Festival Finances - Glastonbury Festival has reported that profits more than doubled last year, as it faces criticism for being too "corporate". The festival brought in £5.9m in pre-tax profits for the year to March 2024 – up from £2.9m the year before. During the same period, the event also donated £5.2m to charitable organisations including Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid.

A spokesperson for the festival said "successful, dry Glastonburys in both 2023 and 2024" had helped to "rebuild the event's vital financial reserves". The spokesperson said it also allowed them to "continue to support good causes and charities". Like many festivals, Glastonbury saw record losses during the pandemic, with the event called off in 2020 and 2021, "costing the festival mil

USA - Sphere Entertainment delivered the Sphere New Year’s Eve Celebration presented by Lexus – a custom Exosphere content show to ring in 2025 on the world’s largest LED screen. This included a celebration of major cities around the world as different time zones approach midnight, culminating with Sphere serving as Las Vegas’ official countdown to 2025 as part of the destination’s citywide New Year’s Eve fireworks show.

And immediately after the clock struck midnight, Sphere showcased content from Afterlife Presents Anyma The End of Genesys, which played inside Sphere on New Year’s Eve. The Celebration also featured a festive Lexus activation and art from XO Artist UON Visuals.

“Sphere is a global landmark, and we’re excited to be sharing New Year’s Eve with our fans around the world through our Exosphere show,

UAE - Netherlands-based manufacturer ELC Lighting has announced the appointment of Sonic Evolution FZC as the new exclusive distributor for both its brands, ELC and Green-GO, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Based in Sharjah, Sonic Evolution FZC is now set to provide both of ELC Lighting’s award-winning product ranges – the ELC range of DMX-over-IP lighting control products and the Green-GO family of digital wireless intercom solutions – to its customer base throughout the UAE.

A distributor of specialist technologies for the professional production industry, Sonic Evolution was set up just last year by India-born Dr. Rajesh Khade (an actual medical doctor, as well as a drummer and live sound engineer) and his partner Arnold Coelho (an audio and mechanical engineer) to provide targeted technical solutions to entertainment production professio

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OPUS X4 PROFILE – the most powerful LED moving head from Cameo to date

The OPUS® X4 PROFILE is the new flagship model from Cameo and is among the most powerful LED moving heads on the market. Equipped with a 1,400-watt LED white light engine, this spot profile moving head produces an enormous light output of 50,000 lm, providing powerful spot and gobo projections on even the largest stages and much more.
www.cameolight.com

Poland - Australian manufacturer LSC Control Systems has welcomed Prolight, a well-known provider of professional lighting equipment and services, as its new exclusive distributor for Poland.

Founded in 1996, Prolight has built a leading position in the Polish market and is now looking forward to providing its customers with access to LSC’s innovative range of power and data management products, all of which are designed and manufactured in Melbourne, Australia.

As well as representing a portfolio of leading brands in the fields of lighting, multimedia, and stage technology, Prolight provides services including maintenance, installation and training.

Kacper Rzeczkowski of Prolight believes the LSC range brings important synergies to its offering. He says: “Since its acquisition by Robe Lighting, awareness of LSC in Poland has significantl

India - As it marks 33 years in the live event sector, rental solutions company Mowzz Entertainment has made significant investments in new technology, with L-Acoustics’ K Series loudspeakers and the first Celto Acoustique IsoRay system in India.

"From its inception, Mowzz has only partnered with globally reputed brands for its inventory – be it loudspeakers to backline and anything in between. We’ve consistently set the benchmark for quality and performance in everything that we’ve done over the past 33 years; and this year proved to be the perfect time for Mowzz to leap into a new era of performance excellence,” states Zakir Alladin, founder-director of Hyderabad-based Mowzz Entertainment.

