UK - Drapes specialist Cover It Up has moved to bigger and brighter purpose designed and built premises in Camberwell, south east London.

This increases the warehouse and office workspaces plus the available storage capacity to accommodate the recent increases in stock. It also facilitates easier access to the City than the previous Peckham location.

The move has been prompted by a steady increase in business over the last two years. Cover It Up's Rhys Sion says: "With the economy in its current state, and the world's need to be more environmentally conscious, the practical and aesthetic potential of draping in all sorts of applications is really generating interest."

A sunken loading bay can be accessed simultaneously by three vans, which will also allow further optimisation of the new space, further increasing the fast turnaround needed to be achieved on a daily

UK - Performers at West 12 Shopping Centre in London are entertaining the public on Maltbury equipment as they browse. James Titshall at West 12 came to Maltbury in July with strict instructions: a lightweight, portable stage at minimal cost.

Titshall was originally enquiring about Metrodeck Ultra, Maltbury's lightest aluminium staging system. To save money and also most of the weight it was decided that Metrodeck with lightweight plywood and vinyl finish would be the better solution. Smaller decks were used for compact storage and it was absolutely vital that one person could easily assemble the equipment. The centre has already used the stage many times.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Event branding specialists Sunbaba celebrated with clients Fonix LED and Daytona Stage Hire at the Showman's Show as both companies won stand awards, adorned with Sunbaba's branding.

Fonix LED scooped three awards including the grand prix Best Stand Award. Sunbaba fitted the stand with an ultramesh profiled arc and side panels, clearly displaying the company's range of services for prospective clients, supported by live video footage taken on site and relayed on screens.

Ian Walker from Fonix LED said, "We always enjoy working with Sunbaba, the team are very friendly and easy to work with. We liaised with them about how to make our branding effective and feel it really added the finishing touches which helped us to win the awards."

Daytona won the award for best stand between 10 and 20m, which consisted of three demo stages. Sunbaba created striking promotiona

USA - Part of the AT&T Performing Arts Centre in Dallas, Texas, the Winspear Opera House, which opened last week, was designed by Foster + Partners under Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster. Engineered specifically for performances of opera and musical theatre, its stages are also equipped for performances of ballet and other forms of dance.

A 21st century reinterpretation of the traditional 'horseshoe' opera house, the principal performance space, the 2,200 seat Margaret McDermott Performance Hall, is fitted with variable acoustics in the form of retractable drapes. Behind the design is Triple E's Chaintrack, which enables the drapes to be stacked in pockets hidden within the walls when not in use.

The fact that Chaintrack can navigate corners of just 40mm radius enables it to double back on itself, and this, coupled with the facility to store curtains flat rather

UK - Tower Productions, which provides a range of services to the live event production industry including lighting hire, rigging, power generation and power distribution, recently completed a heating, lighting and power installation at the O2 Arena in London for the Gymnastics World Championships. The company deployed white 18kW electric heaters as no oil-fired equipment was allowed in the area.

"12 of these units and 40 400W white lo-bays ensured the practice area was warm and bright. The electric heaters are ideal for this type of installation as they are small, smart, reliable, fuel and fume-free and easy for the user to operate without and standby personnel," noted crew chief Andy Sharman.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) is inviting an expression of interest from live events production companies to provide the production services for the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

LOCOG is seeking a highly experienced live events production company who have Olympic, Paralympic or large scale events experience to provide administrative and production services to the Creative Directors of the four ceremonies. The Creative Directors will be recruited directly by LOCOG through a separate process and so creative content proposals are not being sought from potential production companies. The chosen production company will manage and execute the production process from conception to delivery.

Bill Morris, LOCOG Director of Culture, Ceremonies & Education said: "The

UK - 5 Star Cases has been chosen to supply flight cases for Global Design Solutions' (GDS) award winning LiteWare battery powered/Wireless DMX LED uplighters.

GDS's Matt Lloyd says: "We selected 5 Star because of their great attitude, the quality of their products, the very quick response time and their ability to deliver the volume we need and work in a truly collaborative way with us."

The Tour Grade flight cases were designed and specified by GDS's head of engineering Richard Cuthbert, working closely with 5 Star's in-house design team.

