UK - The Knight of Illumination Awards' Concert Touring and Events category, recognising excellence in lighting design in Concert Touring Stage and Arena, Live Events and Video Electronic Content, is buzzing with more entries than ever only one month after launch, the organisers report.

Four weeks in to this year's Awards submissions an incredible array of exciting and diverse nominations have been received via the KOI website celebrating LDs pushing the boundaries of lighting design.

"So far we have had an inspiring range of entries from LDs touring with the bigger arena shows

South Africa - The 9th Annual Channel O Music Video Awards was held at the Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown, Soweto, South Africa. It comprised of a mega dome structure and an enormous lighting rig. For control lighting designer Joshua Cutts relied on one grandMA2 light and with one MA onPC command wing as backup as well as one MA NPU (Network Processing Unit) all provided by AV Unlimited.

A professional group of companies and individuals put the event together. Television production company Don't Look Down Convergence Agency were responsible for producing the event for DSTV while AV

UK - PLASA London launches its first show at ExCeL London today with free entry for the first 5000 people to register via its new website. Taking place on 6-9 October 2013, the new name, new venue, and new autumn dateline aren't the only changes afoot for the industry-owned event.

PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths explains, "This year marks the first stage of the show's long-term strategic development. ExCeL is located just five minutes from London City Airport, which handles 350 flights a day from 40 international destinations, and ExCeL's seven onsite hotels provide thousands of room

UK - The opening day of PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 will finish with a keynote address from Harald Haas, Professor of Mobile Communications at the University of Edinburgh and Fellow of the World Technology Network.

Professor Harold Haas is widely regarded as one of most eminent innovators in communications technology today. His current research is focused on three main areas: optical wireless communications, spatial modulation and interference coordination in wireless networks. A finalist for the world Technology Award in 2011, his work on Li-Fi was featured by TIME magazine as one

Germany - ArKaos has chosen Prolight & Sound Frankfurt to announce the formation of a new division - ArKaos Pro.

ArKaos Pro has been formed specifically to serve the large-scale, professional level show and lighting projects which now dominate much of the ArKaos client base. The new division will operate alongside the existing ArKaos organization.

"We have formed Arkaos Pro in acknowledgement of how ArKaos has grown and developed since its start," says business development manager, Agnes Wojewoda. "ArKaos products have evolved into far more sophisticated solutions ove

Germany - At the upcoming ProLight&Sound 2013, Ayrton will show a range of products including the NandoBeam 302 - an elegantly designed, compact 300W LED moving head providing ultra bright, concentrated beams and the possibility of concentric circles, individually controllable for special effects. NandoBeam 302 uses 19 RGBW 15W Osram light sources coupled with an ultra fast 8° to 40° zoom (beam angle). An innovative and advanced optical system allows bright, very concentrated beams to travel far and wide, with deep and colourful wash capacity, says the company.

The WildBeam 30

Germany - Music Group, the parent company of Behringer, Midas, Klark-Teknik, Turbosound and Bugera, will showcase their ever-expanding line-up of high-performance audio products at this year's Prolight + Sound Show, held 10-13 April in Frankfurt.

The Music Group booth in Hall 8.0 M90 will showcase products from Midas, Klark-Teknik and Behringer, including the latter's Eurocom installed sound products. With the main focus on digital mixing, Behringer will present the latest additions to its growing X32 product family plus the new iX16 iPad mixer, while Midas will have their full PRO li

USA - DPA Microphones will introduce the d:facto II Vocal Microphone at NAB 2013 (Booth C3036) next month. With a true studio sound that's perfect for live music broadcasting, this latest addition to the d:facto line offers an extraordinarily natural sound with high separation and extreme SPL handling, giving users unlimited possibilities for their performances, says the company. In addition to use with the new DPA wired handle, the d:facto II provides the added benefit of a state-of-the-art adapter system, which allows for seamless integration with many professional wireless systems.

