UK - As Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway reached its series finale on Saturday 5 April, Unusual Rigging was once again brought on board to ensure that the last Ant v Dec challenge of the season was the most spectacular yet.

Having already worked on the seemingly death defying Men on a Ledge challenge earlier in the series, Unusual's Robin Elias and the ITV production team knew they were going to have to pull out all the stops to ensure the last challenge - The Decider - would be the best yet.

In what was described as the most demanding and ambitious challenge Ant & Dec have faced, the Geordie duo were confronted with a controlled free-fall down the ITV Tower building's lift shafts, stopping at various floors on the way down to complete tasks associated with some of the channel's top shows.

Speaking of the brief presented to Unusual, Robin said, "The ITV produc

UK - Following the tenth series of the hit ITV show The X Factor, the final eight contestants got ready for the X Factor Live Tour, which started in UK arenas in February 2014.

Whilst they prepared themselves for their first real taste of popstar life, the team at Production North were making preparations for rehearsals at LS-Live in Wakefield.

The Leeds-based concert tour and event production company is a long-term client of LS-Live's and has used the facility for the X Factor Live Tour rehearsals for many consecutive years.

Said LS-Live's Bullet, "We've had a longstanding relationship with Ian Whitehead at Production North and he knows that we will do our best to accommodate anything they need on site."

Production North booked the 17,664 sq ft arena rehearsal space from 8-13 February, in addition to five of the en-suite bedrooms on the top

UAE - Datchet based SES Entertainment Services Ltd are opening its doors in the UAE to serve the insatiable appetite for its range of British built, high quality, power distribution products.

Trading as SES Technical Services, SES will be stocking a massive range of production related products for direct sale to the region. In conjunction with EFM Event Logistics, SES will offer 24 hour stock availability and online ordering, and also offer a collection and delivery service.

Says "With the increasing demand for our products in the region, our clients will benefit greatly with us having what they need when they need it, making huge savings on shipping charges when they run short, as we will be a phone call away. SES will stock an impressive range of Power Distribution, Soca and DMX cables, connectors, Powerlock and Ramp, and will be looking to bolster the range to include

Malaysia - Following a surge in music events and tours heading to the region, Mojo Barriers has announced Kuala Lumpur based EHQ Projects as its official Malaysian distributor, April 2014.

Working in partnership with Mojo Barriers' Australian office, full service event supply company EHQ will hold an extensive selection of Mojo's crowd barrier products including aluminium straight sections, vario corners, flexi corners and snake gates.

Craig Edwards, operations and account manager at Mojo Barriers Australia, comments, "After travelling South East Asia for Mojo Barriers on the Metallica Tour and Future Music Show in 2013 - we could see that there was a serious need for a quality barrier product in the region.

"It was on the Metallica show in Kuala Lumpur that we met Jay Neil and Andrew Warren from EHQ Projects, and we knew that if anyone was to represent Mojo in the

Belgium - Belgian-based automation and engineering specialists Wicreations supplied specialist flying and movement system for the recent Reverze event staged simultaneously at Antwerp's Sportpalais venue and the adjacent Lotto Arena, accommodating upwards of 20,000 hard dance music fans.

The event, produced by Bass Events is the largest indoor hardstyle event, and this year's theme was 'Guardians of Time'. The centrepiece of the set - designed by Peter Vervloesem for Amaze Productions - was a 4.5 by 4.5 by 5m high scenic clock.

This was required to move approximately 50m from backstage to the rear of the Sportpalais arena.

Peter contacted Wicreations in the early planning stages of the event. The two have collaborated on many previous projects - including several Reverzes - and Amaze asked WI to apply their engineering genius to make the giant timepiece fly.

The clock had

UK - Entertainment equipment engineering expert Triple E will be on stand R-B14 at PLASA Focus, Leeds, armed with its array of industry-leading track systems, its brand new heavy duty TDrive motor, and a rebooted website with enhanced quote tools.

Triple E's David Edelstein and Scott Foster will be available to discuss the company's Erail, Unitrack, and Unibeam track systems, known for their simple design, rugged construction and ease of installation in entertainment applications. The company's popular SDrive and original TDrive motors will also be on show.

