International News

LONDON – LD Theo Cox’s visual scheme for Seal’s “Soul2” world tour mixes the mediums of lighting, video and automation. The tour has completed its first Australian and US legs, and is ready to hit Europe in autumn. The only set onstage is a pair of risers, and so the stage architecture is defined by seven movable pods, each fitted with a portrait-orientated video screen.

TORONTO – The Knights of Illumination Awards, hosted by Clay Paky, incorporated special new effects during its Sept. 9 event at Battersea Evolution in London. The opening sequence used the CAST BlackTrax to create a spotlight effect but without the spotlight ops.

LONDON – AED Rent made the winning bid for the Olympic Torch donated by Robe (and pictured here with Robe’s Josef Valchar). The auction, which took place Sept. 10 at PLASA in London, netted £6,200 – more than $10,000 – for Light Relief, the U.K.-based charity for industry professionals in dire straits.

BERLIN, Germany – German punk band Die Ärzte finished their latest tour of German-speaking countries with LD Lui Helmig and the latest Robe moving lights, including LEDBeam 100s, LEDWash 600s and ColorSpot 2500E ATs. Helmig has been with the band for 27 years, and began using Robe fixures in 2004.

LONDON — In its 21st year, PLASA 2012 marks the final staging of the annual exhibition at Earls Court & Olympia before the show moves to ExCeL London (and the month of October) for 2013. Along with panel sessions on the industry’s involvement in this year’s Diamond Jubilee and London 2012 Olympics, there were plenty of new lighting and video products on display.

SCARBOROUGH, NORTH YORKSHIRE, UK – Qdos Entertainment is one of the largest single owners and users of Jem Glaciator low-lying fog generators. As one of the world’s leading pantomime producers, Qdos has 24 pantomimes staged in the current season and over 570 productions to its credit. To add effects, they stock 23 of the Jem units and recently added a comprehensive Martin service contract to keep the machines running smooth for years to come.

LONDON – Entec Sound & Light has worked for Britpop band Blur and their LD Dave Byars since 1990, when the emerging band were a small support group. Their production matured in the 2000s, and Entec has been with them all the way. Entec recently supplied audio and lighting for various elements of Blur’s recent shows, culminating in the band’s gig in London’s Hyde Park coinciding with the Olympic Closing Ceremony.

KRONACH, Germany – For 10 days in July, the old city of Kronach lit up with contemporary lighting for the seventh annual light festival, “Kronach Shines.” More than 80,000 visitors were drawn to the luminous creations around town, which used more than 1,000 light sources and 10 km of cable. Steinigke Showtechnic helped support the project with LD Andreas Jung.

South Kirkby, Yorkshire, UK – LS-Live has created a custom triple size DJ booth to boost the visual performance of A-list DJs for live music/dance hotel brand Ibiza Rocks. The 3m long DJ booth features a front wall of LED panels, which from an audience perspective, merges visually with the big LED screen behind the DJ, allowing the artist to become immersed in the show.

LONDON – Universal Event Productions (UEP) recently delivered full technical production to two major Nike events staged in London: the four-day World Basketball Festival in Brixton and the Nike Training Club at Old Billingsgate Market. Much of the rig for both events featured LED equipment for low power consumption.