On 7-10th of March 2023, the world’s most well-known dog show, Crufts, kicked off in the NEC Birmingham for a 4-day spectacular, with over 18,000 contestants and hundreds of thousands of visitors. Organised and hosted by The Kennel Club, Crufts features a wide array of prestigious awards to celebrate the world of dogs.
Neg Earth Lights were thrilled to be the supplier once again of the lighting for the 2023 show, and proudly supported Crufts for their monumental 150th anniversary! Moreover, it was a pleasure to have worked on such a unique project, giving the Neg team further experience working in a range of different events.
28 Ayrton Perseo-S fixtures were provided for the show. These luminaires highlighted the dogs taking centre stage with their moving-head and precise beams.
52 Chroma-Q Color One 100 X IP65 were supplied by Neg Earth for the event. These powerful LED beams have an extensive range of features including theatrical grade dimming, making this the perfect feature for drawing attention to the dogs taking to the floor.
24 Martin Mac Aura PXL were also provided for the show. These multi-lens wash lights, which feature high intensity yet tight beams, helped to produce a dramatic showbiz effect for the stage.
These high-performance fixtures contributed to an entertaining and theatrical visual display spotlighting the performing pups. Neg Earth Lights are proud to have supplied the lighting equipment for a 4-day showcase at Crufts 2023, helping to perfectly execute a striking visual display, providing world-class lighting for a world-class event.
Credits
Lighting Designer/Operator: Paul Cook
Project Team: Martin Garnish and Rachel Condon
To celebrate the galaxy far, far away, the world’s biggest Star Wars event, Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, took place over a 4-day weekender full of storm troopers, dark droids and luminous lightsabres from the 7th to the 10th April.
For the LucasFilm Studio showcase, Neg Earth Lights are thrilled to have provided lighting fixtures and equipment which created a striking and out-of-this-world visual display. The Neg Earth team worked closely with Lighting Designer Matt Bialek, to develop his creative vision for the celebration into a futuristic space spectacle.
‘Warsies’ and ‘Star Warriors’ headed to the ExCeL in London in a community of Cosplay costumes for a celebration of the fifth highest grossing movie franchise of all time. The event included immersive exhibits, exclusive merchandise and celebrity guests. The sell-out event celebrated all things Star Wars, even releasing a major announcement for the return of old Star Wars legends onscreen.
One of the fixtures supplied by Neg Earth for the showcase was the Martin Mac Aura PXL. This multi-lens wash light features high intensity beams, providing the exhibition with bold and vibrant beams of colours which projected through the rooms. Additionally, the Ayrton Domino Profile helped to produce a space-age atmosphere from its dynamic lines of saturated light. The high-performance fixture was a great contribution to the lighting display, creating a broad colour spectrum for the Sci-Fi Celebration.
Neg Earth are proud to be the lighting supplier for the Star Wars Celebration 2023. We hope to work with the Star Wars Celebration team on future initiatives to develop more striking shows.
Credits
Lighting Designer: Matt Bialek
Project Manager: Martin Garnish
Photography credit: @geek.pride
Video credit: Star Wars Celebration via Instagram
For the first time since 1998, the United Kingdom hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 on 13th May, held on behalf of Ukraine. All 37 participants from across the globe performed live from Liverpool Arena, televised for millions of viewers to watch worldwide. Neg Earth Lights are incredibly proud to be the supplier of the lighting, rigging and power for the internationally renowned contest, working closely with talented Lighting Designer, Tim Routledge, to develop his creative vision for the show into an unforgettable lighting spectacular.
The slogan for the 67th Eurovision Contest was ‘United by Music’ highlighting the unique partnership between United Kingdom and Ukraine, but also expressing how music unites everyone and how the power of music can bring communities closer together. With Ukraine unable to host the show due to the war, this meaningful partnership reflects the origins of the contest, uniting countries in solidarity through a shared television experience. The BBC worked closely with European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to organise the contest, in discussion with UA: PBC, Ukraine’s public broadcaster, as well as Kalush Orchestra, last year’s winner of the contest.
In a message to Ukraine, Liverpool’s Mayor, Joanne Anderson expressed prior to the big final, “Ukraine- you have my promise we will do you proud”.
The team at Neg Earth had been preparing for many months leading up to the 3 shows. New equipment had been supplied especially for the occasion, including Robe’s latest innovations such as the Robe Tetra X.
