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18 November 2024

Australia - Production company Chameleon Touring Systems has made a significant investment in Elation’s Proteus Maximus and Proteus Brutus power luminaires, greatly expanding their ability to deliver robust lighting solutions for high-profile tours and major events across the region.

The new fixtures, supplied in late September through ULA Group – the exclusive distributor of Elation products in Australia and New Zealand – have already seen action.

In early October, Chameleon upgraded the lighting rigs for two landmark events: the 2024 National Rugby League (NRL) Grand Final at Accor Stadium in Sydney and Knockout Outdoor, Australia’s largest outdoor music festival at the Sydney Showground.

Chameleon sought to replace several outdated lighting fixtures in their inventory from brands that no longer offer this category

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14 November 2024

Spain - The AV community in Spain has announced the formation of #AVforValencia (www.avforvalencia.org), an initiative that aims to raise funds to support all those affected by the devastating floods that decimated Valencia in October.

#AVforValencia is working with other Valencia-based charities (including Fundación-In Jóvenes contra el Cáncer and Casa Caridad) to provide direct assistance to all those affected by this unprecedented natural disaster. All funds raised will be distributed through the Unidos por Valencia initiative, which connects victims with volunteers and aid resources.

Over 200 people are known to have lost their lives in this disaster, which has also destroyed homes, businesses and infrastructure and left countless families heartbroken and home

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14 November 2024

UK - ETC Ltd has officially moved to its new eco-building and base in the UK, in London. The new site is more than double the size of ETC’s former premises boasting over 35,000sq.ft of floor space. The move marks a significant milestone in the company’s growth and expanding business offering.

ETC’s own in-house team has developed the design for the new building, which includes larger demonstration spaces and increased capacity for training, logistics, conferencing, collaboration and more. There is also a new visualisation suite in the building available for industry professionals to use and prepare their shows in. The additional warehousing space also holds significantly more inventory to meet the growing demands of the business and support the needs of ETC’s customers.

The new building is lit and controlled

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14 November 2024

Australia - Following the recent appointment of Audio Source as HH Audio’s distributor in Australia, the partners staged a two-day official launch event at Vision Studios, a rehearsal and recording facility in Perth.

The full range of HH Audio products were demonstrated to a range of audio specialists including system integrators, rental companies, retailers, installers, and contractors. Ian Wright, HH Audio global sales director for HH Electronics, offers an upbeat view:

“The event was a great success in what is acoustically a fantastic space. The team demonstrated the range to groups of visitors over the two days, rather than staging one big presentation, something which worked extremely well. I think we had 14 groups in total who were able to see all our products patched in and individually demoed or used in whatever combinations customers wan

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13 November 2024

UK - The bang was provided by the starter’s pistol as the Day at the Races themed quiz night got underway. The DiGiCo quiz night is a celebration of hire companies and the communities they serve, with all proceeds from those attending going towards their two chosen charities, Backup Tech and Stagehand, the PSA’s benevolent fund.

The Quiz represents a chance for suppliers, hire companies, manufactures and businesses to get together in a relaxed environment to connect, do badly at quizzing and most importantly raise money. The evening was a complete success with £14,000 being shared between both charities.

On the night Backup was represented by Lee Dennison, trustee and vice chair, Scott Arnold, trustee, and Sarah James, PR, all raising awareness of the way that Backup can help industry professionals and their families.

“Backup

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13 November 2024

Germany - Following the success of LEaT con 24 in Hamburg, LEaT X is returning in spring 2025 and will take place on 19-20 March at the Ofenwerk in Nuremberg. The pre-season event for the event technology industry was fully booked in record time – clear proof of the enormous demand and strong interest.

“The enthusiasm for LEaT X is overwhelming,” says Duc Nguyen, director of LEaT. ‘The fact that we were fully booked in such a short time confirms that we have hit the nerve of the industry with the compact and targeted format of LEaT X. We are delighted with the positive response and the trust placed in us by the exhibitors.”

This year, LEaT X 25 will once again be supported by leading brands from the event technology sector, who will be presenting their innovative products and solutions in Nuremberg.