Prakash Savio, partner and head of technical production at Mowzz Entertainment adds: “A strong commitment to superlative performance and reliability,

Denmark - Travel up the Jutland peninsula to Denmark’s northwest coast and you find one of the country’s largest and most popular amusement parks, Fårup Sommerland. The park showcases a popular light festival each autumn, Lysfald, which this year ran for 16 days in October and attracted over 12,500 guests per day.

Pivotal in ensuring that the lighting installation ran smoothly were Netron EN6 IP nodes, award-winning data distribution devices by Obsidian Control Systems that played a critical role in managing the large-scale, synchronised lighting display.

Fårup Sommerland is home to seven roller coasters and the country’s largest amusement park water park. Four years ago, in collaboration with AV solutions provider Profox, the park sought to extend its season into the autumn by creating a new attraction – an immersive, park-wide li

India - PP Sound Light Productions delivered the soundscape for Mumbai’s India Cocktail Week with technologies from Meyer Sound, DiGiCo and d&b Audiotechnik.

India Cocktail Week is a celebration of sensory experiences, and sound plays a crucial role in amplifying the audience’s connection to the event. Our goal was to deliver an immersive and consistent audio experience across the expansive festival grounds, ensuring every attendee enjoyed impeccable sound quality, regardless of their location,” says Prasad Parkar, founder-director of PP Sound Light Productions.

India Cocktail Week (ICW) returned for its fifth edition on 30 November and 1 December 2024 at Mumbai’s Jio World Garden.

A vibrant community platform, ICW has long established itself as more than just a festival. It is a melting pot where spi

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Case Study: Hans Zimmer Live

When award winning film composer Hans Zimmer brought his smash-hit tour Hans Zimmer Live to North America fall 2024, the show's audio team sought out to bring infrafrequency bass to the show to add new depth to the show's audio experience. The team chose Danley Sound Labs.

Spain - Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi is the largest indoor arena in Spain, but even this sleek 18,000-capacity venue couldn't contain all the energy and excitement generated by the 19th edition of the annual Los 40 Music Awards held there this November.

First there was the music: with 17 international artists performing 40 songs, the ceremony celebrated virtually every facet of Latin and urban music. There were also the awards presentations – and this year an extra dimension, as Los 40 served as a telethon, partnering with The Red Cross to raise money for those affected by the 2024 Spanish floods.

Designer Alain Corthout with help from operator Timothy Demets supported the various dimensions of Los 40 by serving up a range of lighting looks that were equally at home pulsating to the music of performers like Rauw Alejandro, Ana Mena, Lola Índigo,

Mexico - The newly inaugurated Potosí Arena stands as a symbol of innovation in support of culture. With a capacity of over 20,000 people, this venue is set to host concerts by national and international artists and various sports and cultural events. The governor of San Luis Potosí, Ricardo Gallardo, officiated the opening of this new space, which is expected to boost the city's tourism and economic appeal after 23 years without a venue of this scale.

The construction of the Potosí Arena took approximately 22 months and involved more than 4,000 tons of steel. This arena was designed and built entirely by engineers and architects from the University of San Luis Potosí, making it a testament to the ingenuity and capability of its local talent.

The lighting system installation played a key role in the arena's opening, combining advanced technology

UK - Blue Thunder Sound provided full production for the London Film Music Orchestra concert at St Paul's Cathedral, using over 200 lighting fixtures, including 102 Prolights Smart Bat units.

Blue Thunder Sound strategically placed the lighting fixtures to enhance the architectural features of the cathedral, minimising cable runs by employing wireless signals for lighting and audio control. The setup focused on achieving stunning stage effects without the use of haze machines, utilising the power of the Smart Bat to create an immersive visual experience that highlighted the historical beauty of the structure.

"The Prolights lighting system played a crucial role in transforming St Paul's Cathedral into an immersive space, emphasising every architectural detail with extraordinary precision," commented the Blue Thunder Sound team. "Thanks to the flexibi

USA - The McAllen Holiday Parade presented by H-E-B helped kick off the festive season in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. This nighttime holiday parade featured over 60 illuminated floats, 38 larger-than-life character helium balloons, 16 school bands and dance teams, and appearances by international and local celebrities.