USA - A.C. Lighting Inc. will be showcasing a range of the latest entertainment technology innovations from a selection of the leading brands which it distributes in North America, including products from Chroma-Q, Jands, ArKaos, LedGo and Prolyte - at the 2013 USITT Stage Expo held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Showing exclusively at A.C. Lighting Inc.'s booth is Chroma-Q's popular Color Force range of RGBA LED fixtures.

Providing power across the spectrum, from deep cold blues to red hot lava looks, the Color Force range utilizes Chroma-Q's advanced ColorSure™ technology to give y

UK - The Royal Armouries at Leeds is the venue for the first ever Riggers' Forum to be held outside of London on Tuesday 30 April. Building on the success of the Riggers' Forum held at Earls Court in 2012, PLASA Events will host the Forum alongside the consistently popular PLASA Focus: Leeds trade show event.

The Forum will provide a unique opportunity for members of the rigging community to discuss all things rigging and to exchange their views and experiences of the industry. The Forum will open at 2pm with a short presentation entitled The Dunning Kruger Effect - The Dangers of

Germany - Fohhn Audio is now shipping its new LX-220 high performance hybrid line source system, the latest addition to its popular Linea Series. The 2.2m, four-way loudspeaker has been specially developed to provide the best possible sound quality for speech and live music applications in challenging acoustic environments where visual integration is also a requirement.

The LX-220 is equipped with 18 x 4" high performance, long excursion, neodymium speakers arranged in a column, plus three 1" compression drivers with horn loaded Fohhn Waveguide system and self-resetting Inte

Germany - At Prolight and Sound 2013, ShowTex will demonstrate its collection of stage and cinema screens for front, rear, or twin projection as well as the enhanced HiSpeed Roll Up hardware system for fast screen motion. The company also specialises in panoramic glassless mirrors, giant mirrors, and projection foils for glow-in-the-dark fabric effects and glasslike inflatables. ShowTex will also present its improved EasyDrape system in Frankfurt.

The new EasyDrape now features a versatile coupler and telescopic horizontal drape supports with double Velcro. The flexible couplers make

Germany - Studiomaster is showing several new and re-engineered / restyled product ranges at Musikmesse. Two major new product series at the show are the complete new Horizon mixer range, comprising two self powered and two passive variants of this major new design, and the Starlight integrated sound and lighting speaker cabinets.

A star attraction at NAMM in January, the Starlight sound and lighting cabinet is billed as "a world first, fully integrating FOH and monitor sound and stage lighting within a pair of portable trapezoidal PA cabinets". Comprising two stand or pole

UK - Following the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement between Technical Sales Services and Edge-Safe, Technical Stage Services confirm that they are exhibiting at this year's PLASA Focus.

The agreement, which sees TSS handling all sales of Edge-Safe into the UK and ROI, is a major development in Technical Stage Services continued growth.

Managing director of Technical Stage Services Dan Dawson comments, "Edge-Safe provides a huge breakthrough in stage safety by virtually eliminating the risk posed from an unguarded edge of stage or raised platform. The product fits

UK / Sweden - Working in collaboration with the production team at this year's Eurovision Song Contest, PLASA is pleased to announce plans for a unique event: PLASA Focus: Backstage Malmö, taking place on 7-8 May, one week prior to Eurovision's live broadcasts, in Malmö, Sweden.

As one of the world's most-watched live music productions, attracting in excess of 100m television viewers each year, the Eurovision Song Contest has become a major annual showcase for the technologies at the cutting edge of the show production industry.

This year's Eurovision Song Contest, produced by the

UK - Black Light's 2013 Open Day saw over 200 people and over 30 companies come together for a very successful trade show. The annual event, which took place on the 15th of March, was also an opportunity to celebrate the success of Black Light, which was founded by Gavin Stewart thirty years ago.

"The Open Day went really well," said Black Light's Head of Company Development, Phil Haldane. "We got more people through the door than ever before, had an excellent range of exhibitors, met lots of old friends and said hello to many new faces."

