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UK - PLASA, the lead association for the events and entertainment technology industry, has announced PLASA Online 2020, a programme of free online content running from 12 to 16 October. Designed to provide industry professionals with the knowledge and confidence needed to navigate the COVID-crisis and prepare for what’s next in live events and entertainment, the week-long online event will consist of a curated selection of keynote talks, panel discussions, product presentations and technical sessions. Thought-leaders and business experts will address the most pertinent issues such as the COVID crisis, Brexit, technological innovations, and safety regulations.
Additionally, leading brands from audio, lighting and AV will present their latest products and solutions, including: Adam Hall, DiGiCo, ETC, Highlite, Signify, Sound Technology and Vectorworks. “These sessio

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UK - Unusual Rigging's work as designers and installers at English National Ballet's new HQ on London's City Island has been recognised as the building, delivered by Glenn Howells Architects has won the prestigious AJ100 Building of the Year award 2020.
The building was chosen ahead of eight other finalists and recognises the finest building completed by an AJ100-listed practice in the last 12 months. In choosing the ENB, the judges said three key aspects made the £36m project stand out from the impressive shortlist with one judge commenting on the range of functions accommodated by the building, which Glenn Howells has managed to pack on to relatively tight site 'with an almost Rubik's Cube-like stack of dance spaces slotted within'.
These include a suite of rehearsal studios and a full sized theatre space with stage and fly tower to accommodate full dress rehearsals
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UK - The #WeMakeEvents campaign aims to raise awareness around the current plight of the live entertainments sector and its urgent need for financial support if it is to support the COVID-19 crisis.
Last month, it was announced that it would be steered by a collective of industry trade bodies, businesses and freelancers; all working in collaboration with each other. Over the past few weeks, the team has continued to build momentum around the campaign, working endlessly to rally the government for much needed support.
Following last month’s Day of Action which saw buildings across the UK lit up in red as a show of support, the #WeMakeEvents team has been busy capitalising on the extensive media coverage and attention this received. One of those involved is White Light’s managing director Bryan Raven, who comments: “The Day of Action was vitally important for our

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UK - Unusual Rigging has shared the sad news that electrical and design engineer Paul Taylor - known affectionately as PT - lost his battle with cancer on 17th August 2020. He was 64.
A statement from Robin Elias on the company’s blog reads: “PT started his ‘Unusual years’ in March 1988. He joined the company because he felt that as he was now a family man, he should have a quiet 9-5 job! It did not quite turn out like that. He soon became one of the foundation stones of the company. PT was a pioneer in the field of automation and quickly established his position as our Electrics & Automation Guru.”
Elias continues: “He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of Theatre and Automation and was happy to pass on his knowledge and expertise. In an atmosphere of impossible deadlines and challenging problems, none of us can remember PT ever raising his voice. He reta

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UK - Initially launched by PLASA in response to calls from its membership, the #WeMakeEvents campaign aims to raise awareness around the current plight of the live events sector and how it urgently needs financial support in order to survive the COVID-19 crisis. The initial response resulted in a collective Day of Action on 11 August, with creative expressions across the country, including over 700 buildings lit up in red and other activities that culminated with 4,000 socially distanced event professionals lining bridges and the bankside of the Thames, expressing their need for support with the red alert theme. (Read extensive coverage of the Red Alert day of action in LSi September – out now!)
‎‎In order to r

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UK - Taking place on a purpose-built site on the beach next to Brighton’s Palace Pier, The Warren Outdoor Season opened earlier this month, offering a range of live comedy, theatre, cabaret and family shows. Having supported the Brighton Fringe at The Warren for over five years, White Light was called upon to supply the lighting, rigging and power equipment for this new season, which is one of the first to open following the outbreak of COVID-19.
The Warren is a pop-up, multi-purpose site which consists of four venue spaces and four bar areas. Annually, it hosts Brighton Fringe festival events. As with so many other live performances, the outbreak of COVID-19 saw the cancellation of this year’s festival. As such, Otherplace Productions, the team who run The Warren, decided to look for an alternative, safe way to put on live entertainment.
Joshua Carr, technical d

