USA - Bandit Lites has announced the hiring of Kimberly Ainge as public relations manager. Ainge will be the primary contact for all advertising enquiries, media relations and general public relations.

Ainge was most recently the marketing manager for D1 sports training, a speed strength and agility training company. There, Ainge oversaw all aspects of marketing coordination and media relations. Other previous employers include SpearHall Advertising and PR in San Diego, CA and First Tech Credit Union in Beaverton.

A Portland, Oregon native, Ainge graduated with a BA in Communication Studies from the University of San Diego.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to join a staff of such impressive people," says Ainge. "Bandit Lites, Inc offers a level of customer service that surpasses all of their competition. It is that dedication to pleasing people that ma

Worldwide - The current sell-out Rolling Stones tour, A Bigger Bang, reached the shores of the UK in August 2006, with a spectacular production incorporating 350m of Mojo aluminium barriers.

Mojo Barriers' MD Patrick Jordon explained: "In May 2005 Jake Berry (production director) approached us to supply the Rolling Stones with our barriers for their US dates starting in August 2005. Having worked with the Stones before, we were delighted to be awarded the contract to supply barriers for the whole Bigger Bang World Tour. Due to commitments with U2, Jake passed the role of the tour production manager to Dale 'Opie' Skjerseth to look after the daily business on the road."

Mojo Barriers supplied 220m of black aluminium Mojo Barriers for the US stadium shows. This allowed Opie to create a specially shaped barrier in front of the stage that extended around the thrus

USA - Recognised worldwide as the most comprehensive training course of its kind, the Tomcat Hoist and Rigging Workshop is a unique learning opportunity for those new to the entertainment industry, as well as veterans of the business. And until August of this year, you had to come to Midland, Texas to take part in this course.

However, after years of enquiries from various companies and groups around the US, Tomcat USA has reported that the first ever Hoist and Rigging Workshop took place August 1-4, 2006 at the historic National Theatre.

Working with I.A.T.S.E. Local 22 in Washington D.C., Tomcat provided comprehensive training for over 50 union members. Many were from the Baltimore/D.C. area - and some participants traveled in from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York, New Jersey and Delaware to be a part of the training.

Don Dimitroff of Columbus McKinnon coached participan

UK - Prolyte Products Group of the Netherlands, a manufacturer of aluminium truss systems and rigging products has, this week, appointed Hawthorn to be a Prolyft Service Partner, following an extensive training session at Hawthorn's base in Old Dalby, Leicestershire.

Hawthorn's operations manager, John McAlonan and three of the technical team: Nick Key, Drew Lane and Steve Simons were trained by Conrad Vegter, operations manager for Prolyft and his colleague Jeroen G. Doeve.

Hawthorn now join only 15 accredited Service Partners in Europe and they are now licensed to maintain, service and repair the Prolyft product range as well as certify installations with a lifetime guarantee from the Prolyte Product Group.

"We are delighted to have Hawthorn on board as a Service Partner for our Prolyft product range; they are an extremely professional organisation and a pleasure to w

UK - The largest ever V Festival took place at Chelmsford's Hylands Park this August , with a capacity crowd of 77,500 enjoying a great and varied weekend of music featuring Morrisey, Faithless, Radiohead, Paul Weller and Fatboy Slim.

Power Logistics has fulfilled all of the temporary power requirements on the festival for 11 years, and this year worked well in advance with production manager Claire Sampson to plan an increased capacity of the site. Sampson says: "Power Logistics has been integral in the success of the event and in creating a relaxed atmosphere at the V Festival site. It's very reassuring knowing they're on site."

With an additional 10,000 people on site compared to previous years, the demands on the Power Logistics team also increased. This year there were more entertainment areas, more concessions, more corporate hospitality areas and the current t

UK - Vertigo Rigging lived up to its tag line of 'rigging revolutionaries' by pulling off one of the most spectacular car launches ever staged to mark the start of the 2006 British International Motor Show in London in July.

Flying in the face of everyone who said "it can't be done", Vertigo unveiled Opel's new Corsa to the world's press and industry VIPs by flying the car, suspended beneath a specially modified helicopter, along the River Thames through the heart of the City of London and straight into a big reveal in the Old Billingsgate Fish Market with split-second precision.

