Belgium - Belgian commercial TV channel VTM (Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij) celebrated 25 years of success in a son et lumière spectacular staged on the beach at Nieuwpoort, which was attended by 17,000 people who were dazzled by the visual impact and audacity of the production.

Lighting was designed by Painting With Light's Luc Peumans, who has worked on many music based projects for VTM, and was commissioned to add his own elements of eye-catching magic to the mix.

The 25 minute Great Big Musical Thank You show was directed by Dirk Decloedt and set to a specially composed

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has announced the appointment of well-known industry figure, Mats Karlsson, in a new international business development role.

Mats has more than 30 years of experience in various roles spanning rental and production, lighting design, sales and product development - and joins the company after some 10 years in LED display development at Barco, Martin Professional, and most recently, VER.

He will be responsible for increasing the market share of AC-ET's exclusive and key brands internationally, including the supply of Chroma-Q, Jands, Proli

USA - Elation Professional's new high-energy Sniper multi-effect light and laser simulator, which launched recently at the PRO trade show in the UK, is enjoying its touring debut on American rock band A Day to Remember's (ADTR) Parks & Devastation US tour with lighting design by Steve 'Cowboy' Stemac.

ADTR is a passionate band with Steve running 10 of the powerful hybrid effect lights through their paces as specials on the hard-driving show. "We took the band and put them in a national park environment and then, as we do, make it jocular and surreal," Steve states of

Thailand - W-DMX by Wireless Solution Sweden AB is now a hot commodity in Bangkok, Thailand, as one of its premier rental houses, PM Center Co. Ltd. recently invested in 24 units of W-DMX BlackBox F-1, F-2 and R-512 for their rental division.

PM Center has a reputation for offering the most professional equipment in Bangkok and serving premium clients and projects around Thailand. The W-DMX equipment in their stock is used to light up the famous Pattaya sign on the hill overlooking the Pattaya Bay. Mr. Karin of PM Center said, "On the Pattaya sign, W-DMX works very well without a

USA - Lighting Designer Daniel K Boland specified 64 x Robe Robin Pointe moving lights for the much talked about Eminem X Rihanna Monster stadium tour which played six sold-out dates in three key cities across the U.S. - at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and Comerica Park in Detroit.

Boland has worked with Eminem for almost 10 years, so when the show's set design by Bruce Rodgers was approved, he created a lighting plot that would "cover all bases" for both artists.

He already knew what Eminem would like in terms of look and feel, and when it came

UK - CLD Distribution, the specialist commercial and architectural LED lamps and lighting distributor, has taken a substantial shareholding in Iberian Lighting.

Iberian Lighting, celebrating its 50th anniversary, designs some of the world's largest lampshades and stylish bespoke feature lighting in the contract sector. They have established an excellent reputation for their creative solutions in large scale bespoke lighting projects with interior designers, specifiers, blue-chip corporates, retailers, hotels, restaurants and also high end residential.

The merger of the two companies

UK - Realtime Environment Systems Ltd - to be known as 'RES' - is a new technical solutions company offering services to help designers, creative agencies and artists "achieve their wildest visual dreams". Mark Calvert and Dave Green have formed RES to provide "technical consultation and project-wide integration of all things visual in stage shows, corporate campaigns and permanent installations". The company will utilise the Ai Media Server - one the world's most powerful media server platforms, manufactured and developed in the UK by Avolites Media Ltd. RES Ltd is

South Africa - The Playhouse Company in Durban has taken delivery of new lighting equipment, which will be used in the Opera and Drama Theatres within the venue.

The order, supplied by DWR Distribution, included 40 x Robert Juliat 329 H 2KW/2.5Kw Fresnel Spotlights with Barndoors , 60 x Philips Selecon Rama 1kw / 1.2Kw Fresnels complete with Barndoors , 24 x Philips Strand PL1 LED Fresnels complete with Barndoors , one Robert Juliat 2.5k HMI Aramis Followspot and two Robert Juliat MSD 1200W Topaze Followspots complete with GT Stands.