Visitors will also be able to get hands-on with the brand new heavy duty TDrive motor, which makes its UK debut at PLASA Focus. It was created in response to the requirements of a number of projects in the USA and Canada.

The new TDrive HD motor has been developed for longer track systems and heavier curtains. The motor i

UK - AED Rent and AED Distribution UK, total solution providers to AV professionals, will be exhibiting at PLASA Focus 2014 on stand N-A02 in the Royal Armouries Museum.

"We are pleased to be part of this ever successful exhibition which is oriented specifically to the UK market." says David March, managing director of AED Distribution UK Ltd. "This will be the first time that AED Distribution UK Ltd. will be present as a stand-alone entity and we are very excited to partner up with our colleagues from AED Rent UK."

The AED team will be on-hand to share with visitors the range of services that are offered in the UK, and with the support of the AED group, ranging from AED Rent and AED Lease through to AED Distribution, AED Second-Hand and Trader Platform along with AED Store.

Specifically for AED Distribution, will be the UK trade show premiere of a number

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will showcase a selection of the very latest lighting, audio, rigging and video solutions available from their vast portfolio of premium brands - on stand N-E02 at PLASA Focus: Leeds this week.

Sales teams from AC-ET's four specialist product divisions will be on hand to demonstrate and discuss the latest technologies from leading marques which AC-ET are the exclusive UK dealer for, as well as over 200 leading brands available for immediate despatch from the company's multi-million pound inventory.

UK-exclusive brands on show from AC-ET's Lighting division include various Chroma-Q, Spotlight and Mole-Richardson LED entertainment & broadcast lighting solutions; Jands' innovative Vista lighting & media control solutions range and award-winning Stage CL lighting console 'made for LEDs'; GLP's Impression Spot One, X4/X4S & Volkslicht LE

UK - The live dance action at the heart of the newly released British movie Cuban Fury directed by James Griffiths and starring Nick Frost was given additional visual dynamics by S+H Technical Support's Video Floor product.

Thirty-six panels of the Video Floor were delivered and installed as a dancefloor surface at north London venue Koko by S+H for production company Awesome Effects. All the riveting salsa sequences were filmed there over the course of a week.

The floor brought colour, animation and plenty of WOW factors to the party, and is clearly visible in the scenes as the film reaches a crescendo.

Says S+H's Terry Murtha, "It's fantastic that our product was chosen for its part in the film ... it's great to have a bit of glamour in the house! The floor did a great job in adding excitement and bringing a whole new layer of depth to the filming."

The

UK - Utopium has launched new sister company Utopium Rigging as part of an ongoing strategy to expand its specialist services ready for this year's summer events.

Utopium Rigging will be headed by director Ian Evans along with a team of event riggers with over 20 years' experience. Utopium's extended rigging services will offer venue managers, promoters and event organisers with qualified professionals, the latest rigging equipment and knowledge to construct anything from simple 3m flown truss to full bespoke ground support structures.

Ian Evans commented, "We have launched Utopium Rigging in response to increasing requests from clients for specialist services. Safety is paramount in every aspect in our work; we make sure each member of the team is fully trained to work at heights and complete work to the highest industry standards.

"In addition to event and venue

Germany - LumenRadio and their OEM partner Feimex have announced that one of Feimex's best selling fixtures, FX 300, is now equipped with the multiple award-winning wireless CRMX OEM modules.

After FX 300 tremendous success at the previous Prolight+Sound Show in Frankfurt, Feimex's sales director Thomas Feuerstein believes the partnership will continue to be very successful, "It's a joy to work with LumenRadio. Not only do they provide the best wireless technology on the market, their professionalism and support is outstanding."

Feimex, who are based in Hamburg, Germany, are one of the leading manufacturers of high-tech equipment in the field of professional event technology. The very popular FX 300 is available for both indoor and outdoor use. With extremely long service life, tremendous luminous efficacy and 18 high-performance LEDs with exceptional color rendering

UK - Hastings, Sussex- based lamp and LED lighting specialist CLD Distribution has added a comprehensive new range of Hytronik motion and lux sensor switches to its range of innovative lighting control options.

