USA - Tesla vehicles recently served as the centrepiece of a colourful light and sound ‘rodeo’ show.
It was all part of Cyber Rodeo, a signature event for 15,000 guests celebrating the opening of Tesla’s new 10 million square feet Giga plant outside the Texas capital of Austin. Rob Ross and the team at Rob Ross Design created the visual by lighting 25 unpainted Tesla vehicles in an array of vibrant colours to coordinate with a thematic soundscape developed by the Tesla media team.
The collaboration resulted in a 10-minute music and light show that captivated visitors at the ceremony. “We called this the ‘Body in White’ section,” says Ross. “It was one of my favourite points in the event. Seeing these vehicles accented by different colours and patterns in coordination with the music was a lot of fun, and it conveyed a nice upbeat mood.”
There were plenty of other impressive visuals at the event, as Ross and his team, working with their Tesla counterparts, transformed the sprawling facility into a visual wonderland. At the heart of their design was a 2,000ft long tour through the cavernous plant’s production area lined with robots, sensors, casting space, and a collection of exotic looking equipment.
Ross’ design made the space come alive through changing colours and light angles, while at the same time using brightness and shadows to accentuate distinctive architectural features. “We were very happy with how this turned out,” he said. “A lot of credit goes to my team: Aidan Marshall, Jiajing Qi, Dan Schreckengost,

USA - Verge Aero’s military-grade drones were out in force as the annual Thunder Over Evans event complemented a massive firework show with drone displays to salute America’s service members.
Thousands of families and service personnel travelled to the Towne Centre Park in Evans, Georgia to witness the celebrations, as the Verge Aero team coordinated 180 drones to complement the pyrotechnics and fireworks.
The drones were programmed to deliver sky-high messaging, spelling out a massive ‘U-S-A’ and morphing into precision-animated 3D volumetric shapes, which displayed the Stars and Stripes and military crests, as well as patriotic patterns of red, white and blue.
It was the second consecutive year that Verge Aero was commissioned to deliver the drone event for Thunder Over Evans, following a pandemic pause in events in 2020. Last year, Verge Aero delivered a crowd-pleaser success that “took our event to a level that we couldn't even imagine” according to event organiser Shane Thompson.
Following this year’s event, Thompson commented: “We’ve put on Thunder Over Evans, our city-wide military appreciation event, for 15 years. We hit a wall for our ability to ‘wow’ our attendees in regard to our music and fireworks. We then met the guys at Verge Aero. The effort that they put into our show creates an experience that we now cannot go without.
"Verge Aero is the best at what it does, and their team is able to translate our love for country with a breath-taking show that evokes emotion to all who attend

France - Twenty of Robe’s Forte moving lights are a key feature of a new lighting design by Maxime Chotard for Mousquetaire de Richelieu (Richelieu’s Musketeer), one of the flagship shows at Puy du Fou, a historical theme park in Les Epesses in the Pays de la Loire region of Western France.
These have now been joined by 22 x Robe Esprites which were chosen as a complement to Robe’s highest-powered LED moving light.
The show, staged in Le Grand Carrousel Hall, a 6,000sq.m equestrian theatre with seating for 3000, combines sword fights, poetic tirades, equestrian prowess, costumes, moving sets and spectacular special effects that immerse visitors in a swashbuckling mid-17th century tale that unfolds on a massive purpose-built stage. The 74m wide by 45m deep performance space is equipped with - among other things - the world’s largest stage curtain.
Maxime, who is site-wide head of lighting responsible for the whole park, recently oversaw a substantial lighting upgrade designed to bring a new “visual coherence” to the performance and to enable transition to more energy efficient light sources over the next three years, simultaneously reducing the show’s long-term operating costs and maintenance.
Maxime’s first criteria for adding any new lighting fixtures was that they must be high powered as well as an LED luminaire.
Since the first performance of Mousquetaire de Richelieu in 2006, the show has undergone numerous technical changes and lighting alterations, without ever being completely redesigned.