Preparation at Neg Earth:
The Controls Team at Neg Earth Lights
Tim Routledge explained in an interview with IBC the lighting specification for the show, “To create depth we’ve added 190 Robe Tetra X on the rear of the video doors to deliver a spinning, kinetic pixel-driven lighting wall. Behind that we have a wall of Robe Painte and Q8 strobes to add even more depth as the doors revolve.”
He continued, “Around the oval stage, which is effectively in the round, I wanted a way to make new architectures of floor lighting so I designed 22 lifting columns into the lighting shelf that can rise and fall the Robe Spiiders on the edge. We have new fixtures in the form of the Clay Paky Sharpy on the four large set arms that frame the whole show.”
Preparation for the big final at M&S Arena in Liverpool, UK
Eurovision lighting rehearsals prior to the show
The great result of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was down to the hard work of our lighting team, our warehouse team and the entire Neg Earth crew. The lighting design was exceptionally executed by the lighting team, and in addition the extensive range of fixtures which Neg Earth Lights supplied truly wowed the millions of viewers from across the World.
Take a look at some of the key statistics from the show!
“That was the happiest, most joyous show I have ever worked on – it was fun from day 1 to the end and I cannot thank you enough for all the support Negs gave us. From the bottom of my heart – thankyou. This was as a special one, and Negs went for it. From an amazing new network to Joao’s tea break emergency kit and everything in between. Negs is one truly special company and everything we have done in the past has culminated in last week – thanks, it was truly world class.”
Tim Routledge, Lighting Designer for Eurovision
Click here to watch more behind the scenes at The Eurovision Song Contest 2023!
Credits
Lighting Designer: Tim Routledge
Project Manager: Damien Jackson
Technical Solutions: Ambersphere & MA Lighting
At London Fashion week 2023, the Italian luxury house Moncler closed out the event with a ground-breaking, experience-driven spectacular, with their collaborative capsule collection ‘Moncler Genius’. Neg Earth Lights are delighted to be the supplier of lighting fixtures, automation systems and a custom-built arch for the Moncler Genius show.
The London Fashion Week 2023 show had been carefully planned and executed by the premier special- events company Villa Eugénie. The brand’s creativity and expertise combined with the major influence that the fashion industry has on culture, has driven the innovative event-company Villa Eugénie to produce over 1000 unique fashion shows and events worldwide.
Moncler Genius, which first launched in 2018, is a unique collection which continues to evolve. First founded by the brand’s CEO Remo Ruffini, the collection has previously featured collaborative concepts with the gifted Simone Rocha and Valentino’s iconic Pierpaolo Piccioli. With Moncler rebelling against traditional luxury fashion and redefining the meaning of ‘collaboration’, the show successfully captured their evolution of creativity.
100,000 guests took to London’s Kensington Olympia Stadium to spectate the creative masterpiece which incorporated big brands, creatives, and artists, including Pharrell Williams, Mercedez-Benz, Rick Owens, Palm Angles, Adidas Originals and many more. The show culminated in a performance from Grammy-award winning, R&B sensation Alicia Keys.
Neg Earth Lights are thrilled to have been the supplier of lighting fixtures in the Moncler Genius show as well as a Kinesys motor system which supported various luminaires at the exhibition including high performance Robe and Ayrton fixtures. Additionally, there were unique pods which hung throughout the room from our automated motor systems. The lighting powerfully projected outwards in narrow beams into the room giving a futuristic, space-age atmosphere. Moreover, this out of this world spectacular helped to truly express the innovative nature of the Moncler Genius collective through an incredible immersive display.
In addition, Neg Earth created a custom fabricated three-quarter circle to give the desired arch-look for Alicia Keys’ performance in the Moncler show. The custom-made arch, built by the talented team at Neg Earth, was 26m in diameter, 18m in height, with 73 robe mega pointe adorning the curvature for an impressive runway-style stage which powerfully mirrored the venues architecture.
With an impressive kick-start to the year, this display brought Ruffini’s inventive vision to life from encompassing technology, entertainment, and design. Neg Earth Lights are delighted to have been the supplier of the lighting elements and key motor systems used in the show, contributing to a striking immersive display.
Credits:
Project Manager: Martin Garnish
Lighting Designer: Arf & Yes
Production: Villa Eugénie
Saudi Arabia welcomed back WWE Crown Jewel for a fourth year in November 2022. Held in Riyadh’s Mrsool Park Stadium, a growing and diverse audience watched the wrestling spectacle. Neg Earth Lights provided lighting, rigging and automation for WWE Crown Jewel, continuing a close relationship with event planners and lighting design team Jason Robinson and Jason Shaw.