The car maker's PR agency had proposed a helicopter-based reveal as a dramatic statement - an idea which was promptly rejected by safety authorities. Undaunted, and convinced that the concept was a winner, Opel brought in events specialist Jack Morton Worldwide to come up with a workable sol

UK - Blackout provided all rigging, starcloth and drapes for a major fundraising event designed to aid Chase Hospice and DebRA, two specialist charities for the needs of children. Both charities are passionately supported by showbiz personalities, Anthea Turner and Grant Bovey.

The event took place on 15 July at Grant and Anthea's stunning country home in Surrey. Guests included media friends, celebrities and general public ticket holders. Everyone present was wined and dined, and then entertained by some famous names from the world of television and showbiz including The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Duncan James, Keedie, Chico and Lulu. Hosted by Bobbie Davro, Master of Ceremonies, there were two auctions during the evening including a Silent Auction. Prizes in the second auction included a shopping trip with Liz Hurley, a weekend on a yacht in the Mediterranean, an ap

UK - Visitors to this year's PLASA Show (running from September 10-13 at Earls Court One, London) will be able to learn more about PLASA's work on the development of a new National Rigging Certificate - an initiative designed to give riggers working in all sectors a framework by which their expertise and knowledge can be measured.

Over the last year, PLASA has been working closely with the industry and a range of government bodies to develop a scheme that will not only serve the specific needs of the industry, but also achieve national recognition.

A Rigging Advisory Group, consisting of key figures from the rigging industry, has been established and has been working closely with PLASA on the development of the Certificate, most critically on the content of the qualification and on how the assessment process will be delivered. This consultation has allowed PLASA to develop an

UK - Star Events Group Ltd supplied over 50 structures at both the Telford and Chelmsford sites of this year's V Festival.

Along with the 20m four bay Orbit stages, SEGL also supplied stages three and four, over 30 site towers at each venue, wheelchair user platforms, camera platforms, front of house structures, DJ Risers and the 'Tree House', a raised enclosed television interview room.

Mike Goodwin, manager of Star Orbit, says: "We were extremely happy to be given the opportunity to supply the majority of structures at this year's V sites. The weather was particularly challenging, with quite heavy on-off rain throughout, but everyone responded brilliantly and the event was a great success all round."

(Chris Henry)

UK - Pearl Jam, Muse, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, The Arctic Monkeys and Primal Scream were among the highlights of a great weekend of music enjoyed by over 150,000 fans at the Carling Leeds and Reading Festivals.

Mojo Barriers supplied over 1000m of barrier across the two sites. Aluminium Mojo Barrier, incorporating the Barrier Load Monitor System (BLMS), formed the main front of stage systems with the new secondary barrier system employed at both festival sites constructed from steel barrier, in the new configuration, located between the front of house mixer and stage.

Headliners Pearl Jam's last festival tour in Europe was shattered by the tragic deaths of nine people during their Rosklide show. So their return to festival stages this year was accompanied by particularly close attention to health and safety issues.

This is an area Mean Fiddler's festival director Melv

UK - With the industry's leading companies rolling out major new products and services, PLASA06 is going to play a central role in delivering solutions to many of the high profile projects, events and tours of the coming 12 months.

The specialists exhibiting at PLASA06 have the expertise to make anything possible with technologies developed by this industry transforming the quality of experience within the entertainment, events, live arts and leisure markets to a level scarcely imaginable 10 years ago.

And in the building and architectural sectors, the development of audio, video and IT technologies has also transformed the way buildings are designed and used - aesthetically, practically and architecturally - with information and safety-related systems now essential ingredients in the development of public spaces and buildings.

All these developments - together with the next

Worldwide - Like floating cities, Carnival Cruise Lines offer their passengers a lot of variety. Now grandMA's play a key role in the line's entertainment show control. "The grandMA system is an important component for technical operations in the main showroom on our ships," says Preston Bircher, entertainment technical projects manager for Carnival. "Most ships have between two and seven production shows and although they're completely different, they utilise the same basic rig and light plot. The difference is in the programming with all the moving lights and colour changers. The flexibility of the grandMA system is fantastic," he continues.