USA - More than 5,250 graduates celebrated commencement at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville under a lighting system donated from Bandit Lites. The ceremonies took place over three days at Thompson-Boling Arena and consisted of graduates from 45 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico and 23 countries.
Bandit donated a flown truss lighting system that included motors, trussing, lights, and draping. The system featured 140 fixtures including Vari-Lite 3000 Spots, GRNLite LED moving head washes, Chauvet ColorDash Batten Quad-12, Chauvet ColorDash Blocks and Thomas 9-lite DWE moles.
“As a graduate of UT, as well as serving on multiple boards for many years, it is an honour and pleasure to give back and turn this proud day into a great experience,” says Bandit chair Michael T. Strickland. “The best and the brightest walk across that stage and take their place as the next generation of leaders in our world.”
VL 3000 Spots illuminated the sign language interpreter, announcer, and orchestra while the remaining ones projected the Power-T and gobo patters along Bandit’s white Spandex backdrop. Bandit’s GRNLite moving washes supplied the upstage, downstage and ramp washes.
“This year, we added more to cover extra areas where the graduates wait to have their name called on camera; streaming live to video screens in the arena,” said Bandit Lites project manager Giff Swart.
ColorDash Battens were used to up-light draping while the ColorDash Blocks were used to up-light on stage greenery. Thomas 9-lite DWE moles were hung on th

Germany - Anolis LED lighting has been installed to illuminate Dark Matter, a new exhibition space in Berlin showcasing the creative work and technical innovation of light artist Christopher Bauder from WHITEVoid.
Dark Matter is contained in seven pitch-black rooms within three purpose-built buildings on the site of a converted factory in the lively Lichtenberg (Light Mountain) area of the city. The experience opened during the pandemic and has fast become a runaway success for light and interactive art lovers.
When it came to highlighting and illuminating the exterior of Dark Matter, Christopher, and his team - including technical lead Marc Liebold and site manager Natalie Heckl - turned to architectural lighting brand Anolis to provide the lumens, colours and aura of magical transformation that brings the buildings, gardens and surrounding industrial architecture to life after dusk.
The site’s features include some spectacular gas and heating pipes running from the neighbouring Vattenfall Power Station which traverse Dark Matter’s outdoor areas and also provide a heating feed, so visitors stay cosy in the winter.
The 16 Anolis Divine 160 RGBW LED floods, 30 Eminere 4s and 10 Eminere 4 Ingrounds were chosen for their power, quality of light and colour mixing, and all of them were supplied via Robe Germany.
“We needed numerous different lens options,” comments Marc, “and this variability was another reason for choosing Anolis together with the insane output and lens power.”
Eight of the Di

UK - At this year’s PLASA Focus Leeds, TechLED presented new products from Abstract Lighting, aimed at installers or rental companies who require affordable LED lighting solutions.
The showcase included Abstract’s IP20-rated, RBGW LED lighting system Candi Blox. Manufactured in the UK, the 200mm x 192mm unit features a five-by-five array of multi-chip LEDs configured as a central array of 25 LEDs, with an edge halo effect surround achieved through 20 additional LEDs. Lens options include 10°,15° and 40°, as well as an opal diffused option. The fixture can also be truss- or surface-mounted. Candi Blox is connected via four-pin XLR and operated via Duplicator 4, Duplicator 6, or even a proprietary smartphone or desktop app. The Blox draw just 5V for a 15W output.
Abstract’s Candi Bar packages up to six Candi Blox together as a standalone fixture taking the six-way unit to a height of 2m. Candi Bar is a versatile fixture, suitable for a live stage, television, bars and clubs and mobile DJs.
Complementing the Candi Bar, Abstract’s XLite Pro is a freestanding, two-metre-high, LED lighting system which exudes a beautifully blended peripheral light. High-performance mix-at-source multi-chip RGBW LEDs pitched at 14.2mm are housed within precision-engineered aluminium covered with a 160° frost lens to create a diffused 300-lumen glow. IP20-rated and connected via 4 pin XLR, the XLite Pro is operated via its own remote control or proprietary smartphone app and Amazon’s Alexa.

Sweden - Green Wall Designs, a Sweden-based company that creates visuals, sets, and lighting designs for stage performances, TV, and events, were responsible for lighting the national song contest that decided who would be the winning group to participate in the Eurovision. The event was held on 22 April at the Avicii Arena in Stockholm.
“We used a total of 103 Prolights SunBlast 3000FC in the main rig, and an additional eight units during the finals,” said the team at Green Wall designs. “They were a big part of the show, we used them in almost every song and they were crucial to the Melodifestivalen 2022 look. Their brightness combined with the option to use all 48 cells pixel mapped individually enabled us to use them in different ways depending on the song's mood and feeling.
“All from brutal bursts controlled by the lighting console to detailed twinkles played from the media server. We also used them to extend the video content from the screens and led strips into the lighting rig.”
During the pre-production trials, the Green Wall Designs team contacted Calle Brattberg from Gobo A/S, the Swedish distributor of Prolights, who worked along with the manufacturer to create a new software mode tailored to this application.
“We requested a mode that would fit what we were doing, that was sort of good at everything. We wanted to use a basic colour strobe with the effects generator and background colour but also use all 48 zones in 16-bit. This made it possible to quickly programme strobes and bursts with relatively few fixtures, whil

