International News

UTRECHT, The Netherlands — Ampco Flashlight Rental, based here, expanded its existing inventory of Robe fixtures with 55 CycFX 8 fixtures. The CycFX 8s, delivered by Robe’s Benelux distributor, Controllux, have already been used on projects including 2014 Liberation Day-related events attended by the Dutch royal family.

HILDESHEIM, Germany – The annual M’era Luna Festival, staged Aug. 9 at a former British Army airbase here, featured its usual mix of goth, metal and industrial music with headliners including Marilyn Manson, Paradise Lost and In Extremo. But this year’s lineup also included Covenant, an electronic dance band from Sweden, into the lineup. LD Stephan Aue and lighting operator Rico Münzer used LED gear from SGM to light the group’s synth-pop stylings.

LISBON, Portugal — Rock in Rio may have gotten its start in Rio, with festivals staged there in 1985, 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2013, but the music festival has been able to successfully export its event overseas, with six events in Lisbon, Portugal (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014) and three in Madrid, Spain (2008, 2010 and 2012). A 2015 event is set for the U.S. (Las Vegas).

VEDELAGO, Italy — The Villa Cornér della Regina, which dates back to the 16th century, was restored recently for 21^st century guests, including those seeking a unique setting for vacation, weddings, business dinners and more. For a recent event organized for Isko, a textile manufacturer, SG Lighting provided Clay Paky gear including GlowUp fixtures.

MARIBOR, Slovenia — A puppet theater here, housed in a building once affiliated with a Minorite monastery dating back to 1271, added a 522-seat auditorium recently. The venue also expanded its inventory of Robe lighting fixtures.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — La Production, owned and operated by Roger Bakhos (pictured here, center), is a lighting rental company based in Hazmieh, near Beirut. The company recently added 48 Robe LEDWash 600s to their inventory. Bakhos (center) is pictured here with Elie Battah, GM, Robe Middle East Trading LLC (left); and La Production chief technician Elie Harfouche (right).

LIEDEKERKE, Belgium – Splendit, a lighting and sound rental company based here, is headed by LD/programmer Marijn Broeckaert. He formed the company in 2007 and has lately been expanding his inventory of Robe moving lights, working via Robe distributor Controllux. Broeckaert is pictured here (left) with Controllux’s Bram de Clerck.

As a premier supplier of television lighting, Richard Martin Lighting stays at the forefront by constantly updating its inventory including a number of the new Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20. The new fixtures had barely been unloaded before they were off to their first gig, the Sky Sports Awards. “There is a wide range of moving light product on the market,” said Gemma Jaques, “so it’s really important that we make the right choices when opting to invest in a new fixture.  The colours are fantastic on the units and the effects available provide that ‘something new’ that designers have been desperate to see. We’ve been extremely excited to see how they will be used.”