International News

VASTERAS, Sweden — The National Property Board of Sweden and the Municipality of Västerås turned to ÅF Lighting for an assist with the illumination of Västerås Castle for their annual “Västerås Culture Night” so it could serve as a fitting backdrop for concert performances. ÅF Lighting, in turn, relied upon Harman’s Martin Exterior 400 Image Projector for dynamic gobo projections to complement the outdoor lighting design.

HANGZHOU, China – Hangzhou, the capital city of China’s Zhejiang Province, will host the 2016 G20 Summit from Sept. 4-5. China earmarked more than $1.1 million to upgrade the Hangzhou Grand Theatre (HZGT), 11 years after the theater opened with an ETC lighting system. ETC’s Chinese dealer, Hangzhou YiDaShi Lighting Equipment Co. Ltd. (YiDaShi), provided ETC’s Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr luminaires, Eos Ti and Gio lighting-control consoles, and a Sensor power-control system for the 592,000-square-foot arts complex, which houses five venues.

MANCHESTER, U.K. – For this year’s Warehouse Project, a series of dance events staged at the Store Street parking lot beneath the arches at Piccadilly station, dbn Lighting returned with a rig including Clay Paky Alpha Spot 575 HPEs, Alpha Wash 300s and Sharpys along with Sunstrips, Atomic strobes, four 4-Lites and ETC Source Four Juniors. New for this year were Ayrton Magic Dots on the over stage truss.

BLACKPOOL, UK  – For the Dickens holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, staged at Blackpool’s 3,000-capacity Opera House, LD Oliver Wilkinson opted to include a selection of Chauvet lighting fixtures. The rig included six Rogue R1 Spots and 16 Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving wash fixtures from Chauvet Professional and also Chauvet DJ PiXPars.

LONDON – Lighting designer Amy Barnett approached Entec to provide a lighting equipment package for the recent European tour by Chris Norman. It was the first time she’d worked with the west London based lighting rental specialists, which she chose because, “After a few initial phone conversations I had complete confidence in the company to deliver what I needed, and they were very helpful and friendly.”

ST ANDREWS, Scotland — For a lighting upgrade at the University of St. Andrews’s Student Union theatre and club, Audio Light Systems installed 12  Rogue R1 Spot fixtures along with other gear from Chauvet Professional.

UTRECHT, The Netherlands – For a Dutch musical version of The Bodyguard staged at Beatrix Theatre, LD Luc Peumans of Painting With Light included Clay Paky Mythos and Sharpy Wash 330 fixtures in the lighting rig. Ampco Flashlight supplied the gear.

LYON, France – Four nights of utter enchantment was planned in December for Lyon’s most famous festival to date, broadcasting the heritage of the city. However, due to the recent tragic events in Paris, the Festival of Lights was cut short to a one-day tribute to the victims on Dec. 8, inviting people to stand united and light candles while the city became illuminated for that one evening at La Colline de Fourvière.

BLACKPOOL, UK – Robe gets into the great tradition of English Panto this festive season with over 50 fixtures  – including the latest in the DL series luminaires which are built for theatre – specified by Lighting Designer Andy Webb for a lively and colorful production of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, produced by UK Productions at Blackpool Grand Theatre.

MONTERREY, Mexico — Elation partner Adimsa supplies lighting packages for many of the bigger shows for Banda La Trakalosa, a 20-member Mexican ensemble. With some of these concerts drawing 10,000 or more, the show visuals get extra impact from Elation Professional’s Platinum BX beam fixtures.

BUCHAREST, Romania — Bucharest City Hall’s annual Bucharest Christmas Market, organized with an assist from CreArT (Centre for Creation, Art and Tradition), draws holiday visitors with crafts, foods, music and a 50-foot-tall Christmas tree emblazoned with 20,000 lights. SGM partner FIVE’S International has been serving as the technical provider of the event, deploying SGM LED luminaries for both architectural installations and entertainment stage light setups.

AMSTERDAM – AV Stumpfl’s plans for ISE 2016 include a focus on new feature updates to Wings Engine Raw, pictured here. Wings Engine Raw promises uncompressed 4K media serving and was already used by MatrixManagement for Audi AG at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show 2015.