new bubble-themed set, and once again lighting designer Chris Kempton (and his trusted team) were invited back to design the lighting. Bill Peachment assisted as moving light operator.

Consisting of over 200 lights, a substantial lighting rig illuminated the various stages and catwalks used by the show hosts t

Europe - Effective immediately, Philips Vari-Lite has announced the realignment of its European distribution of products, parts, and support services.Through an agreement reached with Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG), Philips Vari-Lite will assume control of relationships with current and future Vari*Lite dealers and will now provide goods and service direct from the company headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

"This is a very exciting development" said Bob Schacherl, Philips Vari-Lite vice president of sales and marketing. "We are grateful to PRG Europe Distribution (PRGED) for their years of dedicated service as our European master distributor. We look forward to taking full control of these relationships in order to further solidify the strength of the Philips Vari-Lite brand and significantly grow sales within the greater European market."

In order to

Austria - A debate on Austria's most explosive political issue takes place every Sunday evening as part of the widely viewed "im Zentrum" TV programme. The show is produced and broadcast by ORF and was recently relocated. The outdoor entrance area of their headquarters and central production facility in Vienna now makes up the visual back-drop for the set.

Outdoor RGB LED fixtures were chosen by lighting designer Reinhard Traxler to put a splash of colour on an outdoor reflection pond that is centrally located in, and the visual focus of, the area. ArcSouce RGBW LED fixtures from Robe were used to paint the facade of the building in a warm welcoming tone and to highlight the ORF logo and other decorative elements used in the show.

The lighting fixtures are all located on the outside of the building and the control of the fixtures is located inside the building and co

Ireland - Belfast and Dublin based lighting and rigging rental specialist, Production Services Ireland (PSI) supplied lighting equipment and crew to Katherine Jenkins' two arena shows in Ireland, at Dublin's O2 and Belfast's Odyssey Arena.

That weekend and the preceding week were exceptionally hectic for the company, which also - unexpectedly and at very short notice - was asked to provide and install rigging and trussing to facilitate lighting of the church for Irish politician Garret Fitzgerald's state funeral.

The same weekend as the Jenkins shows, PSI supplied lighting design and equipment for the first Clan Wars cage fight to be staged in Belfast's Ulster Hall, and a few days before that, lit the Northern Ireland Tourism Awards event.

PSI was asked to supply the Katherine Jenkins shows by Neil MacDonald of UK based production company, Clockwork Productions. With

UK - At ABTT 2011, Martin Professional will be displaying its broad portfolio of lighting and video display products specifically designed to enhance theatre environments.

The EC-20 LED display panel combines the image quality and precision of conventional high resolution screens (20mm pixel pitch) with the creativity and low weight of mesh type screens. The EC-20 is semi-transparent and is designed for fast setup and teardown in combination with maximum flexibility and easy serviceability.

The MACIII Performance is a high-output profile moving head with a new interleaved framing system with full crossover of each blade and industry-first continuous rotation for new projection, framing and effects possibilities. It is available as a stand-alone fixture or as an easy-to-swap module that installs in minutes on any MAC III Profile, eliminating the need to invest in two separate f

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