Knight of Illumination Awards USA Now Open for Nominations

	Nominate now for the inaugural Knight of Illumination Awards USA to be held at The Foundry in the SLS Hotel, Las Vegas.

Following the enthusiastic reception to its launch in April, the Knight of Illumination Awards USA (KOI-USA) is now open for nominations. The KOI Awards, which celebrates the achievements of lighting and video designers working in a range of entertainment genres, has been running in the UK for 10 years. This year will mark its first appearance in North America, coinciding with the continent's entertainment technology exhibition, the LDI show, in Las Vegas.

Nominations for KOI USA are rolling in across all three categories: Theatre, Concert Touring & Events, and Live for Broadcast, and bookings are being taken for tables and sponsorship opportunities at this prestigious inaugural presentation ceremony, which takes place at The Foundry, SLS Hotel, Las Vegas on Saturday, October 20, 2018.

At the same time, the UK-based KOI Awards is seeing a record number of nominations ahead of the June 30, 2018 deadline, as the event prepares for its 11th annual ceremony at the Hammersmith Apollo, London, on Sunday, September 16, 2018.

To meet this heightened interest in both awards processes, two brand new websites have been launched. Easy to navigate and with an emphasis on visuals of award-winning design work, the new websites also feature past winners and shortlisted nominees, photo galleries and videos from previous ceremonies, and clear instructions on how to nominate designers for their work this year.

* For KOI UK nominations, please visit: www.knight-of-illumination.com

* For KOI USA nominations, please visit: www.knightofilluminationawards.com

KOI USA Award categories have now been confirmed, with five awards in each of the three categories. In the Theatre category they are: Dance, Opera, Plays, Musicals, and Projection Design. In Live for Broadcast, the awards are for: Scripted Series, Unscripted Series, Awards Shows, Set & Video Design, Entertainment and Events. Finally, in the Concert Touring & Events category, the awards are for: Events, Video Content, Club; Stage, and Arena.

KOI organizers, Live Design and The Fifth Estate are keen to encourage designers working at every level to nominate their work. As Fabiana Piccioli said, after winning the ETC Award for Dance for her work on Echoes at KOI 2017, "It confirms what was said at the very beginning, that KOI has a good eye for big scale and small scale. It values all kinds of work."

David Johnson, managing director of Live Design, says, "It's vitally important to us that the three judging panels maintain complete independence, as they do in the UK, which is why we're lucky to have three highly respected designers on board to chair each panel. Clifton Taylor (consultant and LD) chairs Theatre; John Featherstone, lighting designer and principal of design company Lightswitch, chairs Concert Touring & Events; and entertainment lighting designer Jeff Ravitz chairs Live for Broadcast."

"I'm thrilled and honored to be the chair of the Live for Broadcast judging panel for the esteemed Knight of Illumination Awards as it crosses the Atlantic to inaugurate a USA version at last," says Ravitz. "As a lover of light in all its forms, I will relish the opportunity to discover the best in cueing, color, composition, angle, and excitement."

To be eligible for nomination for KOI USA, productions must have been performed or broadcast in the USA between August 1, 2017 and July 31, 2018.

The first KOI-USA ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 20, 2018, in The Foundry (pictured) at the SLS Hotel, Las Vegas. The pre-dinner drinks reception and post-ceremony party will take place in adjacent spaces within SLS Hotel complex.

Since its inception in 2007, The Knight of Illumination Awards (KOI) has celebrated international lighting and video content design for entertainment.

KOI-USA recognizes work broadcast or performed in the US across the fields of Concert Touring & Events, Theatre, and Live for Broadcast. Judging is carried out by three independent panels of industry experts.

The KOI awards were conceived by renowned LD Durham Marenghi, Jennie Marenghi, and Italian lighting manufacturer Claypaky who, along with ACT Lighting, are headline sponsor of the KOI-USA awards.

The awards and ceremony are managed by America's entertainment technology trade show, LDI, in partnership with specialist content creation company, The Fifth Estate.