Last Wednesday (18th Sept) saw the press launch of the Isle of Wight Festival exhibition Experience 25 at London’s O2. The man behind the festival since its revival in 2002, legendary promoter John Giddings was in attendance alongside Ray Foulk who created the original events circa 1968 – ‘70. The night was a celebration of the festival’s entire iconic history with an incredible archive of images and footage on display featuring Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse and Joni Mitchell. The Isle of Wight Festival is known for its countless mythologized tales, from The Who writing Teenage Wasteland about the…
Author: Andy Lenthall
We Group UK has announced a significant investment in event budgeting platform, Eventwise – as part of its ongoing efforts to support an innovative and collaborative approach across the events industry. We Group UK – the collective providing festival and event production services via The Fair; creative production in the public-realm through We Are Placemaking; and operations, health & safety and licensing services via We Are OPS – is renowned for delivering events across the UK, Europe, US and beyond. Events in 2024 have ranged from music festivals Eastern Electrics and Boiler Room: London, to open-air series’ for Labyrinth Events…
ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) has announced the first acts for its 39th edition line-up. The first acts announced for the lineup include the acts that traditionally have been selected in collaboration with European national radio broadcasters who are part of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Each participating EBU member invites a popular radio station to select one act for ESNS 2025. This provides artists a career-defining opportunity to showcase themselves to enthusiastic music fans and industry professionals. It also demonstrates that the ESNS line-up represents new talent across the continent, celebrating the diverse European pop culture right from the start. EBU…
Following the sellout first edition of Trawsnewid : Transform in February 2024, Aberystwyth Arts Centre and FOCUS Wales have teamed up once again to announce the second edition of the festival, which will take place in Aberystwyth, on the west coast of Wales, across the 21st & 22nd February 2025. Aberystwyth Arts Centre and FOCUS Wales have invited a selection of Wales’ leading artists to perform at the two day event, to create unique audio visual experiences, which will showcase the venue, the region, and of course the artists, in a special setting. The festival team are working with local…
Serious Stages wrapped up a successful summer, providing stages and site structures for BBC Radio 2’s Party in the Park concert in Moor Park, Preston, Sept 6th – 8th, 2024. More than 60,000 fans enjoyed artists featured on the Serious TZ 25m roof main stage for two days, included Sting, The Pet Shop Boys, The Manic Street Preachers, The Sugarbabes, Sister Sledge, Travis, Paul Heaton and Snow Patrol. The stage was designed in collaboration with clients’ Festival Republic and the BBC, creating a striking performance area. It was flanked by goalposts carrying pa speakers and giant LED screens, with extensions…
The Occasionall Group, a leading provider of staffing solutions for events nationwide, is celbrating the successful completion of their largest project to date – providing staff for Taylor Swift’s iconic The Eras Tour. The company proudly reflects on the remarkable achievements of the team during this tour and is excited to announce a significant promotion and expansion within the company. The Eras Tour saw The Occasionall Group rise to the challenge of staffing events of unprecedented scale. Across 1125 shifts and over 7000 hours of dedicated service, Occasionall Staff team members played a key role in enhancing the customer experience.…
Vision:2025 has assembled a cross-industry working group, chaired by LIVE CEO Jon Collins, to produce the third edition of ‘The Show Must Go On’. To be published in March 2025, it will focus on creating a climate transition plan for the festival and live outdoor events industry, and making the case to the Government for support to unlock potential for a more sustainable festival and outdoor events future. The funding target of £50,000 from industry sources will match funds raised from Arts Council England, EarthPercent, Dixon Foundation and Festival Republic. Find out how to contribute across a range of options…
ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), the key exchange for emerging European music, announces the first keynotes and featured speakers for its annual music conference. Committed to fostering a sustainable, diverse, and inclusive music sector where music is enjoyed by everyone, the ESNS Conference offers a platform for dynamic voices across the music industry. In 2025, the program focuses on thought-provoking topics such as the impact of AI on the music industry, the future of streaming, achieving sustainability goals for festivals by 2030, the fairness of dynamic pricing, activism among artists and festivals, the effect of private equity on business, and the devastating…
Every Can Counts, the non-profit organisation working to raise awareness about the importance of aluminium can recycling, has been working at festivals across the UK and Ireland by helping attendees recycle over 100,000 aluminium cans. This represented a year on year increase of 59 per cent while raising awareness about the importance of recycling. Throughout the festival season, 62 ambassadors from the organisation participated festivals, including the Download, the Red Bull Soapbox Race, the Stendhal Festival, 2000 Trees, and Latitude. At each event, the team employed creative methods to collect aluminium cans, such as custom-designed recycling backpacks, striking cage installations,…
Digital Catapult has announced the eight companies joining its High Growth AI Accelerator for the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme, in partnership with leading creative industry players LADbible Group, Merlin Entertainments, Bauer Media Group and Music Technology UK. By developing new creative innovations to enhance efficiency, engagement, and content quality, the participating companies will accelerate the practical application of deep tech, and boost scalability by leveraging cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). This is the latest initiative from the BridgeAI programme, delivered by a consortium including Innovate UK, Digital Catapult, The Alan Turing Institute, the Hartree Centre (STFC) and the British…