Each case houses six LiteWare fixtures in foam protected compartments. A feature incorporated early in the design stages is a bespoke battery charging plate which is fixed into the bottom of each compartment, allowing all six units to be re-charged whilst inside the case simply by connecting a single mains lead.

(Jim Evans)

UK - As the exclusive UK distributor for Italian trussing and rigging manufacturer, Litec, A.C. Entertainment Technologies provided the first UK tradeshow previews at PLASA09 of the new RF40 compact truss and EXE-Lodestar 650C1 Action chain hoist.

Providing the mother grid for the 187sq.m A.C. stand at PLASA09, the Litec RF40 is a heavy load rectangular section aluminium truss with 40cm x 29cm sides. It is strong and compact, offering "excellent performance for its size". Suitable for long spans, it can achieve a uniform distributed load of over 1,000kg over a 20m span and almost 2,500kg over a 10m span (in accordance with Eurocode9). Connections are made using horizontal forks and conical steel pins, minimising the use of corners and accessories when building grid structures.

A range of accessories is available to allow RF40 to interface with the Litec QD30S and QX3

South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa supplied the technical infrastructure - including rigging, sound, lighting, video, media, power and backline - for The 31st annual Loerie Awards. This is the major element of the Loeries Festival.

Themed Feed your Ego, the 2009 event poked fun at the sometimes egocentric aspects of the ad industry - with the aid of content projected from Gearhouse's suite of Christie projectors.

The two nights of awards were staged in Cape Town's Good Hope Centre, a 6,000 capacity theatre venue, and Gearhouse was working for production company H-Factor, who created the production design for the event. The first night's awards were related to print media and communication design, and the second to TV, radio and digital/electronic. Both were recorded by SABC for broadcast.

Technical production was by Steve Collins and the project was m

UK - HSL supplied all lighting and necessary rigging - including 8 A&O 7K Falcon Beams and Flowers and over 100 Robe moving lights for a DVD and Holiday TV Special performance by Sting at Durham Cathedral.

Lighting designer for the two shows was Manfred 'Ollie' Olma of Koln-based mo2 Designs. The show was presented by Sting backed by 35 guest musicians, including string and brass sections, and was staged in the heart of the cathedral.

HSL project manager Mike Oates comments, "It was a great privilege to get the chance to work in such an amazing building and also with Ollie, who is one of the most respected LDs in the business. The project entailed huge challenges as this was the first gig of this scale that had been staged there, which produced some superlative teamwork between the production company, our crew and the cathedral staff, resulting in a truly inspirational ev

South Africa - Johannesburg-based In2Structures (part of the Gearhouse South Africa Group) launched two new Dome structures in a special event at the GHSA Head Office in Bezuidenhout Valley, Johannesburg.

The 36m wide, super sized and super strong SupaDome (SP) and the more intimately proportioned 18m wide AliDome are designed to augment either end of In2Structures' current range of MaxiDome and Flat Truss Dome portable structures.

The three-day launch event was designed as a walk-through experience and was attended by over 200 invited key individuals and decision makers from all areas of the events, sports, leisure and tourism industries.

With a myriad of peripheral events scheduled for around next year's soccer, and an increasing trend for major sporting and entertainment events to need a dynamic infrastructure of temporary spaces, the two new products are expected to make

UK - TAO Group, through sister company TAO Fire, provided river rescue for the installation of a temporary bridge over the River Thames for the Reading Festival 2009.

The bridge, designed and installed by Serious Stages, was erected to allow visitors to get from north car parks situated on the other side of River Thames, to the festival site. The team from TAO, managed by fire director Chris Harvey, supplied river rescue personnel stationed on Jet Skis whilst the bridge was moved into position by a 250 tonne crane.

Management of the positioning was undertaken by Serious Stages' Kenny Falconer, under the watchful eye of site manager Dick Tee.

TAO's Chris Harvey said, "Our brief was to provide rapid water rescue for the crews assembling and positioning the structure. Due to the width of the river at that point we needed to station Jet Skis with water rescue personn

UK - American football fever took over Wembley Stadium when the NFL came to town, bringing with it the NFL Tailgate Party. Visitors enjoyed an all American experience before the big game with Mojo Barriers installing the crowd control solutions across the site.