We have provided services for WWE shows since 2018. Our project manager, Gavin Maze, took pleasure running the project for WWE for the 8th time, explaining “Each one comes with their unique challenges – weight loading, heat and the occasional sandstorm are a few examples! However, we have got these WWE Saudi shows down to a fine art now, being able to draw on what we’ve learnt from the previous shows and the experiences of our crew working in various venues across Jeddah and Riyadh. These experiences added with the relationships we have built over the years with the teams mean we are able to smoothly deliver a high spec and complex build each time.”
Gavin recognises though that this delivery is a reflection on the team at home and away; “Like everything we do at Neg, it’s a real collaborative effort across the company ensuring that the team we send out are well supported,” he continues, “The Neg team are heavily involved in co-ordinating the shipping, crewing and build schedules. From the crew team arranging flights and visas for crew all over the world, to our warehouse teams meticulously preparing equipment – pulling all the threads together can be both challenging and rewarding”
The WWE team really know how to fill a stadium, with over 600 moving heads and strobes, they excel at creating dynamic effects throughout the show. We also supplied approximately 10km of cable and an extensive MA3 and Luminex control system. Onsite efficiently installing this mammoth system, were 18 highly talented crew members, as well as 16 crew from Show stars crewing company and 14 riggers from TECS.
Gavin concludes, “It is a highlight of my year sending out such a large team and system, here’s to the next one!” The team at Neg look forward to providing further equipment to WWE in the years to come.
Lighting Design team: Jason Robinson and Jason Shaw.
Photo Credit: WWE
For an immersive display like no other, Neg Earth are proud to be the providers of the lighting, rigging and control for YUNGBLUD’s 2023 World tour.
With a sell-out first show on 16 February in Cardiff, Wales, rock sensation YUNGBLUD began his world arena tour 2023 in style, with fans rocking up from all over the UK for an unforgettable pop-punk performance. From Glasgow OVO Hydro to OVO Arena Wembley, headliner YUNGBLUD has spoiled his fans with a 20-song setlist as well as introducing award-winning Neck Deep in the support slot. Being one of the UK’s leading pop-punk bands, Neck Deep are well placed to compliment this truly spectacular world tour.
The powerful and electrifying Chauvet Color Strike M has been interspersed throughout the rig, but it is the Ayrton Magic Panel R that commands centre stage. These high-performance Ayrton fixtures feature a collection of LEDs which enable a striking rotation of visual effects used to great effect by the show’s designers. Dominating the upstage were 3 stacked trusses with a powerful combination of the Chauvet Color Strike M, Ayrton Domino, and a 20k Tungsten Power Beam perched in between, projecting its immense beam onto the drummer, Michael Rennie, evoking a 70’s rock nostalgia for devoted fans. In addition, the unique Film Gear Tungsten Power Beam 24k 20kW, created a dramatic display with a striking contrast of spot-to-flood lighting, giving a motion-picture effect whilst complementing the industrial atmosphere of the show.
With the world arena tour underway, YUNGBLUD will be travelling to France, Spain, Italy and more, to perform at his sell-out shows. Neg Earth are joining the tour to help stage designer Sam Tozer’s desired vision come to life.
Photo credits: Tom Pallant / Luke Dyson
Production Manager: Richard ‘Wez’ Wearing
Project Manager: Martin Garnish
Lighting Designer: Sam Tozer
Lighting Director: Liam Griffiths
Special Effects: ER Productions
In collaboration with Women in Live Music (WILM), we were thrilled to have held our first beginner’s workshop to educate and offer advice to women who are striving to enter the world of lighting.
At Neg Earth Lights we are passionate about taking action to make a positive change, and whilst Neg have made a conscious effort over many years to introduce more women into the workplace and bridge the gap of gender inequality, the sad reality remains that far less women are working within the live events industry than men.
Roles such as Lighting Technicians, Power Technicians and Riggers are held predominantly by men, and with shocking statistics from Zippia showing that only 13.4% of Light Technicians are women. Here at Neg we want to change this.
Moreover, Neg Earth Lights is a family-run business and was founded by Dave and Pip Ridgway. With an inspiring female figure as one of the Managing Directors, Pip is passionate about the company helping to make a difference and encourage more women into the live events industry. In the panel discussion, Neg Project Manager Lindsey Markham, told the guests, ‘For me, in this industry I’ve always felt that I couldn’t find the routes in. Now, I think we are getting better at finding these routes in for people and I really think this forum is amazing,’ showing how passionate the Neg team are for offering these opportunities, inspired by their own first-hand experiences.