Utilising microwave technology, these are designed for wide ranging types of commercial, industrial and civic / public amenity applications - including offices, factories, retail outlets together with schools, libraries, hospitals, etc., plus transport hubs like stations.

Hytronik sensors can be used in conjunction with CLD's range of LED lighting fixtures to help further optimise all the cost and energy saving benefits of using LED technology for environmental lighting by switching off lighting in unused areas.

Designed to offer the full flexibility, the Hytronik sensors can be programmed to react to specific patterns based on movement in a space, lux / light levels

UK - Le Mark have produced their professional tour labels for the Production Office Ltd for the Gary Barlow Since I saw you last Arena Tour 2014.

"Thinking about design is hard but not thinking about it can be a disaster," wrote Ralp Caplan. The Production Office Ltd is one of the world's leading concert tour & event production companies with offices in London & New York proving how important this statement is.

Georgie King contacted Le Mark's Linda Gibbons with a brief to produce a clear, durable and position specific labelling system. This would be used on all the road cased equipment destined for the tour.

Le Mark's tried and tested Tour Labels were chosen. This enabled TPO to select Le Mark's multi colour digital printing option. Enabling 12 sector specific designs to be produced running consecutively 1 to 12. This provided a simple but very effective 12

UK - The anticipation that preluded the sixth PLASA Focus: Leeds delivered everything it promised, with two-days of packed show floors and seminar rooms. A total of 2107 visitors flooded into the Leeds' Royal Armouries, drawn by a showcase of professional sound, lighting, video, trussing and staging companies, plus an education programme that spanned the industry's expertise.

A mixture of quality, variety and enthusiasm combined to create the unmistakable atmosphere that the show has become renowned for. "We really enjoy PLASA Focus," says Michael Brooksbank, European General Manager, Chauvet Professional. "It's a small, intimate, networking show, it doesn't cost us a significant amount of money, which always helps, and we get instant returns."

Martin Professional's UK Sales Director, Mike Walker, adds: "It's an important show for us. The international

blurb

UK - The Health and Safety Executive has recently held a briefing meeting for interested parties within the entertainment industry to layout the changes to the 2007 Construction, Design and Management Regulations and their decision to include the entertainment industry within the scope of the new Regulations. The meeting coincided with the release of the 10 week consultation document which started at the beginning of April and closes on 6 June (D- Day!!!).

Please take a moment to read through this report and decide if this applies to you and your undertaking. The PLASA Technical Resources cannot stress how important it is that those who will be affected, read the consultation and comment on the proposals. If you do any work that sees you installing equipment within live events, theatre, exhibitions, conferences etc. CDM 2015 will apply to you and your work will fall under the sc

UK - Richmond Event Management Ltd (REM) was delighted to steer the production management and logistical operation of the internationally recognised Park Street Slide in Bristol over the May Bank Holiday Weekend.

As part of the city's ongoing "Make Sundays Special " programme, designed to close the city to vehicles and turn streets into playgrounds , it was always going to be a challenge to close down a major part of Bristol's City Centre on one of the busiest public holidays of the year.

From 0500hrs, as Bristol's clubs and bars were emptying, the REM team began the logistics of closing down Park Street and starting the build of the temporary water slide. 65,000 spectators were counted in and out of the immediate viewing area and of the 96,000 who applied for the opportunity to slide, 350 members of the public were chosen via a ballot to take part in this unique occ

UK - Chart-topping DJ/producer Avicii performed live arena shows during his biggest worldwide tour to date with a stage set hired from LS-Live.

Promoting his new album True, which includes hit sensation Wake Me Up, Avicii wanted an on stage production that would have maximum impact in the arena environments, such as Manchester Phones 4U Arena and London's Earls Court.

Production manager Robin Scott is a long-standing client of LS-Live's and he turned to the Wakefield company once again to supply a DJ booth stage set.

Speaking to TPi Magazine Robin Scott said, "We set out to produce a slick and efficient production that we could put in and easily take out of venues on a daily basis, making sure that the end result gave the audience an experience to really remember.