"The fixtures were chosen for the superior l

UK - Robert Juliat will exhibit at PLASA 2014 with its exclusive UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions, where a new Robert Juliat followspot will be unveiled.

Rumours of a new product from these masters of followspot design have been permeating the industry over the last few months. PLASA 2014 will give visitors the first opportunity to see the new model which has been created to reflect the specific requirements of those working in the touring, live music and large event market - indoors and out.

Designed to complement to Robert Juliat's Grand, Compact & Ultra-Compact ranges, the n

UK - The market's newest light sensation - the Elation Sniper - created a buzz when released at the PRO show in mid-September and is now heading to the PLASA show in London (Stand K70) for an encore. Elation Professional will be showing the newly released multi-effect and laser simulator along with a host of other lighting innovations that includes the hybrid Platinum SBX, a 3-in-1 beam, spot, and wash fixture with an innovative, new optical system.

"We are very excited to be returning to London this year, showing exciting new and innovative products. Last year's PLASA show was s

UK - Ayrton will be exhibiting at PLASA, London (5-8 October, Stand R70) with an array of new products, all of which have been introduced to the market in the last few months. The new Radical Series and the full NandoBeam Range will both receive their UK premieres, with a world premiere reserved for the launch of the new NandoBeamS9.

The latest in the NandoBeam family, NandoBeam S9 is the big brother of the NandoBeamS3 and NandoBeamS6 LED moving head fixtures. Aimed at large musical, television and spectacular productions, NandoBeam S9 offers 55 x 15W RGBW LED and the same massive 8&d

UK - GoboPlus.com (Stand R01) is a one-stop online shop, dedicated purely to the supply of all things projection, including custom and stock metal, glass and digital gobos and images.

Proffering expert knowledge and exceptional service from Paul de Ville and Vicky Fairall, GoboPlus.com offers a comprehensive custom gobo service and stocks all Rosco, DHA and GAM ranges, in addition to its own unique GoboPlus.com designs.

The shop is open 24 hours a day via GoboPlus.com's user-friendly, intuitive website, which offers secure payment methods and a fast turnaround.

GoboPlus.com will e

John Peel Lecture - Iggy Pop is to deliver this year's John Peel Lecture. The singer, regarded by many as the godfather of punk, will talk about the subject of free music in a capitalist society on 13 October. The lecture will be aired live on BBC 6 Music, the digital radio station on which Pop hosts a weekly show, and later on BBC Four. The lecture is named in honour of late BBC Radio 1 broadcaster John Peel, who died in 2004. An annual event since 2011, the lecture allows prominent musicians to discuss the state of music and the music industry. It has previously been delivered by Char

Russia - PR Lighting recently returned from a highly successful product showcase in Moscow at Prolight+Sound NAMM Russia, where the company partnered with territorial distributor Asia Music.

PR Lighting sales manager for the region, Bruce Tian, reports that as this is the critical show for the local market he was delighted that the booth was positioned close to the main entrance and in the same hall as all the major lighting companies.

Asia Music showcased all the heavyweights from its new and expanding LED range, including XRLED 300 Spot, XRLED 500 Spot, XR 330 Spot, XLED 1037 and

UK - A tip top team of Avolites Tiger Touch II consoles were specified by lighting designer Matt Mawdsley for the inaugural Invictus Games held mainly at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London this month.

The Invictus Games is the brainchild of Prince Harry, and took place from 10-14 September. More than 400 competitors from 13 countries participated in the multi-sport event. All of those taking part had fought alongside the UK in recent military campaigns, and had been wounded.

Two Tiger Touch II desks - known for combining maximum power with compact size - were supplied to the

Germany - The M'era Luna Festival takes place annually in Hildesheim, Germany at Flugplatz Hildesheim-Drispenstedt - a former British Army airbase. Featuring two stages, and historically specialising in goth, metal and industrial music, it also presents DJ sets on Friday and Saturday evening.

Lighting designer, Stephan Aue, and operator, Rico Münzer, were working with Swedish electronic dance band, Covenant - and making heavy use of SGM's new LED catalogue.