In honour of International Women’s Day on the 8th of March 2023, Neg Earth Lights collaborated with the incredible team at Women in Live Music, offering exclusive workshops at our in-house studio, LH3. The event was a packed day of learning, networking, and lots of fun! A special mention to the women at WILM, including Olive Olin and Malle Kaas for assisting with the workshop, and Neg’s Marketing Manager, Tanya Kanani, who had carefully planned and hosted the event.
The response to the event was incredible with tickets selling out within the first hour of release! Additionally, there were over 30 people signed up to the waiting list for the event, showing its popularity amongst women aspiring to enter the live events industry, highlighting the current demand for career guidance and support within this industry.
The workshops were split into the specialities of lighting, rigging and power, with the guests alternating between sessions. The lighting workshop was led by Neg’s Technical Solutions Manager Joao Magalhaes and Lighting Designer Subul Lodi. The workshop explored the 4 key stages in the live event lighting process; Design, Preparation, Delivery and Practical. The guests not only gained theory-based knowledge in the sessions, but also gained hands-on experience operating the impressive GrandMA console. The rigging workshop was set up by Neg’s in-house Motors and Rigging Manager Rick Williamson, and the workshop was run by WILM member and rigger Ida Maria Borgstrom. This workshop involved teaching the guests to float a pre-built truss grid, showing them how to build and install baskets onto the grid and land the grid. This interactive approach to the workshop was a fantastic way for the guests to learn through practical application. The third was a Power workshop, set up by Carl Garner, Neg’s Electrical Specialist, and Maintenance Technician Bernice Roust and led by Bernice herself. In the workshop, Bernice educated the guests on Power Theory, as well as incorporating a hands-on practical application to her workshop.
Following these sessions was the panel Q+A, where the all-female panel discussed barriers within the live events industry and how to overcome them. The panel featured the Production Manager Alice James, Neg Project Manager Lindsey Markham, Lighting Designer Subul Lodi, Rigger Ida Maria and Ambersphere Key Account Manager Briony Berning. The audience had a chance to ask questions at the end, which explored how to confidently enter the industry, choose a specific area in the live events sector, and connect with professionals.
On this amazing day, jointly sponsored by Neg and Ambersphere, to ensure this opportunity was accessible regardless of individual circumstances, the group had networking drinks, where the guests, female panel, and workshop leaders had the chance to socialise and make new connections. To put an end to the day the guests left armed with swag from both Ayrton and Neg and a sense that with us, everything is possible.
An inspiring message taken from Lindsey Markham during the panel discussion was; ‘‘If you think you can do it and no one’s giving it to you, go and get it, go and ask for it… go and execute it well.’
Keep an eye out for our future initiatives where you can learn to be a part of the incredible and diverse lighting community!
In collaboration with: Women in Live Music
Networking drinks supplied by: Ambersphere
Event Planner: Tanya Kanani
On the 18th of June 2022, world-renowned rock band Stereophonics took to the stage in the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, with the iconic Sir Tom Jones and indie-rock sensation Catfish and the Bottlemen performing alongside them, for an unforgettable punk performance. For the show, Stereophonics performed their twelfth studio album ‘Oochya’, featuring the hits ‘Hanging on your hinges’ and ‘When you see it’.
Neg Earth Lights are delighted to have provided the lighting and rigging for the concert, supplying the stage with the latest innovations of fixtures to truly wow the audience of dedicated rock-loving fans. Our team worked closely in collaboration with Lighting Designer Brent Clarke to bring his creative vision to life. Brent Clarke spoke with the Neg Earth Lights team and revealed, “I think the Stadium was chosen as a way to go back in time and celebrate the gig the band did at Morfa Stadium in 1999,” he continued, “I also think it was their way of saying that live concerts had returned to Cardiff, as the concert was titled ‘We Will Keep a Welcome.’”
The show featured four independently moving panoramic screens which were sub-hung from header trusses. These trusses were chosen to carefully hide the rigging for the automation system. Each screen was surrounded by GLP Impression X4 bar 20s, creating the boxed effect for the visual display.
7 ROBE Robospot were supplied as the follow spot system. This innovative control system helped to synchronise fixtures that followed the band across the entire stage.
Neg Earth Lights were thrilled to be the supplier of the lighting and rigging for this show. Our talented team and crew helped turn Brent Clark’s vision into a spectacular rock reality. We were honoured to have received a special mention from the Lighting designer, “I really enjoyed working with everyone and the team from Neg were spectacular in every way. I couldn’t have asked for a better team!”
Photographer: Hans-Peter van Velthoven
Lighting Designer: Brent Clarke
Production Manager: Dave Nelson
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