Russia - A major street festival in the north-western Russian city of Petrozavodsk attracted some 10,000 people to its main stage last month, with lighting controlled by an ETC Cobalt 20 desk.

The main stage is the central point of the annual Petrozavodsk City Festival, which celebrates the anniversary of the city's founding. This year was extra special, because it commemorated the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the city from Finnish armed forces. Large crowds gathered to watch live music and entertainment, including local dance acts, orchestra ensembles, and the headliner, Bra

Belgium - Belgian celebrity and TV host Marcel Vanthilt took his popular summer 'pop-up' magazine show concept to two cities this year - Roeselare and Knokke-Heist - both of which staged Hotel M for a number of weeks throughout the summer.

An elaborate Hotel M set designed by Piece Montée was constructed as the studio facility and backdrop to the daily magazine programme broadcast on national TV channel EEN, concluding each evening with a live music performance.

Lighting for the stage area on the set comprised 35 x Robe Robin LEDWash 300s.

These were specified by the

USA - The Denver Centre for the Performing Arts (DCPA) has selected the RC4Magic Series 3 Wireless DMX and Dimming System to enhance their wireless needs.

When looking at the technical needs for the Theatre Company's upcoming re-imagined production of The Unsinkable Molly Brown, (featuring lighting design by Don Holder), DCPA lighting director Charles MacLeod knew the DCPA would need to expand their wireless DMX and dimming capabilities.

The Denver Centre for the Performing Arts was an early adopter of wireless DMX technology with RC4's rack mounted systems in the 90's and th

China - The latest addition to PR Lighting's burgeoning XLED LED range is the new XLED 2007 Beam. This uses the Osram Ostar (LE RTDUW S2W), rated at 15W each, with 4 in 1 LED colour mixing. Each fixture houses seven of these light sources, rated at 50,000 hours lamp life, and with power consumption of just 120W and 220V. It also weighs just 4.36kg.

These form the core of a fully featured fixture which offers pixel control in the form of 2-2-2-1 and the head movement of 720° (pan) or endless, and 270° (tilt) or endless with a Pan / Tilt Swap and Invert Function, Auto-position c

USA - Quil Ceda Creek Casino, located on the Tulalip Indian Reservation north of Seattle, had one overriding requirement for Agility AVL for the lighting and video package in their new Qzone entertainment venue - make it high tech. And that they did, installing an Elation Professional EZ4 LED video screen along with Elation Platinum Spot LED II moving heads and EPAR Series LED fixtures.

Opened in April 2014, Qzone is a new multi-purpose venue that functions as sports bar, café and music venue and even holds corporate meetings from time to time. The space, which originally start

The Netherlands - The Theater Markant in Uden, Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands is a busy producing and receiving theatre run by the city, which also has an integral but independently run event space that is equally active ... and has recently been refurbished.

This has included a full technical upgrade - for which the lighting elements were supplied by Controllux.

The new lighting rig was designed by Controllux's Kuno Van Velzen and includes Robe's Actor LED fixtures, LEDWash 300s, LEDWash 600s and LEDBeam 100 moving lights - all from Robe's Robin series - together with Robe LEDForce

UK - Britain's longest continuously-running game show, Question of Sport, is back for another series. Remarkably it was aired for the first time in 1968 and is still considered prime time TV. Having run almost uninterrupted since 1970 they have filmed over 1000 episodes.

Each week two teams of sports stars, headed up by resident team captains Phil Tufnell and Matt Dawson, battle it out in numerous topical rounds which include Picture Round, Home or Away, What Happened Next and On the Buzzer.