The 2024 theme, Noche Mágica (Magical Night), was hosted by TV personalities Mario Lopez and Julian Gil, with special guest appearances by players from the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

This year’s parade drew over 265,000 attendees along the 1.5-mile route, with over a million more television viewers. It began at the McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, where spectators of all ages filled the stands for an evening of entertainment.

When approached for the project, Jeff Krebs, presi

Germany - Founded in Ibiza in 1973, the international club brand Pacha has had a presence in Munich’s city centre since 2000. As is the case for its other sites around the globe, the Munich venue regularly hosts world-famous DJs from the techno and house scene including Sven Väth, Fat Boy Slim, DJ Hell, and Carl Cox. Naturally, given the club’s status, its audio system is of the utmost importance.

Munich-based TAPS Media has been responsible for Pacha’s sound technology for two decades and was recently involved in an upgrade to the venue’s system which relied on Coda Audio’s HOPS (high output point source) range of loudspeakers.

The TAPS team, led by managing directors Alexander Mayr and Manfred Heilmaier, installed a comprehensive system comprising six HOPS12i-Pro three-way dual 12” units, eight HOPS8i two-way dual 8”, and three G15-S

South Africa - Lifted – Let the Blind Sing returned by popular demand this season, playing at the South African State Theatre in the capital, Pretoria, with video mapped imagery driven by tvONE's Green Hippo brand of Hippotizer Media Servers.

The production and visuals have been designed by Wilhelm Disbergen – a multi award-winning production designer designing theatre productions for more than 20 years – who was appointed to deliver a dynamic visual backdrop for the show. The staging features a white cyclorama with suspended plastic corrugated sheets that are painted white, adding visual texture and an unusual projection surface, onto which Disbergen is projecting content using a 12,000 lumen Panasonic PT-RZ12K laser projector.

Zakhele Mabena, band leader and composer on many of the biggest theatre musicals staged at the South African

USA - Diana Kesselschmidt is creating a captivating setting for the Winter Village at Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan this season with a richly coloured lighting design at the popular attraction’s 17,000 sq.ft ice skating rink.

PRG supplied over 100 Chauvet Professional fixtures, including 95 Colorado 2-Quad Zoom LED Wash lights, and eight Ovation E-260WW ellipsoidal units for this transformative display.

“In addition to performance, weather resistance was key to selecting fixtures,” said Kesselschmidt, of Diana K studio. “The fixtures are out for an extended time in New York City. Also, all the cabling to the towers gets loaded in about a month ahead of time, before the deck is put in, so there is no access to those cables once the deck is in place. Some years we focus outdoors during a hurricane. Many years I have focused on full weather g

Germany - For more than 40 years, Germany's Wige Solutions has been providing companies with event technology for corporate events, as well as advanced broadcast solutions, dynamic live graphics, and millisecond-precise timing for sporting events. To achieve this, the company operates its own digital studios at its headquarters in Bonn-Meckenheim, equipped with live control systems and specialized, high-speed cameras.

The company often works on-location and its on-site teams have found Elation’s KL series of full-colour, high-CRI LED Fresnel lights to offer the flexibility needed to meet a wide range of on-camera requirements. After years of successfully using the popular KL Panel, Wige Solutions expanded its inventory in early summer by adding Elation’s KL Fresnel 8 FC, a powerful full-colour softlight featuring a 500W RGBMA engine. They then sought a s

USA - LEA Professional has added the 1504 model to its Cinema Digital Series. The company unveiled the Cinema Digital Series of IoT-enabled smart amplifiers last April. The four-channel CDS1504 model drives 1,500W per channel into 2, 4, and 8 ohms as well as 70Vrms and 100Vrms.