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UK - PLASA has announced that registration for NRC (National Rigging Certificate) and enrolment for NELT (National Event Lifting Training) have re-opened following a short period of closure due to the pandemic. All NRC Assessment Centres and NELT Training Centres will re-open from September and will be completely COVID-compliant.
“This positive move will enable candidates who registered for the NRC before the COVID-19 lockdown to resume their pathway to certification,” says PLASA. “Furthermore, these NRC candidates have been given an extra 12 months to complete their assessment.”
NELT, which launched in May 2019, provides training for professionals who select and use lifting equipment commonly found throughout the events and entertainment industries. NRC is a recognised qualification for anyone actively working as a rigger in the industry.
Assessment da

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USA - Inspired by efforts in the UK, mainland Europe and South Africa, the US live events industry is set to host its own #WeMakeEvents ‘Red Alert’ day of action on 1 September.
Using the hashtags #WeMakeEvents #RedAlertRESTART and #ExtendPUA to gain momentum, the move represents a major call to action on Tuesday, 1 September, imploring the US Congress to pass the RESTART Act (S.3814) as quickly as possible, offering economic relief to America’s live events industry, which has been shuttered since March, 2020, putting millions of people out of work. Additionally, the movement is to support ExtendPUA.org in their efforts towards continuation and extension of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to provide relief to those without work due to COVID-19.
#WeMakeEvents North American director, Brad Nelms comments: "The group has managed to gather incredible support fo

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UK - A webinar designed to unite the live production industry in developing new working practices for a more sustainable approach has shown a “clear willingness” for change, according to The Sustainability in Production Alliance (SiPA).
The panel discussion, broadcast live on social media channels as well as via a Zoom video meeting, brought together many of the leading companies and individuals who are committed to a more sustainable future for live event production.
The webinar was a collaboration between SiPA, the Association of British Technicians (ABTT) and The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT). Top of the agenda was how the industry can use the current hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to create a more sustainable approach to its work.
SiPA’s Carol Scott, principal advocate for sustainability at TAIT and SiPA, was joined by

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The Netherlands - The UK’s #WeMakeEvents campaign received support in the Netherlands, where local companies took part in a nationwide Red Alert action under the banner of #WijMakenEvents.
More than 250 buildings across the country were lit in red on the evening of 11 August. The original campaign is a PLASA initiative that was adopted by the VTTE (the Association of Technical Event Suppliers) in the Netherlands.
Trussing, staging and hoist supplier Prolyte participated in the protest action on the night. The event industry and sectors have been at a complete standstill since the very beginning of the coronavirus crisis earlier this year. It has been more than five months, which means there are all costs but no turnover. Despite the government’s support during this period, companies are now on the verge of collapsing.
In order to draw attention to this crisi

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UK - The UK events industry proudly came together in a show of solidarity under the #WeMakeEvents campaign banner yesterday (11 August) to ask the government to ‘throw us a line’ in the form of on-going and increased financial support.
As part of the movement, over 715 buildings across the UK lit up in red to symbolise the imminent danger over one million people in the live events industry face unless the government provides additional financial support.
20 of the UK’s biggest cities hosted events to raise awareness of the struggling supply chain that facilitates events across the country. From the Minnack Theatre Cornwall to The Queen’s Hall Edinburgh, Principality Stadium Cardiff and the Millennium Forum Northern Ireland, the message was spread far and wide – the situation is urgent. In Manchester, 200 technicians pushed redundant flightcases through the c

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Canada - Broadweigh is once again the load monitoring system of choice for City Folk Festival 2020. The event is currently scheduled to take place on The Great Lawn at Landsdowne Park in Ottawa between the 17-20 September, but the situation is being evaluated in line with the continuing COVID-19 crisis.
This multi-day celebration of music, dance and community, features an eclectic mix of musical performances on various stages. Over the years, the event has played host to the likes of Robert Plant, Hozier, David Byrne, Jack Johnson, Van Morrison and Lorde and also features an offshoot event called Marvest – free concerts featuring emerging talent, held in local businesses.
Paradigm Rigging has worked on the event since 2018 and Michael Sorowka, MD of Paradigm explains: “I was brought on board by Scott Pollard, technical director with City Folk Festival. We’ve work