Interested companies have the opp

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12 November 2024

Europe - Moonbears and ADJ have made a new distribution agreement for ADJ products in the Netherlands. This collaboration is part of ADJ’s strategy to strengthen its market position in Europe and will provide a new route to market for ADJ entertainment lighting and atmospheric effect products in the country as well as increased support for smaller production and integration companies.

While existing customers and new large accounts will continue to be served directly by ADJ, partnership with Moonbears will make ADJ products more accessible for smaller businesses. For Moonbears, ADJ’s range perfectly complements the company’s existing catalogue, providing new and existing customers with access to ADJ’s range of fixtures.

Patrick Veldman, owner of Moonbears, explains: "ADJ has a strong position in the Dutch market. We see this partnership as an

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12 November 2024

UK - Polar has announced its partnership with Innomate, a technology company known for its advanced software solutions. This collaboration will enable Polar to introduce Innomate’s AV management platform to the higher education sector across the UK and Ireland.

“We are excited to collaborate with Innomate, a company that shares our commitment to excellence and innovation,” said John Midgley, managing director of Polar. “This initiative allows us to explore new opportunities in smart audio solutions for the UK market.”    

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12 November 2024

Record Breakers - Taylor Swift continues her world domination by making history as the first person to win best artist three times in the 30-year history of the Europe Music Awards (EMAs). The other winners at the event broadcast from Manchester on Sunday included Raye, Sabrina Carpenter, Tyla and Benson Boone.

Beyoncé has added to her all-time record number of Grammy nominations with 11, followed by Kendrick Lamar, Charli XCX and Billie Eilish with seven nods each. Beyoncé now has a career total 99 Grammy nominations - more than any other artist - but she’s not yet won the Recording Academy’s top prize, album of the year. Winners will be revealed at the event in Los Angeles on 2 February.

Theatre Funding - Departing Theatres Trust director Jon Morgan has expressed his regret at never managing to make the case for "serious targ

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11 November 2024

France - Tickets have gone on sale for Showlight 2025. The much-anticipated networking event for lighting practitioners will visit Le Parc des Expositions et Congrès de Dijon in France from 19-22 May 2025 with Robert Juliat as its headline sponsor.

Traditionally only taking place once every four years, the last in-person Showlight was in 2017, with its usual quadrennial timeline disrupted due to the pandemic. An enduringly popular event, which encompasses a conference, an exhibition, workshops, networking dinners and more, Showlight 2025 offers three ticket choices to delegates: Full Delegate, Day Delegate (Papers Only) or Student.

Full Delegate ticket holders enjoy the whole event which, in addition to the papers sessions on all days, includes daily lunch and coffee/tea breaks, Monday evening’s welcome reception, Tuesday evening

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08 November 2024

Europe - Formerly known as Groupe Novelty-Magnum-Dushow, the European provider of technical solutions for the event and rental staging market has announced its rebranding as Groupe Novelty.

The move, which includes a new logo and fresh corporate identity, positions the rapidly expanding Groupe for further growth and underlines its position as a 360° provider of technical services in France and on a global scale, says the company.

"Our new name, Groupe Novelty, unifies our diverse stable of specialist businesses and sets the stage for further international expansion,” says Jacques de La Guillonnière, founder and president of Groupe Novelty. “With over 40 years of experience and hundreds of thousands of events under our belt, all of our companies already enjoy an extremely strong reputation in France and abroad; with this rebrand, we want to shar

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08 November 2024

UK - QuickLink, provider of multi-camera video productions and remote contribution solutions, has announced the expansion of its reseller partner network, providing additional support and benefits for partners through its new Certified Partner Programme.

As part of this initiative, QuickLink also introduces a new Reseller Locator platform, enabling customers to easily find authorised QuickLink partners.

The new Certified Partner Programme introduces two tiers, gold and platinum. These two tiers provide QuickLink partners with access to a comprehensive set of resources, training, and promotional opportunities.

Through the programme, QuickLink partners can access an extensive array of technical, marketing, and sales tools designed to enhance their expertise and expand their business opportunities. The programme offers exclusive training session

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06 November 2024

UK - IPS has expanded its inventory of EXE Technology hoists with further investment in EXE Rise D8+ with an additional 40 1,000kg and 12 2,000kg double fall chain hoists, considerably expanding their EXE rental stock.