As a warm up for the only NFL game of the series to visit the UK, the New England Patriots versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, the Tailgate Party celebrated all things NFL. For the third year running, the free of charge, outdoor event attracted 23,000 people to the Palace of Industry, outside Wembley Stadium.

For the third year running, Mojo Barriers worked closely with Tailgate International Series' site manager Dave Walton to devise and install the crowd control and barrier system for the event. The site has developed with each event, this year introducing new elements such as the Hall of Fame and a 3D

USA - Tomcat reports that space is still available for the workshop that will take place on 18 & 19 November 2009 in conjunction with the LDI Show in Orlando, Florida.

During the course of the ETCP recognised workshop, participants will receive training from industry experts. Day one consists of a full day of motor instruction taught by Herb Hart of Columbus McKinnon. During this, participants will disassemble and reassemble a one ton CM Lodestar and receive instruction on troubleshooting and maintenance.

Day two includes a half-day course on truss design, use and theory taught by Will Todd, product support manager for Tomcat USA plus a half-day course on fall protection led by Bill Sapsis, president and founder of Sapsis Rigging.

This is the first time Sapsis has taught a session in conjunction with the Tomcat workshops. He is an ETCP recognized trainer and recognised indus

Germany - Sommer Cable's Cat 7 cable in the Excelsior classique 1 series, is billed as "probably the fastest network RJ45 patch cable in the world".

The network cable transfers digital audio and video data and is suited for ultrafast 10 Gbit class F connections - according to the Fast Ethernet ATM 155 Prot., EN 50173 2ed, EN50288-1, EN 50288-5-1, IEC 61156-5 and ISO 11801 2ed approbations.

Sommer Cable puts every cable thorough function test checking the compliance of the relevant transmission data; the measurement report is enclosed with each cable.

"For the cable confectioning process we use only single high-grade components of no-compromise quality," says the company. "The mounted full-metal RJ45-Cat 6a connectors have a special bushing for large cable cross sections which are indispensable for a 10 Gbit transmission according to IEEE 802.3".

UK - Production Services Ireland (PSI) supplied technical and production management services and co-ordinated the supply of all sound, lighting and video equipment needed for the 2009 Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's 2009 - Ireland's biggest international festival.

This year was the 47th year for the event, a vibrant two week arts extravaganza organized by Queens University and sponsored by Ulster Bank staged in 32 venues in and around Belfast. It featured a wide range of performances including drama, dance, music, comedy, classical, opera, talks and debates, physical theatre and visual arts.

PSI has been involved for 12 years, and before that, the company's Sean Pagel was Belfast Festival's technical manager for some years. He comments: "It's a dynamic and exciting event with many technical challenges, for which we always enjoy putting a strong team

Georgia - This September, the central square in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia, took on an extreme Edge - The Red Bull X-Fighters Exhibition Tour 2009 passed through the historical city to enthrall and awe the locals with an exhibition of extreme sports and live music with an extreme edge.

Freestyle moto-cross, fireworks, flying motorbikes, and instruments played with power tools are just a few examples of the adrenaline fuelled line up that the X-Fighters Exhibition had to offer.

Proel had a high profile at the event, with all of the sound reinforcement, lighting and trussing coming from the Italian manufacturer. The sound system was made up of the high end Edge point source system, in a five-way configuration comprised of the Edge212P mid/high boxes, Edge218SP double 18" bass units and the impressive Edge121SP 21" sub-woofer unit for the extende

UK - TV One has announced the release of the new 1T-CT-520 Series Cat 5/5E or Cat 6 cable extenders for transmission of DVI-D with analogue or digital audio signals up to 250m.

The 1T-CT-521 Transmitter can accept DVI-D signal resolutions up to 1920x1200 and 1080p/60 along with S/PDIF or analogue stereo audio. Long signal distance is achieved by an analogue/digital hybrid transmission system which is fully compatible with all DVI 1.0 signals and seamlessly integrates the selected audio signal into the signal path. The 1T-CT-521 also provides EDID capability as a standard feature.