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UK - On 11 August (Tuesday), the live events industry across the UK will come together in solidarity to host a series of protests to help save the live events and entertainment sector, which is on the verge of collapsing without financial support from the government.
Encouraged by the #WeMakeEvents and #LightItInRed campaigns, hundreds of venues are expected to light up red, along with other creative activities being staged in over 20 cities across the UK to symbolise the industry going into red alert, and a final call to action titled ‘throw us a line’ will be taking centre stage on London’s South Bank.
The capital’s finale will begin on a boat at 20:20, as it makes it way down the Thames - passing Royal Festival Hall, the National Theatre and the Tate, and more all illuminated in emergency red. As the boat reaches key locations, such as Westminster Bridge and

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Germany - HOF has designed and developed the XHD Box Corner specifically for big exhibition booths and large stage constructions / stage roofs.
Thanks to its cross bracing on six sides and the significantly stronger main tubes, the XHD Box Corner has up to 40% more load capacity than the standard box corner. As a result, the box corner is not any longer the weak point in the overall construction.
Compared to the standard box corner, the new XHD Box Corner has one more important feature, says the company. Instead of a classic aluminium thread, the new XHD Box Corner comes with a steel thread. Compared to an aluminium thread, the steel thread has a significantly longer life and is more reliable. The XHD Box Corner fits on many 30cm box trusses and can be powder coated in any RAL colour.

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USA - Two more ESTA draft standards are now available for public review until 21 September 2020.
BSR ES1.7 - 202x, Event Safety - Weather Preparedness addresses the considerations, development, and use of event planning strategies that mitigate weather-related risks associated with live events, and with the temporary structures used for these events.
BSR E1.4-2, Entertainment Technology - Statically Suspended Rigging Systems establishes minimum performance requirements, recommendations, and guidelines that can be used for installation, use, maintenance and inspection of statically suspended rigging systems, permanently installed in venues used for entertainment purposes.
Both of these draft standards, along with their respective public review forms and instructions, can be downloaded at https://tsp.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

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UK - The #WeMakeEvents campaign has progressed into the ‘Red Alert’ phase, with planned activities set to take place across London and other major cities in the UK on the evening of 11 August.
The initiative will raise the alarm for the live events and entertainment sector, which has been badly-hit by the pandemic, resulting in countless event cancellations.
The campaign reports that the disruption of the summer season alone has affected over 600,000+ jobs in outdoor events. Meanwhile, a campaign survey revealed that redundancies in the sector are already happening, with 15% of businesses stating that they plan to make redundancies during August and 70% reporting that they could be forced to do so by the end of 2020.
The campaign warns tha

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USA - Area Four Industries Direct America has recently received new stock of Prolyte products for immediate availability. This initial stock includes truss and accessories for the 30/40 series trusses, an array of hardware and accessories, and the popular LSU Ground Stack LED wall support system.
The Verto truss and other Prolyte products will be arriving in the coming weeks as Area Four Industries Direct America continues to ramp up efforts to expand the presence of Prolyte in North America.
“In spite of the obvious challenges this year, we have continued to receive multiple requests for products and we are excited that we are now able to fulfil those requests,” said Prolyte business development director, Keith Bohn. “With stock available near both coasts, we are able to more efficiently manage the demand throughout the country.”
Prolyte products are in

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France - After two years of technological design and an alignment of production with market requirements, Verlinde has announced the widening of its range of Stagemaker electric chain hoists dedicated to the entertainment industry.
The new Stagemaker SL5 and SL10 models with their load capacity of 500 kg to 1000 kg (1 fall) and 2000 kg (2 falls) integrate Verlinde's latest technological developments: innovative design, toughness and enhanced power ensuring faultless reliability while complying with international standards, says the company.
From the first model with its reverse-purchase block system launched in 1975 Verlinde's Stagemaker range has enjoyed popularity worldwide in the entertainment industry and show business.
Boasting an entirely ergonomic design, Stagemaker hoists are fitted as standard with double brakes, retractable handgrips and protective rubb