IPS, based in Milton Keynes, is a leading trade hire supplier to the events and production sector, offering extensive rental supply in staging, rigging, lighting, video, sound and power to a wide cross-section of clients nationwide.

Having increased its EXE Rise D8+ fleet in April with 1,000kg and 500kg units, the company has seen an upsurge in demand via its trade hire team with enquiries from its customer base, especially for the 1,000kg units. EXE has played an integral role over the summer season on some of IPS’s biggest projects and festivals across the UK, which have seen the full deployment of EXE hoists IPS now stocks. 

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06 November 2024

Austria - The Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG) will participate in the bi-annual MEET (Messe für Eventtechnik und Theater) show for event technology and theatre, held at Messe Wien in Vienna 6th - 7th November. The WSDG team will not only host a booth (F2, Hall D) but also present an educational lecture as part of the event’s official programme.

As an international trade fair for event technology featuring a specialist conference for events and theatre, MEET blends technology and art with over 80 exhibitors. This event presents the latest innovations in event technology and provides a valuable platform for discussion among theatre and event managers.

WSDG's Dirk Noy along with Mario Reithofer will be available throughout the two-day event, where they will meet with clients, partners and industry professionals to discuss ongoing and future projec

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05 November 2024

UK - UKEvents, the umbrella organisation of the UK’s events industry, has announced the findings of its anticipated UK Events Report 2024. The report, compiled by Great Potential Consultancy, highlights the industry’s critical role in the economy, generating £61.653bn annually and affirming its resilience following the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Covering a wide range of events, including corporate, public, and charity sectors, the UK events industry has proved itself to be a vital economic driver, contributing not just financially but also culturally and socially. As the nation continues its recovery, the industry is paving the way for future growth and innovation.

Key findings from the report include:

Corporate events such as conferences, trade shows, exhibitions and product launches, generating £33.6bn.

Leis

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05 November 2024

Hammer Blow - Theatres across the country are braced to absorb yet more costs under Labour’s first Budget in office, with large tax rises labelled another "financial hammer blow” for pinched organisations. Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves’ increase to both national insurance for employers and the national living wage has left theatre buildings saddled with potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds more in annual expenditure.

Curve chief executive Chris Stafford told The Stage: "While we actively support increasing the national living wage, this rise in cost alongside the hike in national insurance payments is another financial hammer for theatres and producers. Based on very early projections, the Budget will hit our bottom line by at least £350,000 next year. This is on top of the money we will need to allocate to implement Martyn

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04 November 2024

UK - Later this month, Chauvet and its family of brands will take part in Light24 (Light Expo, London) which is built around the theme Step Into The Light. The company will be at the expo to showcase a wide range of solutions that will not only invite visitors to step into the light, but also create and control it in myriad ways, by doing things like using advanced graze and cove fixtures, outputting up to 48 universes from a rail mounted system, and much more.

The entire Chauvet family of brands will be on display at Light24 booth 45, with much of the emphasis being placed on the latest lighting and control innovations from Iluminarc, ChamSys and GeNetix.

The Chauvet booth will offer demonstrations of products like The Logic line of interior architectural lights from Iluminarc. Featuring streamlined form factors that will fit beautifully in

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01 November 2024

USA - The METalliance (Music Engineering & Technology Alliance) has announced that WSDG (Walters-Storyk Design Group) has become the newest pro partner of the organisation and the first recording studio designers to be invited as a member. Pro partner membership is limited to companies that have shown the ability to manufacture and distribute products and services that meet the organisation’s professional audio standards.

The METalliance's George Massenburg commented: “WSDG’s incredible legacy of innovation and excellence in recording studio design speaks for itself. They embody all of the core traits inherent to the mission of the METalliance and we are thrilled to include them in our organisation. All of our Pro Partners must be unanimously agreed upon to be included, and with WSDG that was an incredibly easy decision to reach.”

“All

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01 November 2024

USA - Pliant Technologies has announced the appointment of a new manufacturer’s representative, RTSales, which covers Puerto Rico, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee.

