APPLICATION REPORT | ENTERTAINMENT


ENTERTAINMENT NEEDS A LIFT


The pandemic has brought almost all public entertainment


to a stop. But the makers of hoisting and lifting equipment are standing by to help bring shows to a reality as soon as they can resume. Julian Champkin reports.


T


he entertainment industry has had a bad year. That is to put it mildly. Theatres and cinemas have been dark, concerts and


live shows non-existent, new productions cancelled or put on hold; even blockbuster


Hollywood releases have been held back time and again or sent straight to home streaming.


“One could cynically note that even


P The CM Lodestar D8+


Q The GIS LP2500


James Bond is cowering against the corona virus,” said Swiss hoist-makers GIS, referring to several postponements of the latest 007 release. A GIS speciality is hoists for the entertainment industry; and the company was so concerned at the potential bankruptcies and loss of jobs in the sector that early in the pandemic, as members of the Swiss Association of Technical Stage and Event Professions (SVTB), they joined forces with parallel organisations of music promoters and live event promoters to stage a ‘Night of Light’ to bring government and public attention to how, in the words of the organisers, the ‘multi-billion, heterogeneous event and culture industry can be saved from a massive wave of bankruptcies and the [potential loss] of thousands of jobs.’ On the night of June 22, 2020, hundreds of theatres, entertainment venues and public buildings across Switzerland were illuminated with red floodlights for two hours for the event, from 10pm to midnight, bathing them in the ‘red alert’ colour of danger to bring home the seriousness of the situation. The campaign was initiated in Germany, and also took place in Belgium and Austria. Jörg Gantenbein, of the board of SVTB, said; “We must assume that 1,500 jobs in


www.hoistmagazine.com | June 2021 | 23


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