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UK - Leading trade bodies and businesses are joining forces to issue a Red Alert and highlight the severe challenges faced by the live events industry and its entire supply chain due to the pandemic.
Planned for 11 August, the action will include social media and video drives as well as legal outdoor events, with other specific activities occurring on the day.
The initiative is part of the #WeMakeEvents campaign that aims to raise awareness of the sector’s struggles and to secure further support from the government.
“The live events industry supply chain that contributes to every single event in the UK is set to completely collapse,” comments Peter Heath, MD of PLASA. “Social distancing prohibits mass events, and even if this stopped now, long-term plan

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South Africa - In a live stream filmed at MGG Productions in Sandton, and hosted on SACIA's YouTube channel, the technical production and live events industry announced the launch the national campaign #LightSAred, to be held on 5 August 2020.
Sharif Baker, chair of the TPSA, announced that the technical production and live events industry will be spearheading a symbolic resistance campaign that will see buildings across the country lit up in red on 05 August.
"The colour red is the international colour of emergency," Baker explains. "We are following the example set by our colleagues in Germany and the UK in lighting our national monuments red to highlight the desperate plight of our industry under current lockdown policies and regulations." Baker went on to emphasise that the #LightSAred campaign is not affiliated with any political body or ideology. "We are simply a

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UK - As a manufacturer and supplier of engineering solutions to the entertainment and creative arts sector, Triple E’s factory output has been mostly stalled as a result of the pandemic.
However, the management team have been making use of the time, ensuring the business is match-ready for when the wheels of the industry start to turn again. This has included finalising the development of a new website which has launched along with a new domain name - www.triplee.ltd.
Listening to feedback from clients about what they needed from the company website has been central to the new look site. www.triplee.ltd features a customer friendly interface and clearer layout making it easy to navigate and inform the customer as they seek the products best suited to their project requirements.
“Engineering solutions are complex by their nature, and so with the launch of our

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UK Load-cell company BroadWeigh is introducing a series of new products into its range this week plus the addition of software improvements to their toolkit.
The company, which has undergone a complete rebranding exercise over the past year, culminating with the launch of its new website, believes the time is right to bring the new developments to the market. The design changes have developed as a result of feedback from users, with the current COVID-19 pandemic creating an unprecedented time for pure engineering focus.
From 13 July, two new modules have been added to the 2.4GHz product line as well as a new release of the BroadWeigh toolkit software. Commenting on the design development and improvements, Robert Wilmington-Badcock, managing director said: "We have a clear ethos to continuously improve our products, to specifically develop for the entertainment industry

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UK - PLASA has responded to the UK government’s pledge of £1.57bn funding for the arts with the following statement from its MD, Peter Heath: “While PLASA is pleased to see the government deliver a generous rescue package to arts institutions across the UK, they have only addressed the tip of the iceberg. We hope that the government will announce further support for all the manufacturers, suppliers and freelancers who help make the UK a global leader in events.
“Theatres and venues are absolutely essential to the cultural fabric of the UK, however, they only represent the public face of a vast industry. Each arena concert, musical show, arts installation, or corporate event relies on a complex supply chain, often involving hundreds of professionals. To put on a single arena show requires an average of

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UK - Artists including Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Cure, Radiohead, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Annie Lennox, PJ Harvey, The 1975 and Blur are among the names demanding immediate action to save live music in the UK by signing an open letter to the UK government's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden. The move is a bid to “show the vital importance of the UK’s live music industry, ensure the Government cannot ignore live music and make noise to get the public and financial support the industry needs to survive”.

The full letter reads as follows:
“Dear Secretary of State,
“UK live music has been one of the UK’s biggest social, cultural, and economic successes of the past decade. From world-famous festivals to ground-breaking concerts, the live music industry showcases, supports, and develops some of the
  1. Music Support’s 12 Step recovery support continues
  2. Area Four videos get back to basics
  3. MT Cases feature in-built disinfection technology
  4. PLASA launches #WeMakeEvents to support the industry
  5. PLASA highlights supply chain importance
  6. ESTA stalwart Glenn Becker passes away
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