International News

LEOPOLDSBURG, Belgium — For a large scale promenade theatrical spectacle, titled De Groote Rappel, freelance LD Michel Jacobs worked with Timothy Haesevoets from Leopoldsburg City Theatre on a unique lighting setup that included Robe fixtures.

LONDON – Corporate and event lighting specialists, Blinding Light Ltd., recently expanded their wash light inventory by making a substantial investment in Martin MAC Aura XB LED wash light fixtures. Pictured here is the Blinding Light team with the new fixtures.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – LD Fredrik Jönsson used a large number of Clay Paky Mythos, Sharpy, Sharpy Wash 330 and brand new Scenius fixtures for the 2016 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The semi-finals and final performances were staged and broadcast live from the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden on May 10, 12 and 14.

MUNICH, Germany – Lighting Designer Thomas Gerdon of gerdon MEDIADESIGN used an Elation Professional lighting package to light artist performances on the German RV program Verstehen Sie Spass. Broadcast on the ARD television network, the show offers both music performances and Candid Camera-style pranks. The rig includes Platinum SBX moving heads, Satura Spot CMY Pro LED moving heads, Platinum Wash ZFX Pro XL LED wash lights and ACL 360 Roller effect lights.

AMSTERDAM – For DJ Armin van Buuren’s new ‘Armin Only’ mega-show at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome, titled ‘Armin Only – Embrace,’ the same technical and creative team backing the ‘Armin Only – Intense’ world tour in 2014 used 162 Robe moving lights. A blend of Pointes, LEDWash 600s and LEDBeam 100s were unleashed for the four-hour trance event.

LONDON – Robe announced that it is sponsoring the U.K.-based Quantum Racing powerboat team and their boat, ‘Quantum,’ for the 2016 P1 UK SuperStock powerboat racing season. The sponsorship followed a chance meeting between Robe UK’s MD Mick Hannaford and Vin Burdock (pictured here), a rising star in the sport, who made his P1 SuperStock debut in 2015.

LISBON – For the Rock in Rio Festival in Lisbon this month (May 19-20 and 27, 28 and 29) PRG is providing a visual assist using Vectorworks and ESP Vision software.

PARIS– After five years of work and a €1M investment, the colossal project to refurbish the Forum des Halles in the heart of Paris was recently unveiled to Parisians. The new stylish shopping mall features a 140 by 80 meter canopy made of 18,000 scale shaped glass elements, which can be seen from outer space. As the owner of the Forum des Halles, business property group Unibail-Rodamco, wanted to offer a memorable and artistic experience at the venue’s opening. Working with event company Lever de Rideau, they used 14 Crystal air ventilated balloons from the Airstar European Network (AEN).

ZURICH, Switzerland – For Muse’s two ‘Drones’ tour shows at the 13,000-capacity Hallenstadion in Zurich on May 11 and 12, ceiling weight limitations meant that the complete Muse stage had to be supported by a giant ground support system. Malecon Ltd. turned to Prolyte as part of the staging and rigging solution.

LONDON – The first Theatre 2016 Conference took place in Central London May 12-13. It was held across three West End venues: The Piccadilly, Lyric and Arts Theatres, and brought together more than 1,000 delegates from across all areas of UK theatre. Called the largest event of its kind, it was the first time since 2005 that the sector has come together for a major industry-wide conference.  White Light was asked to provide the production support for the event, supplying the lighting along with full AV support.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Built in 1982, Hamer Hall, the the 2,464-seat home to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), was fully refurbished in 2013. The new lighting rig includes 22 Robe MMX Spots and 10 LEDWash 600 fixtures, among others. The upgraded fixtures were specified and overseen in part by Bernie Manchee, the venue’s head of lighting. Others relying on the fixtures include Bernie Manchee, head of lighting for Arts Centre Melbourne and Trent Barclay, lighting systems specialist (pictured here, L-R).

NEWPORT, South Wales, U.K. – For the 2016 annual conference for accounting specialists, Tax Assist, staged in the Caernarfon Suite at Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales, Central Presentations Ltd (CPL),  led by Lee Gruszeckyj, provided stage design and full technical production.