LD Roger Williams continues to light the show. Richard Martin Lighting (RML) have bee

USA - The Grateful Dead maintain a following that's as large and passionate as ever 49 years after the band's founding. This devotion was on full display at Gathering of the Vibes, an annual festival celebrating the iconic band, which this year featured performances by Widespread Panic, Umphrey's McGee and John Fogerty, among others, including the 'Dead' tribute band Dark Star Orchestra, all performing on a stage illuminated with a rainbow of colours that would have done Jerry Garcia proud, courtesy of moving fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

One of the most successful tribute bands

USA - The Behind the Scenes Happy Hour, hosted by PLASA will go on sale to the public on 2 September 2014. The biggest pre-LDI party of the year will take place on Thursday, 20 November, from 6pm-8pm at the Westgate Las Vegas (formerly The Las Vegas Hotel). Tickets are $50 each and includes an open bar, hors d'oeuvres and music and all proceeds go to benefit the Behind the Scenes charity, the only industry charity that provides grants to ill or injured entertainment technician professionals. $30 of each ticket is tax deductible, and tickets are expected to sell quickly.

Starting 2 Sep

USA - Over 100 Robe moving lights made a serious impact as part of Tom Kenny's lighting design for the 2014 Teen Choice Awards (TCA). The show, produced by Bob Bain, Greg Sils and Paul Flattery was staged at the Shrine Auditorium, adjacent to the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles, California.

The prominent event honoured the best teen movies, music, fashion and (new this year), web stars, and attracted many rising young stars and celebrities. This year's presenters included Modern Family's Sarah Hyland and Teen Wolf's Tyler Posey, and a staggering 1

USA - With more number one hits over the past 20 years than any other artist in Latin Music, Mexican crooner Marco Antonio Solis has earned the appellation "living legend" throughout the Americas, both South and North. A key reason for his enduring popularity can be found in the heartfelt connection he establishes with audiences. This emotional link was very much supported by LD Oscar "El Bro" Florez's lighting design for Solis' current tour, which features 16 Chauvet Professional Nexus 4x4 panels supplied by Visions Lighting of Brea, CA.

"It was very nice to

Germany - As one of Europe's most important institutes of higher education, as well as one of the world's leading research-based universities, the University of Bonn holds Bonner Wissenschaftsnacht or Science Night Bonn biennially in cooperation with the City of Bonn. The goal of the special science-themed evening, held this year in late May, is to give the scientific institutions of Bonn as well as the University the chance to present themselves while highlighting their research and teaching.

In order to best illustrate this year's Science Night slogan, which was

South Africa - Carol Thorns and her special bubble, a clear glass-like luminescent sphere attached to a glowing stage base, created a magical contribution to the Slots Factor media launch, hosted at 3 Sixty° Liquid Lounge at Montecasino. MJ Event Gear used Robe Robin fixtures to enhance the lighting already in the venue.

The Slots Factor is Tsogo Sun's annual national championship takes place across all 14 of its casinos with R1.8m in prize money up for grabs.

Theo Roodt from MJ Event Gear and his team added six Robin 100 LED Beams, eight Robin 600 LED Wash fixtures and two Robi

UK - London's Wilton's Music Hall welcomeded brother and sister folk-pop duo Angus and Julia Stone for a pair of sold out shows, featuring LD Toby Hoggarth controlling lights from an Avolites Titan Mobile and Fader Wing.

The Stone siblings, hailing from Australia, delivered a powerful and emotive set that, when paired with Hoggarth's intense imagining of Ed Warren's design, entranced an audience that at times fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

"The design for the show was very theatrical," says Hoggarth, "All the lights that we used on the show were mounted on

USA - Like many houses of worship, Shri Krishna Vrundavana serves its members in a wide variety of ways. The faithful gather at its spacious 3.5-acre campus, which is located 33 miles from New York City, for the Puja prayer ritual, services, holy festivals and meditation as well as more secular events.

Given the multi-faceted role the temple plays in its community, its leaders wanted a versatile lighting system that could adapt to their diverse needs. That's exactly what LD Jason Ayala of Jason Blends (New York) provided them with, drawing on the flexibility of the COLORado Batten 72

The Netherlands - Bwefar, a busy lighting rental company based in Zwolle, The Netherlands, is headed by the charismatic Akim Bwefar and specialises in the design and supply of lighting for automotive shows all over the world - although they also engage in lighting other types of events as well.

Akim is known for his expansive character and his enthusiastic approach to life and business! He has followed the development of the Robe brand right from the beginning - when Robe was originally a quality OEM manufacturer - and before 'Robe' was officially launched in 2002 and started blazing

USA - San Antonio's new Tobin Centre for the Performing Arts will open in September with a complement of Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800 fixtures dedicated to both the H-E-B Performance Hall and the Carlos Alvarez Studio Theatre.