“RTSales will represent Pliant’s entire suite of innovative, professional wireless products, including its CrewCom and MicroCom intercom lines, along with its complete line of headsets and accessories,” says Gary Rosen, vice-president of global sales, Pliant Technologies. “We look forward to expanding our sales in these territories with the RTSales team of seasoned sales and support professionals.”

For over 40 years, RTSales has earned a reputation as an effective and efficient resource for pre-sale technical support, purchasing and procurement, sell-through support, and after-the-sale service and technical training. With offices

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31 October 2024

Europe - Avolites has announced three new distributors in key European countries – Austria and Norway, plus Serbia and the other Balkan countries of Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania.

Avolites’ managing director, Paul Wong, commented: “We have been working hard to boost our distributor network with new strategic partnerships worldwide and are thrilled to warmly welcome these three new distributor partners in Austria, Norway & Serbia and The Balkans. They will enhance our commitment to users in Europe and the Balkans and continue our strategy to strengthen the Avolites brand’s global presence.”

In Austria, Signal, a Robe distributor for several years, is taking on the Avolites distributorship. “Distributing Avolites really makes sense regarding turnkey solutions where before we could only offer lig

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31 October 2024

USA - Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) has selected AudioPros, LLC, as its manufacturer’s representative to serve the Northeast territory. AudioPros currently represents EAW throughout New England and Western NY and has now expanded to Metro New York.

“EAW is constantly innovating and bringing to market high-quality solutions that meet the needs of clients throughout the professional audio community,” says Alex Shillo, AudioPros principal.

“For over 40 years, EAW has been a leading manufacturer of speakers in our own backyard,” says Andrew Shillo. “EAW’s innovative approach to professional sound reinforcement has made them an industry leader worldwide. EAW’s passion and drive aligns with our own philosophies, we are excited for the opportunity to provide our services to new dealers.”

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30 October 2024

Malaysia - Void Acoustics, a leading innovator in cutting-edge audio solutions, has partnered with Motifv8 Sdn Bhd as its exclusive distributor for Malaysia.

Motifv8 Sdn Bhd is a specialist team of audio and lighting experts delivering AV solutions to Malaysia's market. Founded in 2016, the company has completed several high-profile projects in premium hospitality – a growing sector in Malaysia.

Working across a wide range of sectors, Motifv8’s clients include places of worship, stadiums, entertainment, education and many more.

Alex Skan, managing director at Void Acoustics, said: "We’re excited to officially appoint Motifv8 Sdn Bhd as Void’s exclusive distributor in Malaysia. Motifv8 has built an excellent reputation, and we are confident that their team will drive Void’s solution out into this dynamic market.”

Fedrick Lu

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29 October 2024

Canada - GLP has appointed DataVisual Marketing as its new Canadian distributor. The move was formally announced at the recent CITT conference and trade show in Saskatoon.

To underpin this move, DataVisual recently appointed Rob Deslauriers as its first vice-president of strategic growth. With a sales background in rental staging and concert touring spanning more than three decades, he says: “I’ve been a part of just about every major entertainment lighting manufacturer throughout my career.

“From my perspective GLP is completely in line with our visual offerings. Although everything today is about ‘visual’ rather than pure lighting, this is the first company we’ve represented from a lighting background.

“What excites me about GLP is their commitment to quality and some of the uniqueness of their products, which is paramount in

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29 October 2024

UK - The much-anticipated James Eade Rigging Power Systems training course, in partnership with EXE Technology, returned mid-October, leaving participants inspired and empowered with new skills to tackle rigging challenges in today’s demanding live entertainment sector. The event drew rigging and technical professionals from across the country, all eager to deepen their expertise and experience of rigging electrical systems using the latest technology.

The 2024 Rigging Power Systems course, hosted at Rigging Team’s HQ in Stevenage on 10-11 October, boasted a sell-out event attracting delegates from various sectors of the industry and as far afield as Tahiti.

Running for the second year, the course was developed by Matt Millward, head of automation at Area Four Direct UK and chartered engineer James Eade, who has a wealth of industry knowledge in