Demfis Fyssicopulos of dfdesign served as grandMA lighting programmer for Carnival's 2,052-passenger Sensation, with the next installation scheduled for the line's 2,052-passenger Fascination. "These vessels are si

USA - Eat to the Beat flew 6 top catering crew from the UK over to Chicago to work alongside the 18 strong predominantly Chicago based team for Lollapalooza 2006. The event was produced by Capital Sports & Entertainment and Charles Attal Presents, with catering provided over 11 days on site.

For three days Grant Park was transformed into a celebration of music with fans gathering from around the world to enjoy one of the summer's most powerful line-ups including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye West, The Raconteurs, The Flaming Lips and more than 120 other bands.

On show days, the Eat to the Beat team were catering for 850 people, three meals a day. Menus were planned in advance to take into consideration the hot weather and the many dietary requirements. Key favourites during the festival included the full Anglo-American breakfast to cater for varying tastes of the international

UK - With its broadest agenda in the show's history, the seminar programme at this year's PLASA '06 (September 10-13 at Earls Court One) will offer an insight into technical developments, as well as addressing some of the key issues facing businesses today.

New technologies lead the way with Sunday's opening seminar - Out of Home Leisure Entertainment - considering the application of interactive and 4D technologies and the growing crossover between the themed attraction and theatre sectors.

This trend continues throughout the four days, with a range of technical seminars providing the core of the programme: sound system designers and operators of public spaces and transport networks will be interested in Intelligible Intelligibility - how to make PA and VA systems understandable and meet intelligibility standards, whilst those more focused on lighting can attend

UK - There's less than 48 hours to go to PLASA '06 - the key exhibition for professionals in the audio, lighting and AV industries.

Pre-registration is still available, with entry at half-price, to take advantage of the opportunity to see leading-edge products, and catch up with friends and colleagues.

For a full round-up of what's happening at PLASA '06 - from product launches from the industry's leading 500 brands, to new feature areas addressing specific technologies, and from a greatly expanded programme of events and seminars, to the chance to win £1,000 in a major prize draw competition - check out the Show website link below.

(Chris Henry)

Belgium / UK - Belgium-based company Amelia nv will introduce its new and innovative ShowLED Animation System at PLASA 2006. For the fourth year in a row, ShowLED will decorate the rear wall of Earls Court using a huge ShowLED curtain. A new product will be launched like it was performing on a real 'show'.

Designed in response to customer feedback, ShowLED Animation is designed to add some extra dynamism to the traditional starcloth. As in other ShowLED systems, the LEDs are placed randomly, ideal for creating starcloth effects. Features include high output RGB LEDs on thin socket cables, a velcro mounting system, excellent LED dimming curve, fast LED response time and additive colour mixing, says Amelia nv.

Contrary to most existing 'LED to fabric' video applications, ShowLED Animation retains the randomly-positioned LEDs, with a significantly raised density. The LEDs can be

UK - Liverpool's Mathew Street Festival - Europe's largest free urban live music festival - proved another success for organisers The Liverpool Culture Company. The event kicked off with a classical concert on the main Pier Head stage by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and guests. The Pier Head site again ran two stages for all three days this year - after the success of introducing the second new bands stage last year.

The Culture Company was responsible for staging the event, co-ordinating and designing the complete technical infrastructure, booking and liaising with all artists and scheduling nearly 100 performances across five stages over the period.

Liverpool Culture Company's team was divided into three areas - Operations managed by Susan Lees, Site and Traffic Management managed by Alastair Stott and Production/Artist Liaison managed by Kirstie Blakeman. Whil

UK - PLASA will be holding a prize draw at the PLASA Show for an amazing limited edition lithograph of Sir George Martin's score for the Beatles song 'Yesterday'. PLASA purchased the lithograph, which is signed by Paul McCartney and Sir George, to help support the rebuilding of a new cultural and community centre in Montserrat.

Tickets for the prize draw - which cost £10 each - can be purchased from the PLASA stand (FF1) on the Upper Deck of the PLASA Show. The proceeds of the draw will provide further help to complete the centre, which will provide a much-needed focal point for the regeneration of the island.

PLASA 2006 takes place from Sunday 10 September to Wednesday 13 September 2006 at Earls Court in central London. The show attracts professionals from all over the globe and is Europe's leading exhibition for new developments in the entertainment, event, corporate,

The Netherlands - The expanded CyberHoist motion control system, with InMotion 3D software, will be on show in the UK for the first time at PLASA 06 on Stand G48.