France - The world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean International’s Wonder of the Seas will have four Robe RoboSpot systems installed in its 1,600-seat capacity Main Theatre, and two more in Studio B, which is the Royal Caribbean ice rink.
The four RoboSpot BaseStations in the Main Theatre will be controlling eight Forte moving lights from Robe, each running in conjunction with four motion cameras. Meanwhile, the two BaseStations in the ice rink will be used with four Esprite LED Profiles.
This installation builds on the success of RoboSpots installed as a remote follow spotting solution in the Two70 venue aboard Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas, which commenced service in 2021.
The Wonder Main Theatre show will be an all-singing, all-dancing Broadway-style production, complete with aerialists, drones, and complex automated scenery, with lighting designed by Rui Rita.
Project managing the vessel’s show lighting installations for Royal Caribbean was Ben Couling, who worked closely on Wonder of the Seas with Gaëtan Mornet of cruise AV integration specialist, Videlio-HMS from St. Nazaire which completed the installation.
The relationship between Royal Caribbean and Robe started when Miami-based Christopher Vlassopulos, Royal Caribbean’s sound, light, and AV systems manager for new build projects, and Amir El Yordi from Control AV Miami visited the Robe booth at LDI 2019, whilst Odyssey was already under construction.
For the Wonder Main Theatre, the RoboSpot BaseStations and operators are concealed from view on

UK - Bristol-based event supplier Enlightened has recently invested in a stock of Ayrton Perseo Profile IP65-rated fixtures to service its busy schedule.
Enlightened specialises in full production services, supported dry hire, design, and delivery of permanent installations, as well as sales, skilled repairs and maintenance to a diverse range of clients and venues.
“Corporate and private parties and events, large outdoor events in winter, festivals in the summer, installation, sales - basically, we do everything for everyone!” says head of hire and production, Dave Thorpe. “Bristol is a good hub for small to medium companies to which, along with many small companies and theatres all over the country, we cross hire equipment. We therefore make a point of only investing in the very latest in top quality entertainment technology.”
Enlightened’s diverse fields of operation demanded a fixture that could also do ‘everything for everyone’. “When we make new investments, we look for a product that will fit into at least two markets,” explains Thorpe, “and that is exactly what happened with Perseo. On the one hand, it is a waterproof fixture but equally capable of working in a theatre environment; I also know that it will fit into any rock and roll or festival stage that we will do in the summer, and will happily sit outside at one of the large scale events we supply for the winter.
“We have a regular client in Scotland who will have a consignment of Perseo in operation from mid-October to January and I know the fixture will be fi

UK - When Dean Graves and the team at Bigabox Productions added the new Chauvet Professional Color STRIKE M to their inventory earlier this year, they had some definite ideas on how they were going to use the motorised strobe/wash to enhance their clients’ shows.
“We took on this fixture, because we were super impressed with its output, functionality, and IP rating,” said Graves, adding that the later feature was especially important given the number of outdoor festivals that rely on Bigabox supplied stages. “Aside from the fixture’s ROI potential, we were quite impressed with the kinds of looks designers could create with it. In our minds we could see it being sensational at big outdoor shows.”
Graves’ vision came to fruition in April when lighting designer Michael Seeverens of TwofiftyK used 12 of the high output fixtures to create dazzling visuals for Armin van Buuren in the Dutch trance master’s show at Wembley Stadium.
Joining 30 STRIKE 1 fixtures and a collection of 24 Rogue R3 units, the Color STRIKE M luminaires gave Seeverens a versatile and powerful creative tool chest, which he took full advantage of to transform the stage into a glowing, multi-faceted light box that captivated the sold-out crowd.
Built around a large illuminated geometric structure that was accentuated with voluminous overhead light, the design pulled the crowd ever deeper into a matrix of colour and brightness. All the while, it never strayed from making the renowned artist on stage the centre of attention during the show, which was produced by Two