The Open Day was an oppo

UK - ShowTex will be exhibiting at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 to demonstrate its collection of stage and cinema screens for front, rear, or twin projection as well as the enhanced HiSpeed Roll Up hardware system for fast screen motion. The company also specialises in panoramic glassless mirrors, giant mirrors, and projection foils for glow-in-the-dark fabric effects and glasslike inflatables. ShowTex will also present its improved EasyDrape system in Leeds.

The new EasyDrape now features a versatile coupler and telescopic horizontal drape supports with double Velcro. The flexible coupler

UK - Martin Professional invites lighting professionals to PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 to be the first in the UK to get an up-close look at the newest members of the award-winning MAC Viper Family, as well as the first fixtures in an all-new Martin product range - RUSH - light in the fast lane!

Join Martin 30 April 30th to 1 May at the Royal Armouries in Leeds where visitors can check out these latest technologies, network with industry professionals and enjoy a relaxing chat with Martin personnel at Booth N-E16.

A host of other new Martin products will also feature: MAC III series lumi

Germany - Prolight+Sound will see Philips Entertainment lighting's recently-launched brand, Showline, exhibit five of its powerful, already in demand, new luminaires designed specifically for the entertainment and touring market.

The vibrant range of luminaires can be found in Hall 11, Stand D73 and includes Philips Showline's 4-foot SL BAR 640 and 6-foot SL BAR 660 linear wash luminaires. Both deliver exceptional light output and can be used as a wash or as a direct-view linear bar.

Joining them will be the SL BAR 520 - a two-foot RGBW linear wash luminaire that produces over 8000

UK - Le Maitre is launching two new machines at this year's PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013.

Le Maitre's HazeMaster is their most advanced and powerful hazer yet. With its massive output capacity, high power variable fan and low power consumption, it really is a class act. Add to that the rugged construction and you have a true professional hazer engineered to withstand the rigours of the road when on tour.

Le Maitre have taken all their experience from HazeMaster's predecessors, the renowned Stadium Hazer and the MVS Hazer, and designed a completely new machine with a host of new features

UK - Due to be a highlight of PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013, JoeCo's latest software update for the award-winning BlackBox brings several new features and enhancements to the multi-channel live audio recorder/player series.

With version 2.2.7x, both the BlackBox Recorder and the BlackBox Player now support the replay of polyphonic wav files, from multiple stereo files up to 24 or even 64 channel PolyWAV files. Mono, stereo and multichannel files can even be used together in the same song massively enhancing the system's flexibility.

JoeCo's iXML plug-in also enables PolyWAV files to be re

Germany - Philips Vari-Lite is offering visitors to Prolight+Sound Frankfurt the opportunity to experience first -hand the creative potential of the extremely bright output of the new VL3015, VL3015LT and VL3515 luminaires.

Also on show will be the newly released software for the popular VLX Wash luminaire. This enables individual cell control of the seven powerful 120W RGBW LED light engines inside. Sparked by the success seen in the VLX3 Wash, the software update is applicable for all existing VLX fixtures and now gives lighting designers the creative freedom to deliver stunning mul

UK - Audio legend Tony Andrews is to deliver the closing session of the Professional Development Programme on the final day of PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 on Wednesday 1 May.

It's About Time. That's the bold declaration posed by the founder of both Turbosound and Funktion-One, Tony Andrews as he rounds off the Professional Development Programme in style on Wednesday afternoon at 3.35pm. One of pro audio's true originals, Tony has spent a lifetime creating ground-breaking loudspeaker systems for the live entertainment industry. A genuine pioneer who has never chosen to take the easy

UK - MilTec (UK) Ltd will use the PLASA Focus show to unveil their new British made speakers and miniature LED screen to the UK entertainment industry.

David Faulkes, sales director commented: "We didn't want to spend any more money shipping boxes filled with air from China to the UK and decided to spend it on components and materials instead."

The new Blakite range of speakers will replace the highly successful TP range which has been a standard fixture in clubs, bars, schools and rental companies for the previous three years. A compact stage wedge fitted with concentric

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