PLASA London Announces Annual Rigging Conference Line Up

With an eye firmly set on the issues that concern the entertainment technology industry, PLASA is once again hosting the PLASA Rigging Conference alongside its PLASA London event.

Now in its sixth year, this unique event is perennially popular, with its 20 plus international speakers and panelists attracting in excess of 150 delegates, 30% of which attend from more than 20 different overseas countries.

This year, safety, regulatory issues, and truss design are the hot topics that will form the basis of the Conference, which is curated by Chris Higgs of Total Solutions.

"Based on feedback from 2014's conference, I've structured a fewer number of longer sessions for this year, each dealing with key topics of interest to riggers all over the world," says Higgs.

"Each session is presented by a speaker expert in their field, starting with Hedwig de Meyer, founder of StageCo. His long experience of building groundbreaking structures for the entertainment industry speaks for itself."

"Cristiano Giavedoni is an expert in the field of machinery standards and will be speaking about issues that should concern anyone who owns or sells a chain motor. Gavin Bull is the lead for construction in entertainments and events at the HSE Construction Division so who better to speak to us about CDM?"

"We've also a double act in Mark Hendriks and Nick Barnfield, both technical, both creative, and both very experienced in the world of aluminum structures.

"Now in its sixth year, it's the go-to event in the calendar for riggers, rigging companies, venue management, and safety professionals alike."

"I'm delighted to be this year's guest speaker," says Hedwig de Meyer. "I have a great passion for the industry, as the last 30 years shows. Being asked to speak at events such as the PLASA Rigging Conference means I can inspire and enthuse the next generation of creative technical people."

"It's especially important these days to share our experience; we work in an environment where safety is critical and must not ever be sacrificed. There are ways of working quickly but safely and if StageCo can do anything to help the industry improve in these areas I want to be part of it."

"There is no other event in the world that focuses specifically on rigging for the entertainment technology industry," concludes PLASA's director of events division, Chris Toulmin. "This is why it attracts practitioners, managers, engineers, safety professionals, and policy makers from around the globe who come to exchange information, challenge thinking, and inspire new research."

Registration for the conference starts at 9am on October 5; conference closes at 6pm followed by a drinks reception for all.

Early bird rates are available until September 4 (£158 + vat; increasing to £199 + vat).

Further information and registration can be found at the URL below.