UK - For the recent Genesis tour The Last Domino?, Roland Greil, co-lighting designer with show designer Patrick Woodroffe of Woodroffe Bassett Designs, chose five MDG theONE dual haze and fog generators, citing the need for an excellent canvas of haze on which to paint their lighting design for this iconic band’s potentially last tour (see LSi May 2022 for an in-depth report on the production).
Thoughout its history, Genesis has built a reputation for pushing boundaries with its show designs. The visual impact is a crucial, signature part of the band’s shows and a feature that Greil and Woodroffe were keen to maintain. Their show and lighting design incorporated homages to the band’s history, reflecting looks from past tours, whilst simultaneously bringing the visuals into the 21st century to create an unforgettable experience for the audiences.
“It’s very important to have even haze for a show because we rely on it so much to show the beams and the lighting,” says Greil. “theONE has been one of my favourite haze/fog products for years. We’ve used it for Adele, Phil Collins, Rammstein, etc. It is especially good for its haze. There is not really a comparable product out there at all that can create an even haze - or even a real haze - that’s not just a version of smoke or fog.
“theONE is also good from a touri

UK - Boutique hotel The Londoner located in the heart of London’s Leicester Square, with six of its 16 storeys extending over 30m underground. The Londoner combines aspects of a luxury boutique hotel with a range of bespoke meetings and events spaces.
Its award-winning AV installation was designed, supplied and installed by Visual Systems (part of the Myriad Audio Visual Group and CP Partnership), with Arup acting as consultants for the client.
To equip the hotel’s ballroom - the largest pillarless ballroom in London's West End - Visual Systems turned to the Martin by Harman lighting catalogue for a lighting system, featuring Martin ERA Series, MAC Aura Series and ELP Series. All Martin products were supplied by Martin’s UK distributor Sound Technology.
“We’ve operated in the hospitality sector for over 35 years, but this is by far and away the most impressive of projects.” comments Ray Sappal, project director, Visual Systems. “The client wanted a state-of-the-art facility. They wanted the AV to be discrete with the latest Audio-Visual hardware available. They also wanted the ballroom to be the best in the country.”
The 6,092sq.ft ballroom, with a maximum capacity of 850, is a multifunctional space for all types of events including launch parties, conferences, award ceremonies and weddings.
The installed event lighting system features an all-LED line-up of 30 Martin ERA 400 Performance moving heads, 20 MAC Aura XB washes and four Martin ELP CL Ellipsoidal profiles.
“We looked at various manufacturers on bot

UK - Andrew Cushin, Beabadoobee, James Bay, Digga D and the Reytons are among the first acts confirmed for Electric Group’s NX Newcastle, which opens in September.
Formerly an O2 Academy venue, NX Newcastle’s substantial refurbishment will equip it to bring the best out of live music, DJ sets and club nights, emulating Electric Group’s multi-purpose model at Electric Brixton and SWX Bristol.
Enhancing the customer and the performer experience is a crucial element in Electric Group CEO Dominic Madden’s plans for NX Newcastle, where he’s working with creative architectural practice Design At Source to improve sightlines and deliver a sense of intimacy on stage and front of house.
Dominic Madden comments: “While our vision for NX Newcastle fully respects the history of the venue, it’s about putting the artist and fan experience front and centre, closing the distance between them. Our plans really pull the audience in.”
Mike Weller, Electric Group’s head of music, who holds the diary for NX, adds: “With a new PA, new lighting, new screens and a lift to the stage for touring parties, which is a much-needed addition, this room is going to be ground-breaking production complete.
“Planning our first run of shows I’ve been having great conversations with senior agents and national promoters are already announcing dates. I’m looking forward to working closely with local promoters 456 and F54 too, they have a big part to play in the live programming of NX.
“Electric Group has committed to making NX Newcastle an