Each Cinema Digital Series model supports two or four channels, with wattages ranging from 350 to 1500W per channel. All models can integrate with the Dolby Cinema Processor CP950 and include AES67 primary and secondary inputs, analogue backup inputs, and the ability to accept AES67 feeds directly from a CP950 without requiring additional hardware, ensuring superior connectivity and flexibility.

LEA Professional’s smart amplifiers feature onboard 96kHz DSP, LEA Cloud connectivity, WebUI, third-party API control, real-time load monitoring, Lo-Z/70V/100V selectable by channel,

UK/Ireland - Entedi closed out the year with major announcements that set the stage for continued growth in 2025 and beyond, including an expanding team and the announcement of a new Board of Directors.

Founder Cally Bacchus reflected on the year, saying: “2024 was a whirlwind of everything I love about this industry. Our team has grown, our partners continue to amaze us with their boundary-pushing innovations, and we’re thrilled to be backing the next generation of industry talent through our technical partnership at RADA.

“I’m delighted to announce some key updates to our team and the launch of our Board of Directors to guide us into this exciting new chapter." Cally Bacchus will step into the role of CEO; Erik Lynas will become managing director; and Marcel Wijnberger will transition to technical director.

“These changes in our s

France - Capping off a year of marking the company’s 40th anniversary, L-Acoustics has announced another significant milestone with the addition of its 1,000th team member. Kevin Gouriou joins the company as a prototypist in R&D, marking a milestone that showcases four decades of growth from the company’s European roots to its current position as a global leader in professional audio.

This milestone comes during a remarkable period of growth for L-Acoustics, which has seen a 40% increase in its workforce over the past two years. With global hubs in Paris, Los Angeles, London and Singapore, the company has strategically expanded to support its worldwide network of partners and clients while maintaining its commitment to innovation, with 20% of its workforce dedicated to design and R&D.

"For 40 years, L-Acoustics has been driven by a spirit

UK - The University of Manchester's Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama has long been a cornerstone of the institution’s performing arts and education programmes. Home to two key performance spaces, being the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall and the John Thaw Studio Theatre, the Centre recently underwent a significant AV upgrade to meet evolving teaching and performance needs.

The project was led by Stage Electrics, a trusted audiovisual partner of the University for over two decades, in close collaboration with British loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics. The focus was on integrating high-quality audio systems tailored to each space to improve the audio experience for students, faculty, visiting performers and audiences alike.

Stage Electrics was tasked with upgrading the trusted existing EM Acoustics audio systems to match current standards and

UK - A heartwarming Christmas story told through projection-mapped animations in the run-up to Christmas is being driven by tvONE's Green Hippo brand of Hippotizer Media Servers onto the façade of The Queens Hotel in Leeds.

The animation, To Leeds, With Love, is brought to the city by LeedsBID (Leeds Business Improvement District). It is a reimagining of The 12 Days of Christmas song, featuring a cheeky gingerbread man who is on a mission to decorate the hotel for a festive party.

Two Hippotizer Karst+ MK2 Media Servers are powering video onto the front of the historic hotel via seven Panasonic projectors – five RQ50K, one RQ25K, and one RZ21K, with one other RQ50K backup being stored off-site in the event of a hardware issue. They are positioned in two 7.5m tall towers constructed in Leeds City Square, in front of the hotel buil

UAE - Prolights fixtures shone brightly over the Swan Lake on Ice performance by The Imperial Ice Stars, held at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. The award-winning show captivated audiences, blending Tchaikovsky's timeless music with breathtaking visual displays on ice. Lighting, designed by Level Production, played a crucial role in creating a visually stunning atmosphere on the skating rink.

For the lighting setup, Level Production collaborated with Pro Lab, the Prolights distributor for the MEDA region, selecting a range of fixtures that included Astra Wash19Pix, Astra Hybrid420, and RA2000HB Profiles from Prolights. These fixtures were chosen for their exceptional versatility, delivering the perfect balance of lighting power, colour precision, and creative flexibility. This ensured a uniform illumination across the entire rink, enhancing the v

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