Two receivers are offered depending on distances needed. The 1T-CT-524 and 1T-CT-528 feature distances of 100m and 250m respectively and provide gain and equalization adjustments. The 1T-CT-528 receiver provides additional signal processing via two user selectable DIP switches which further equalize t

UK - London based drapes specialist Cover It Up supplied soft goods and dressing services for production company IMG at the Paulaner Lager Beerfest, a three-day corporate event staged at Old Billingsgate Market, London.

Cover It Up has worked in the venue on numerous occasions. They decked out the perimeter walls of the famous historic site in black wool serge, in a design that included careful back-filling of the arches in an operation that diligently and subtly maintained the integrity and shape of the architecture.

The brief also included the creation of a complete infrastructure of cloakrooms, a reception area, catering and washing up facility rooms, waiting staff holding areas, a green room and production office - all utilising drapes hung on catenaries.

The central columns of the main hall were clad by the Cover It Up team of eight in a vibrant sky blue material

USA - Horizon Control and Engineering Arts have entered into a strategic alliance for the specification, design and implementation of hardware and software technology. Building on their informal collaboration over the past six years, they are pooling resources and developing technological building blocks for license to third parties for use in their products.

With shrinking R & D budgets, these technological building blocks can be used to both jumpstart new products and refresh current product offerings. Among the components under development are two hardware platforms - to be presented at LDI in Orlando this month - that are designed for efficient customisation and adaptation by licensees.

The first hardware platform is a networked processor component that supports Ethernet, ACN, real?time clock, removable memory, LCD touchscreen and numerous interfaces capable of handling pr

Spain - Available since November 2009, www.worklifters.com is the new website of Equipson S.A exclusively dedicated to WORK lifters.

The Website is divided in three main sections: Towers for events, Towers for installations and Accessories.

Each model has its own page and the visitor can easily compare features of the different towers, thanks to the comparative product table. All the pictures, user manuals and certificates can be downloaded directly from the website.

Another advantage is that visitors can get a quote directly from the Website for the lifting towers they are interested in.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Evo is the new variable speed chain hoist controller from Kinesys. Designed to comply with the BGV C1 life-safety standard, it offers true zero-speed performance for ultra-slow movement cues and instantaneous starts. An integrated loadcell provides precise load information, while dual encoders offer accurate and secure positioning. A rugged metal enclosure houses the controller, offering truss and rack mounting options.

Evo is compatible with Kinesys K2 software. Both one-ton 40ft/minute and half-ton 80ft/minute hoist options are available. The universal controller can be used with either size of hoist, motor-up or motor-down with no alterations required.

Kinesys motion control systems are distributed in North America by TMB. Evo will feature at the TMB LDI 2009 Village where hands-on demos and training will be available.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - Showsec supplied 10 managers whose expertise ensured the professional implementation of complex event security plans for the 16th Annual MTV European Music Awards in Berlin on 5 November.

532m households tuned in across the world to see the evening's events unfold. Hostess Katy Perry dazzled audiences with her array of costumes as the MTV EMA's lived up to their glamorous reputation. Beyoncé, Jay Z, Shakira, Green Day and Tokio Hotel all added style and substance performing live in Berlin's 02 World, while U2 played a live set to an additional 10,000 fans at the Brandenburg Gate.

Commented Jane Fraser, co-executive producer, MTV Europe Music Awards, "So many elements come into play when considering security for an event of the scale of the MTV Europe Music Awards - from forward-planning and preparation, to the understanding of stakeholder co

UK - The annual Q Awards was held on 26 October at the Grosvenor House in Park Lane with Q Awards - The Gigs, this year held at north London venue the HMV Forum, providing a six-day run up of top band performances including Kasabian, Biffy Clyro and Lostprophets.

With a stellar line up and attendance by a host of famous faces, The Forum needed to know that crowd management would not be an issue. It put full trust in resident crowd safety company, A.P. Security and wasn't disappointed.

"We've been working with the Forum for a couple of years now, so we know how things work, where the pressure points are and how to handle any situations that may arise," says Wayne Grove, in charge of the venue for A.P. "However, working on an event like this comes with its own particular issues, so we plan carefully to make sure that everything is covered."

AP

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