Czech Republic - Robe was a sponsor of the Nové Město na Moravě stage of the 2022 Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, where one of the toughest parts of the XCO (cross country) course was designated Rock ‘n’ Robe, and Robe’s new Show Truck concept - providing a fully mobile studio space / meeting hub / demo area / roof deck - was also a major success, attracting considerable excitement.
“It was great to be back with a full audience this year,” comments Robe’s international marketing manager, Pavel Nemec. “It gave us an opportunity to show our support for a fantastic sporting event, to have our branding visible everywhere and appreciate the performances of some of the best cycling athletes in the world, simultaneously demonstrating how our Show Truck can be provide a vibrant and practical event space, a public gallery and a VIP deck.”
Being involved in the event gave Robe the chance for prominent branding across national and international television and globally via the Red Bull livestream plus multiple social media channels, including those of the top riders from the 800 competitors who represented 37 countries.
It was the tenth time that Nové Město has hosted a stage of the UCI MTB World Cup, and the Czech course is well known for being one of the fastest, most ‘technical’ and difficult around the world. It is also a rider’s favourite and has been voted the ‘best XCO event’ nine times.
The 400m Rock ‘n’ Robe downhill section was filled with large boulders, rocks and other obstacles mak

USA - The DALI Alliance is strengthening its focus on the DALI-2 product certification programme, including D4i, after ending registration of DALI version-1 control gear.
DALI-2 certification builds confidence in the interoperability of DALI-based devices from different manufacturers. As a standardised platform, DALI-2 mitigates concerns around proprietary technologies and vendor lock-in, and enables futureproof luminaire and system designs for sustainable lighting.
Driven by the DALI Alliance and building on the requirements of the international IEC 62386 standard, DALI-2 certification requires rigorous product testing. The test results are independently verified by the DALI Alliance. In contrast, DALI version-1 testing was less detailed and relied on self-declaration, without requiring third-party verification of test results.
DALI-2 certification is now available for all control gear types in common use, including those for colour control and self-contained emergency lighting. DALI-2 also includes a broad range of additional features such as storage and reporting of luminaire, energy and diagnostics data.
“DALI-2 certification has matured sufficiently that we no longer see the need to offer a registration scheme for DALI version-1 control gear,” says Paul Drosihn, DALI Alliance general manager. “We encourage all users to look for the DALI-2 or D4i logos, which confirm that the product is certified by the DALI Alliance and is fully compliant with the relevant specifications.”
DALI version-1 registration was only available fo

France - Located only 30 minutes from Paris on a “farm at the end of the meadows,” as its website proclaims, Cabaret Du Bout Des Près transports visitors to another world, beyond the reach of the hustle and bustle of the city, where they can enjoy rustic French cuisine and fine wines in a relaxed setting, while taking in music and dance productions that represent the best of France’s can-can tradition.
The original stone walls and exposed beams of the converted 17th century stable where the cabaret revues are performed take guests back to an earlier, simpler era, while also providing an evocative backdrop to the contemporary and ebullient shows, making the experience at Cabaret Du Bout Des Près all the more memorable.
Enhancing the visual impact of this setting and providing the production teams behind the shows with broader and more powerful creative options is a new lighting system designed and installed by Tristan Mouget of Don’t Give Up that features a collection of over 60 Chauvet Professional fixtures.
Given that Cabaret Du Bout Des Près, employs professional singers, dancers and actors, in addition to creating its own choreography and costumes, the Don’t Give Up team was intent on outfitting this performance space with high quality LED theatrical lighting that offered realistic colour mixing and sharp focus, as well as quick, smooth movements.
This criteria let to the selection of the Chauvet Professional units. "Regarding the products we installed at the venue, Chauvet was the choice,” said Mouget. “The company is glob

UK - Alfresco Disco in Bristol is a group that organises roving rave music and art events. One recent event was staged inside a 3,000sq.m warehouse owned by event specialist Pytch.
The Pytch crew used 50 Chauvet Professional fixtures to light Alfresco Disco, which, true to the underground origins of the early rave clubs, only announced that it would be taking place at the site on the day of the event itself. Nevertheless over 2,500 ravers showed up.
When they did, they were instantly immersed in an ‘80s metro, subterranean vibe. The people from Pytch transformed the empty warehouse into a full-scale party venue in a mere two days. Central to infusing the creative energy of those incendiary early raves into the space was their creative use of eight Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWash fixtures, which were hung from trussing structures. Thanks to each fixture’s seven 45W RGBW LEDs coupled with the 12 pixel-mappable RGB LED ring, the team were able to create unique, redolent visual effects that transported ravers back to an earlier time.
With lead lighting designer Dan Giddings and lighting tech Luke Boast busking through performances by artists like Move D, DJ Gregory and Matisa, the designers drew upon the playful juxtaposition of the Outcast’s central light source and outer ring to create spontaneous and energetic visuals.
This interplay of looks succeeded in engaging the expectant crowd with the music and space combined fuse space, music and creativity. “The new Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWash fixtures were the talking point of the evening for anybody

