Upbeat start for 'Silver' PLASA 2002

The 2002 PLASA Show got off to a positive start yesterday as the industry congregated in Earls Court, London, say the show organisers.
With another bumper crop of new product innovations on show the PLASA Show is providing an unmissable opportunity to see and discuss the state of the art in entertainment, communications and presentation technology.
Comment from exhibitors was upbeat - one first-time exhibitor told PLASA Media he had been overwhelmed by the attention his company had received on stand, and wished he had more staff to deal with enquiries.
On Sunday night, PLASA’s 25th anniversary party took place to round off a highly successful day on the show floor. The event - staged at The Bridge - was attended by over 500 exhibitors and visitors who participated in numerous side shows at the Party including a bucking bronco, sumo wrestling, boules and the highlight, a full-on seventies disco.
On the show floor itself, a record 64 products are nominated for this year’s PLASA Awards for Product Excellence, all of which are featured on the New Technology Gallery, sponsored by Lighting & Sound International magazine.
Technical editor James Eade, who is chairing the judging panel, said yesterday that the first day’s judging process had so far been an "absolutely excellent experience", adding "I’ve been really impressed by the enthusiasm with which our panel of eight judges have taken on this task. It’s been a fascinating and - at times - quite heated process!"
Once the debates are over, the Awards will be presented on Tuesday evening at 6pm, with Awards for Technical Innovation and Design Excellence available in each of the four broad categories of Lighting, Sound, Stage Engineering and Audio-Visual products.
Among the nominations are the latest intelligent lighting fixtures from leading manufacturers Clay Paky, Vari-Lite and Martin Professional, state of the art lighting control systems from Flying Pig Systems and Martin, the new D5 Live mixing desk from DiGiCo and the new Aztec desk from Audient, decorative lighting effects from Bright Lighting, Anytronics, Spacewriter and Xilver.
Eade says: "The interest in these Awards has been better than ever this year, and with so many high quality products to assess, these choices are very hard to make."
PLASA 2002, www.plasa.org