"In order to do this, I needed very reliable tour vendors that I'd worked extensively

UK - Specialist electrical contractor, The Technical Department, has recently moved to larger offices in Guildford, Surrey and has strengthened their team by appointing two new technical managers.

Jerry Singleton, MD, comments, "Our move to larger premises brings together under one roof our office staff, warehouse facilities and workshop, allowing us to have instant access to the equipment and respond to requests for dry hire immediately. In addition, we are delighted with the appointment of both Jeff Jones and Phil King who bring to the team a great depth of knowledge and experience.

"Our installation of the pixels in the stadium at the London 2012 Olympics raised our profile considerably and we are continuing to see the benefits of this. We are particularly proud to have provided the generators and electrical services at G8 in 2013."

The Technical Department

UK - Leading polymer specialist, igus UK, will be exhibiting its innovative range of cable management systems, flexible cables and bearings solutions for the theatre industry at the ABTT Show in London next month. Visitors to the igus stand will also see live demonstrations of its solutions as well as meet industry experts.

igus supplies a wide range of energy chains for the theatre and entertainment industry, enabling theatre technicians to easily manage cables, and the company's compact energy chains have proven particularly popular in lifts, stages and lighting rigs. The reliable energy chain solutions include unsupported or gliding energy chains for horizontal energy supply, hanging and standing chains for vertical energy supply, as well as special solutions for rotating or retracting motion.

At this year's show, igus will be showcasing its innovative e-spool - a new gener

UK - Backstage Academy in Wakefield has a few places remaining on its Event Safety Passport (SPA) course this Monday 12 May.

The one-day training course is designed to provide those working in the live events industry with an awareness of health and safety issues whilst on site. Upon completion of the course delegates are issued with a passport style ID card, which is a nationally recognised qualification that proves the individual's competence regarding best practice and improves their employability.

The Safety Passport Scheme was designed by the Safety Pass Alliance (SPA) and the Production Services Association (PSA) to provide employers with a benchmark to measure an employee or freelancer's basic knowledge of health and safety. Backstage Academy is an accredited trainer for the Safety Pass Alliance.

(Jim Evans)

Malaysia - The most prestigious awards in the international sporting calendar, the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards, were held in Kuala Lumpur on 26 March. Attended by the greatest names in sport, past and present, the event was staged at the Istana Budaya, the National Theatre of Malaysia and home to the National Theatre Company and National Symphony Orchestra.

An event such as this, which is broadcast to audiences across the world, requires a first class setting and once again this was staged by production company Done and Dusted. Helping to build that set was a crew of four from Unusual Rigging, led by senior project manager Steve Porter.

Working alongside Paddy Hocken, Done and Dusted's technical production manager, Unusual also supplied winches to track two video screens, plus a variety of specialist rigging components not available in the region, to overcome the challeng

UK - Backstage Academy students are currently confirming work placements for the summer season and invite employers to get in touch if they need extra skilled people to support existing crew teams.

The students, who are half way through the Academy's 16-month FdA Live Events Production, are available to work in June, July and August and are seeking either ad hoc events work or three-month placements.

Most students have already gained experience at live events in a variety of backstage roles and all have completed modules in Introduction to Working in Live Events Production, Concept Design & Presentation, Staging, Live Sound, Lighting and Live Visuals.

During the Introduction to Working in Live Events module, students undertook a range of industry-based certificates to prepare them for working safely on site: Event Safety Passport; Emergency First Aid; Stage Pyrotechnics; Pra

China - Since opening in 1989, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre has served as Hong Kong's premier cultural venue and in order to cater to a variety of performing arts, the Centre, located on the waterfront of Victoria Harbor in Tsim Sha Tsui, houses a number of top-class facilities including three major performance halls.

One of those is the 2,019-seat Concert Hall and although the venue was fitted with an adjustable acoustic canopy to ensure quality acoustics, a mock-up extension of the over-stage reflector was installed in August 2013 to improve acoustic performance of the extended stage area. A permanent extension is to be constructed in the future.

Macostar, a stage lighting and machinery system specialist in Hong Kong, was appointed to provide system engineering, detail design and construction of the new over-stage reflector and required a stage safety solution for the canop

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