Rising behind the façade of the former San Antonio Municipal Auditorium along downtown's famed River Walk, the 1,750-seat multi-purpose venue will be the home of the San Antonio Symphony and other resident companies. It also plans to offer a diverse array of entertainment from comedy legend Bill Cosby and radio icon Garrison Keillor and The Prairie Home Comp

UK - Blitz Communications recently made the decision to purchase a substantial number of the new Clay Paky Glow-Ups. Andy Mahaffey, head of lighting at Blitz's Elstree headquarters, says: "It's true that Blitz have owned Wireless LED uplighters for a good few years; our existing stock from another manufacturer was starting to come to the end of its life. Although still a good product, I felt that the LED market had progressed in leaps and bounds over the last few years so the decision was made to shop around rather than just replace.

"Knowing both Glyn O'Donoghue (MD) and Le

Germany - Adel Salah Mahmoud Eid El-Tawil, or Adel Tawil for short, is a successful musician, songwriter and producer. He became famous thanks to his work with bands such as The Boyz and Ich + Ich.

For his current tour, Bertil Mark (art director), JoJo Tilmann (image director) and Justus Molthan (lighting director), who together form LesUrbanProgressives, relied on 25 Clay Paky Sharpy Beams and 16 Sharpy Washes, two full-size grandMA2 consoles, one grandMA2 light, two grandMA2 fader wings and four Network Processing Units (NPUs), all made by MA Lighting.

Justus Molthan, who took par

Trinidad - Michael Pereira of Trinidad & Tobago based creative design and engineering practice Streamline Systems enthusiastically specified Robe and Anolis lighting fixtures for a new installation at the landmark night destination Club India Nex 5.0HD in Chaguanas, Trinidad.

This was an integral element of a major refurbishment and technical upgrade to the 800 capacity club which has enjoyed great success and a high profile over the last five years. The owner wanted a fresh new look to ensure they keep at the forefront of trend-setting on the island.

Pereira chose 10 Robin LEDBeam

UK - Colchester-based Illuminate Design are delighted to welcome Ken Berreen to the company in the role of technical sales manager. As Illuminate continues to grow its business, Ken brings a wealth of experience to the company to allow it to further develop into new sectors and markets.

Building on its core strengths, Illuminate Design has recently made significant developments within the hire market in East Anglia, as well as the maintenance and installation work that has been part of the brand for a number years.

Ben Payne, director of Illuminate Design commented: "We are del

South Africa - The Rivers Church in Sandton recently purchased 26 Robe Robin 100 LEDBeams wanting a discreet fixture that could be used for effect and mood lighting. Rivers is part of the Hillsong Family and the church is active with worship services, various projects and seminars and community outreaches.

"There are many reasons why we chose these fixtures," explained Edward Helliwell, head of lighting, "but the main reason is that they are incredibly punchy, small in size but big in effect. They respond well to commands and the pre-programmed effects in them make it e

USA - The demands that a large musical variety show can place on a lighting rig are great so when Smoky Mountain Opry in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, sought to replace their aging lighting rig they turned to the versatility and reliability of Elation Platinum Spot 15R Pro and Platinum Wash ZFX Pro luminaires to provide the dynamic color and effect needed to support the high-energy two-hour spectacle.

Featuring a variety of music that spans from rock n' roll to gospel, as well as dancing, aerialists, comedy, magic and more, Smoky Mountain Opry includes something for everybody and the light

Denmark - In the spirit of the current Ice Bucket Challenge craze that has swept the world, SGM has handed down a challenge to its closest competitors to submit their automated lighting fixtures to the ultimate 'soak test' - all in aid of charity.

They have invited Martin Professional, Clay Paky and Vari-Lite to participate alongside their own G-Spot, the world's first waterproof moving head.

The Ice Bucket Challenge is an activity that generally involves dumping a bucket of ice water on someone's head to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and encou

Latest Issue. . .