USA - Drawn to Life, the first collaboration between Cirque du Soleil, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering, has opened in Disney Springs, Florida where Robert Juliat Dalis 860s take centre stage with an impressive 80 x 45ft cyclorama.
In Drawn to Life, the stage is transformed into a giant animation table where drawings come to life. The art of classic Disney animation is reinterpreted through Cirque du Soleil’s innovative design and costuming, mesmerising acrobatic performances and dazzling choreography and combined with all-new Disney animation and an original score. Drawn to Life is the new permanent show at Disney Springs, where the previous production from Cirque du Soleil ran for 18 years.
Montreal-based lighting designer Martin Labrecque is using 58 Dalis 860 300W LED asymmetric cyc/wall wash luminaires for the show. The fixtures deliver powerful, smooth coverage and a huge variety of pastel and saturated colours.
“I had used Robert Juliat Dalis LED footlights on an opera, but this was my first time using the Dalis cyclights,” says Labrecque. “I’m quite a fan of Robert Juliat equipment in general and was impressed by the footlights. But for Drawn to Life I had a giant cyc with two or more scenic layers in front of it to light and I had to get all the colours I wanted to use. The Dalis 860s are powerful and bright and the optics so good that I went all in with them. The cyc was the centrepiece of my design, and we built a top-notch rig around it.”
About half of the Dalis 860

UK - ETC has worked with BAFTA and the redevelopment of its home and headquarters in London. The revamped BAFTA 195 Piccadilly is now officially open again and will be the central hub for BAFTA’s UK-wide, and global, learning and talent development programme.
Technologically advanced equipment has been used in the redevelopment including ETC products which have been installed in the new theatres within the space. This includes several lighting fixtures – fos/4 Fresnels, Source Four LED Series 2 profiles and Irideon wash lights. Eos family consoles with network infrastructure including Response Mk2 DMX Gateways are also used to control the lighting, with a stage engineering package involving ETC’s Prodigy P2 hoists and QuickTouch Preset controls.
By improving facilities and doubling the building’s capacity, the redevelopment has enabled BAFTA to dramatically increase its charitable programme. 195 Piccadilly will be a creative centre for film, games and television. An independent arts charity, BAFTA works throughout the year to find and promote the next generation of talent and to break down the barriers that can make it hard to build careers in the creative industries.
BAFTA’s revamp of its headquarters also brings an expansion of its talent support programme. ETC fully supports BAFTA’s initiatives for encouraging new talent and is equally committed to building up the next generation of lighting professionals with programs that are specifically aimed at students such as the Fred Foster Student Mentorship Programme.
ETC regional sale

Italy - Broadcast live from Pala Alpitour in Turin, Eurovision 2022 featured 40 international artists and attracted more than 100m viewers globally.
The sound of Eurovision 2022 was designed by Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana and supported by Agorà Srl, the service company for audio, lighting, and video service, by De Amicis Wolfango and Vittorio brothers. The Shure Axient digital wireless system was selected to deliver audio throughout one of the largest live music events in the world.
Well-known artists Laura Pausini and Mika hosted the evening with Italian presenter Alessandro Cattelan. During the voting period to select the best Eurovision song, Mika performed some of his most famous music, including Love Today, Grace Kelly, and Happy Ending. He relied on a Shure ADX2FD Beta 58 handheld wireless microphone transmitter before announcing Ukrainian artists Kalush Orchestra as Eurovision’s 2022 winners.
Across Europe, the public also voted for British singer Sam Ryder, who earned second place, and the Spanish Channel, winning third place. Both performances depended on Shure ADX2FD handheld wireless microphone transmitters.
During the semifinals and the Grand Final of ESC on Saturday, all performances, interviews, artists, and viewers enjoyed audio delivered by Shure Axient Digital. Given the complex audio solutions necessitated by the scale of the event, organisers trusted Shure Axient Digital Wireless Systems to perform in even the most congested RF environments.
“Eurovision Song Contest is challenging, becau