"The great thing about Covenant is that they are always looking for something extreme - and that provides a very good opp

UK - ETC's recently introduced Nomad Puck - a tiny self contained computer which takes the place of either an Eos family or Cobalt family lighting desk - has been making a name for itself at the Edinburgh Festival.

The Pleasance, a Fringe venue with 23 different performance spaces, originally used a SmartFade - ETC's smallest console - in one of their spaces. But when Calder Sibbald at ETC's Edinburgh-based dealer Black Light offered them a Nomad Puck for use instead, they were keen to give it a try, especially given the extra power it would bring.

Over at the Forth Children's Theat

UK - Known for ground-breaking touring productions, the National Theatre of Scotland continues to amaze audiences across Scotland and the UK. The company's latest season features not only new productions, but new lighting technology to help each story shine. A fleet of new moving lights and control equipment from entertainment lighting specialist White Light will light up productions including The Tin Forest and The James Plays for 2014 and beyond.

Heading into the summer, Paul Claydon - head of lighting at the National Theatre Scotland - began looking for additions to t

UK - Robe, Clay Paky and Shure have been announced as the headline sponsors for PLASA London 2014. The show, which returns to ExCeL London for a second consecutive year starts on Sunday 5 October and is expecting visitor numbers of over 13,000. There they will see 250 exhibiting brands and 100 hours of educational seminar content along with numerous press launches, parties, networking events and gala dinners.

Robe Lighting is Platinum Sponsor for the third year running and will mark the occasion by occupying a huge, 1,000 square metre space on the show floor. Robe World - PLASA

USA - Twelve of Robe's new BMFL Spot luminaires - launched worldwide on 2 September - were utilized by lighting designer Preston Hoffman of Pulse Lighting for a stunning installation that illuminated Boston City Hall, transforming it into a bold and vibrant backdrop for the 2014 Boston Calling Music Festival.

The Festival's two main stages were built in the City Hall Plaza in front of the City Hall building at 90 degrees to one another.

Hoffman, well known for his work as a rock 'n' roll lighting designer, was commissioned by festival organisers Crash Line Productions to make the bu

UK - Manchester-based creative multimedia agency Tadah! mixed with the stars recently after being commissioned to make the official promotional film for the switching on of the Blackpool Illuminations for VisitBlackpool.

Launched in May of this year, Tadah! has already won a clutch of work on behalf of a wide range of national clients, including a number of well known 'blue chip' brands. The project in Blackpool was delivered together with Bark Media, a video and audio production company based in Manchester.

Over 18,000 people attended the iconic switching-on of the resort's illumin

France - It's not often that an institution over 13 centuries old receives a lighting upgrade but such is the case with the Abbey of Saint Wandrille in Normandy, France, a Benedictine monastery founded in the year 648 that has installed Elation TVL 3000 II dynamic white light LED luminaires in the Abbey's church.

An important part of the Abbey, which has produced 30 saints over the centuries, is an old 13th century barn that was carefully transported to the grounds by monks nearly 50 years ago to serve as the monastery's church. The 48m long by 16m wide structure is 14m high and built

UK - Lighting designer Jon Clark has specified Showline's SL BAR 640 luminaires on account of their "impressive" range of colours and clean aesthetic for Benedict Andrew's production of A Streetcar Named Desire at The Young Vic, starring Gillian Anderson.

The 1947 Tennessee Williams classic is currently being staged in the round. Clark's lighting design consists of deliberate, uniform systems, which are used to continually re-inform the performance space and the entire room.

"The SL BAR 640 luminaires are rigged in two parallel lines on an exposed grid above th

Sweden - This September LumenRadio adds ACME to their growing CRMXchip family. ACME, one of the largest enterprises known worldwide for its specialization in the field of lighting, will now include CRMXchip as a standard feature for their existing and future professional product line.

LumenRadio has been working very closely with ACME during the last couple of months to include the CRMXchip in some of ACME's current bestselling products, such as XP-1000SZ/WZ, XP-16R Spot and Beam, as well as CM-600Z.

"We are very pleased to be in an OEM partnership with LumenRadio. ACME always

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