EUROPE: For the 11th edition of Tomorrowland, which took place from July 24 – 26 in the Belgian town of Boom, the festival offered a ‘Discover Europe’ package for those who wished to supplement their experience with an international, four / five city tour before the event began. The package, supposedly onsale for around $1900 USD, covered all travel arrangements, hotels, and a Tomorrowland ticket. The offer had to be purchased in a pair. Special collective activities were organised ahead of time, so that festivalgoers could visit landmarks and experience the respective cities together. Each Discover Europe ticketholder received a…
Author: Festival Insights
As the only UK festival dedicated to showcasing the very best in math rock, post-rock and noise rock, the award-winning ArcTanGent festival was back again for its third edition in August. TPi rolled out in force to brave the wilds surrounding Bristol and discover why more and more people are flocking to this boutique event. Despite capacity being strictly limited to 5,000 attendees, word hasn’t stopped getting out about what ArcTanGent has to offer. The event has gained the backing of a powerful sponsor in Orange Amplification, and continues to see fresh recognition – namely its appearance on the shortlists…
UK: The UK Festival Awards has announced that this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Festivals Award will be presented to Peter Gabriel. Most renowned for his illustrious and prolific music career – which has thus far involved co-founding the legendary Genesis, releasing eleven solo studio albums, and taking three forays into cinematic composition – Gabriel has also remained a festival industry luminary after founding WOMAD in 1982. Since its inaugural year, WOMAD has presented over 170 festivals in more than 30 countries, and remains the most successful and highly regarded world music festival on the planet. Perhaps the most cosmopolitan festival…
UK: David Cameron has announced the government approval of 59 group standards for ‘Trailblazer’ apprenticeships, as part of its commitment to supporting three million new apprentices in the UK by 2020. Supported by key industry experts, this new initiative launches the first apprenticeship as a Live Events Rigger, the development of which has been facilitated by NRAG (National Rigging Advisory Group). Representatives from leading industry employers formed the NRAG working group. In April 2015 the standard was agreed by the Government Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to be put forward to lead the rigging apprenticeship initiative, assisting other…
GERMANY: The 2015 Rock Werchter festival marked the 15th year that Adamson loudspeakers reinforced all 80 bands performing on the three festival stages. PRG EML Productions once again supplied all the lighting, video, sound and rigging equipment as well as crew for the festival. “We are incredibly proud to have worked with Rock Werchter for as many years as we have,” said Brock Adamson, owner of Adamson Systems Engineering. “It’s a privilege to be part of a team that puts on such an extraordinary event.” Rock Werchter, held in the village of Werchter, Belgium, is billed as the world’s largest…
Dr Chris Cocking is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton, with a research interest in the psychology of crowd behaviour (particularly during mass emergencies), collective resilience and post disaster psychosocial support. Together with colleagues, he has developed the Social Identity Model of Crowd Resilience (Drury et al, 2009), which argues that outdated irrationalist discourses about crowds can contribute to crowd management/ emergency planning and responses that could create further problems and increased risks to public safety. Chris has worked in the crowd management sector, consulting on crowd behaviour at large events in the South…
UK: Evian Christ, electronic music producer and Tri Angle Records-signee, was detained by Leeds Festival security shortly after his performance on Friday August 28. The finer details of his temporary imprisonment have been a matter of contention between the Ellesmore Port-born trance artist and Reading & Leeds organiser Melvin Benn. The story initially gained traction after Christ posted a video from his immediate enclosure to Twitter, accompanied with the hashtag ‘#freeevian’. Although some were disheartened to learn that it wasn’t a promotional campaign for complementary bottles of mineral water, many were incensed with the ostensible injustice of the whole debacle,…
UK: Shambala organisers made abandoned tents and campsite waste a priority at this year’s event, as part of their commitment to recycle 100% of viable waste. The campaign included an advance communication strategy encouraging festivalgoers to recycle whatever possible and keep ‘their shared space beautiful’. All ticket buyers were charged a £10 recycling deposit, which was exchanged onsite for a bag of recycling and rubbish. Once filled, it could be returned for the initial deposit, or a festival pack retailing at £25. Campers also saw large signs on entry, reaffirming the festival’s expectations about recycling. In addition, a campsite-based ‘Upcycle…
UK: Noisily Festival 2015 saw 3,000 revellers descend on Coney Woods in Leicestershire. Across four stages and a smattering of smaller venues, performances from industry defining artists like Stefan Bodzin, Grouch, Loud, Outsiders, James Monro, Whyt Noyz and Victor Ruiz laid down the soundtrack to a weekend of underground electronic music. The line-up was complemented by immersive sound environments formed by the expertly tuned Funktion-One sound systems, manned by Oz Jefferies from Audio Feed. Last year’s festival saw the expansion of the site with the addition of the Liquid Stage. After a decade at the sorely missed Glade Festival, Liquid…
WORLDWIDE: This year hundreds of thousands of country music fans donned their cowboy hats and high tech festival wristbands, as seven of the summer’s biggest country hoedowns adopted the latest event technology developed by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) specialist, Intellitix. 2015 marked the year of the RFID country music festival with organisers enhancing their guest experiences with smooth and secure entry processes, fast and convenient cashless payments for onsite purchases, and social media brand engagements – all with a simple tap of an RFID-enabled wristband. Stagecoach (April 24 – 26 in Indio, California), the highest-grossing country music festival in the…