UK - Collaborative Creations has announced three new appointments in key positions.
Nic Farman has joined the CC team as its new lighting designer & business development specialist. Farman was previously a freelance lighting designer and will now be continuing his lighting design work in theatres internationally, but under the CC banner.
Farman has more than 10 years of experience lighting musicals, theatre and opera. He has worked extensively in the UK’s West End, as well as on shows in Lebanon, Dubai, and Kuwait.
The appointment comes following two further additions to the team at Collaborative Creations in recent months. Chris West joined as training and education director in February, offering a wide range of in-person and e-learning training courses.
West’s previous role was Global Training Manager for disguise. He has also worked in training roles for MA Lighting, White Light, Martin and Avolites.
In December 2021, Collaborative Creations also appointed Tyler Holpin as business development specialist. Holpin’s previous role was sales manager at console manufacturer Zero 88
Collaborative Creations managing director Tom Wilkes comments, “We continue to add more strings to our bow with these three appointments. Nic, Chris and Tyler are all well-known faces in the industry who are at the very top of their game. They bring a huge amount of experience, a deep roster of contacts and a powerful set of skills to our clients and the industry at large.”

The Netherlands - The firmware for Infinity Chimp DMX consoles has reached version number 2.1. In this release, several new features have been added and some bugs have been fixed.
The latest software for the Infinity Chimp DMX consoles adds a number of new features, like the Virtual Strobe, which lets you create a virtual strobe function for fixtures that only have a dimmer channel and no shutter channel. It adds synchronised strobing as well as random strobe effects. Another new feature is the cue-only record option, which allows you to mark changes in a cue to be used for a certain cue only.
It is now also possible to import Reaper csv files, the MIDI and DMX inputs are freely configurable, new options have been added to the cue commands, and the Magic Sheets have been enhanced with more sheets, renaming, cue renumbering, and much more. A full list of improvements and bugfixes can be found in the release notes published on https://forum.highlite.com/thread-1297.html.

Hungary - Budapest’s Rumbach Street synagogue, designed by Viennese architect Otto Wagner and completed in 1872, has recently been restored to its original Moorish revival style exquisiteness and glory. It has re-opened to the public after decades of dereliction following a partial reconstruction in the late 1980s / early 1990s which ran out of funds, and this more recent effort which was finished during the pandemic.
In addition to being used for prayers and other spiritual activities, the main chamber (sanctuary) and other related spaces have been reimagined and kitted out with the latest technologies. AVL Trade was chosen to integrate a full lighting and AV system into the synagogue as the final detailing of the restoration project which has transformed the venue into a set of stunning modern event spaces for Hungarian Jewish umbrella organization, Mazsihisz.
AVL Trade’s Csaba Csanadi has worked on the project for over two years, the initial approach and invitation for the company to tender on the project came just as the pandemic was starting. For moving lights he specified a selection of Robe fixtures including 12 x T1 Profiles, 12 x Spiiders and 16 x LEDBeam 150s.
These luminaires were all selected for flexibility and because they fit nicely and neatly into the space, offering multiple options for the venue’s mix of activities.
The synagogue is tucked away in one of the narrow winding streets of Belvaros, the historical centre of Pest old town in the east of the Hungarian metropolis which is also a colourful party district. “I

USA - Lighting and visual designer Rob Ross of New York and LA based technical production company Rob Ross Design used over 500 Astera Titan Tubes to highlight architectural and industrial areas at Tesla’s new Gigafactory in Austin, Texas for the automotive giant’s recent facilities launch party, Cyber Rodeo.
Covering 2,500 acres along the Colorado River and offering over 10m sq.ft of factory floor, Gigafactory Texas is a manufacturing hub for Tesla Model Y and the future home of Cybertruck.
Rob and his team were asked onboard by the Cyber Rodeo event’s creative director Stefan Beckman and producer Mark Seed and tasked with designing a creative illumination scheme for the vast environmental spaces involved in the event, including interiors and the building exterior.
This epic mission saw close collaboration with LD Tom Sutherland and his team from DX7 Design who created lighting for Cyber Rodeo’s three stage and entertainment areas.
The enormous main space utilised for the event measured 3800 ft x 1200 ft and stretches the equivalent of seven city blocks.
Looking at photos, videos, walk-throughs, plans, and renders were useful for getting an impression explained Rob, but it wasn’t until he finally stood in the space for real during the first reccie … that he truly felt and understood its scale and enormity!
This was the first trigger for creating an atmosphere for guests to be engaged, impressed, and put in the mood to party by proactive lighting.
“We had a free rein to suggest ideas which was great fun,”