As well an extended range of CyberHoist motors, more control options are now available in the DataMotion data distribution range, while the compact RC-1 Handheld Remote Controller provides fast and effective setup and derig without requiring use of the system's host computer.

The range of CyberHoist intelligent hoist motors has grown to three, joining the original 500 kg-capacity, 0-20 metres per minute (1 foot per second maximum) variable speed CyberHoist 500.

The new high-speed CyberHoist 250 motor is capable of lifting 250kg at variable speeds of 0-40 meters per minute (2.17 feet per second) - for smooth, fast and agile moves.The new, invertible, high lifting power CyberHoist 1000 features a 1000kg (1 ton) lifti

UK - On Tuesday 12 September at this year's PLASA Show, Stage Technologies are holding exclusive automation control console demonstrations and training away from the main show floor in room R213, level 2, at Earls Court Exhibition Centre.

Short drop-in sessions (approximately 40 minutes long) will be held on the hour, from 11am - 3pm demonstrating a virtual theatre environment with WYSIWYG software integration. Attendees will be able to operate consoles and view moving axes in conjunction with the other training consoles and lighting effects.

Stage Technologies' support engineers will be available to answer any questions whether from client, user or operator's perspective and to provide 'hands-on' practical training opportunities.

(Chris Henry)

USA - Along with electrifying NASCAR racing, spectators at Lowe's Motor Speedway were recently treated to a sneak preview of the 2007 lineup of cars and trucks from Toyota Motor Corporation. Six sleek Toyota models were featured at the Charlotte, NC racetrack - from the popular Camry to the all-new off-road FJ Cruiser - highlighted in display structures created with aluminium trussing from Global Truss America.

Each Toyota vehicle was showcased to its fullest advantage on an elevated platform, which was framed by a U-shaped configuration of Global trussing, consisting of two truss posts on the side and a third strip going across the top. The top piece of truss sported an eye-catching sign bearing the Toyota and Lowe's Motor Speedway logos, along with the name of the vehicle model.

The lead time for the project was under a week and a half, according to Justin Jenkins of Creativ

UK - After much anticipation, Earls Court One finally opened its doors to the eager crowds queueing for the first day of PLASA '06. With pre-registration visitor levels at a record high, PLASA is bracing itself for record attendance.

New features opening today at the show include the new Integrated Systems Area; a greatly expanded PLASA Seminar Programme with a dedicated Technologies for Worship programme; and the first PLASA appearance of NEET (the National Exhibition of Entertainment Technology).

Traditionally 'DJ Day', day one of the show attracts a large DJ following, to participate in the heats and final of the Gemini 'Extreme V' DJ Competition.

Among today's other special features and events will be the ever-popular Talkzones, where music industry experts talk about different aspects of DJ'ing and dance music, including technical skills, online music and the business o

UK - Tomorrow's Awards for Innovation ceremony will also include a series of charity presentations, as the money raised from entry fees to the Awards is donated to a number of deserving causes. The ceremony will also include a personal appearance by a true entertainment industry legend - Sir George Martin.

In supporting Sir George's Music Foundation, PLASA will purchase a limited edition reproduction lithograph of the original score for Yesterday - the most performed song in history - signed by both Sir George Martin and Sir Paul McCartney. The lithograph will be auctioned during the course of the show to raise further money for the Music Foundation.

The Awards ceremony takes place tomorrow evening at 6.00pm, at the Central Bar area in the centre of Earls Court 1.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - As the PLASA Show's visitors began to fill Earls Court 1, the Innovation Gallery was naturally proving a big draw. Situated at the front of the main floor of Earls Court, the Innovation Gallery, sponsored by Lighting&Sound International magazine, forms a striking focal point for everyone coming to PLASA, as it is here that the 60 nominated products vying for this year's PLASA Awards for Innovation are prominently displayed.

The judging panel, consisting of an array of industry experts, is hard at work viewing, questioning and debating throughout today, and will draw a line under their deliberations by around lunchtime tomorrow. As well as the eight Innovation Awards, the judges will also have at their disposal an Award for Environmental Impact to reward any product that makes a significant contribution to environmental issues. The winners will be revealed to the industry to

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