Dave Withey is the UK Sales and Marketing Director at temporary event infrastructure supplier Arena Group. In this article he gives Insights the lowdown on the importance of developing strong relationships with suppliers, and explains how temporary seating and structures can not only help give your visitors a better experience, but also open up new revenue streams. Event infrastructure is often seen as a second tier importance: the practical commodities; from perimeter fencing and track way, to toilets, or control cabins. It’s a necessary part of turning a green-field site into a venue, but while the organisers’ focus is obviously…
Author: Festival Insights
UK: WOMAD has become the first major event to use NCASS Connect, demonstrating their commitment to food safety and protection for festivalgoers. NCASS Connect is a new online management system designed by the Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS) to simplify the issue of compliance, improve efficiencies and reduce administration. The use of NCASS Connect at WOMAD has allowed for the event organiser to check that food traders hold the relevant food and health and safety documentation, and training records. Wiltshire EHO’s are currently uploading their inspection findings for those stalls which were inspected during the event. As more authorities do the…
USA: Adamson Systems Engineering was tapped to provide sound reinforcement for the Miller Lite Oasis Stage at this year’s Milwaukee Summerfest. The 11 day music festival features 11 stages, more than 800 acts, 1,000+ performances, and draws an average of 900,000 music lovers from across the country. The E-Series rig reinforced an assortment of big-name acts including Bastille, Public Enemy, Time Flies, Kip Moore, Sublime With Rome, Sammy Hagar, and Smash Mouth. The 52,000 square foot Oasis accommodates up to 9,500 fans. Adamson’s Applications Engineer Brian Fraser created the system utilising Adamson’s Blueprint AVTM software to design a rig that…
USA: For the third straight year, BottleRock Festival in Napa Valley, CA, welcomed more than 100,000 music, food, and wine enthusiasts to a unique gathering of top musical acts, celebrity chefs, and master sommeliers. The 2015 lineup of more than 70 acts featured Robert Plant, Snoop Dogg, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Public Enemy, No Doubt, and Imagine Dragons performing on five different stages. One of those stages — the Miner Family Winery Stage — featured an exclusive lineup of Vue Audiotechnik products including al-Class Line Array Systems for mains, h-Class subwoofers, side-fills and stage monitors, and V Series System Engines…
WORLDWIDE: EDM mogul Robert F.X. Sillerman has set plans in motion to privatise SFX Entertainment, after having taking the firm public in 2013. SFX Entertainment’s special committee of independent directors has delivered notice requiring Sillerman and his affiliates to deliver fully executed commitment letters by August 13. The merger agreement was signed on May 26 for stockholders to receive $5.25 in cash for each share of common stock held. With SFX’s go-shop period expiring earlier this week, the merger is expected to close in Q4 2015 unless an alternative transaction is proposed and approved by the special committee. SFX Entertainment…
UK: Live Nation has won the bid for festival and venue operator MAMA & Company, according to a recently published report. After receiving two unsolicited bids for the company, MAMA appointed the global business advisors AlixPartners to consider the offers. It was thought AEG Live might have won the bid until Live Nation swooped in with a competing offer. The deal is expected to be finalised in August. In 2012 MAMA was subject to another management buyout from HMV, totalling £7.3 million, backed by Lloyds Developmental Capital (LDC), though a recent spokesperson declined to comment on the acquisition rumours. Neither…
UK – For the Scottish festival’s first stint at Strathallan Castle, Creative Technology (CT) supplied four of the T in the Park stages with screens. T in the Park attracts 85,000 music fans per day to Scotland. The headliners at this year’s event were Kasabian, Avicii, The Libertines and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. On behalf of DF Concerts & Events, who promote the festival, Creative Technology (CT) was also there, supplying a total of 334.28 sq metres of LED across four of the main stages and working with the touring productions. The majority of CT’s displays were seen at…
FINLAND: Flow not only uses existing models of environmental leadership, but also actively develops new ones with several partners. In 2009, Flow was one of the first carbon neutral festivals. And in 2012, Flow was the first event to be granted the Eco Compass certificate in Finland. This year Flow will pilot a model of ecological food, and continue its successful environmental collaboration initiatives. Flow encourages food vendors at the festival as well as other events to serve ecological dishes by piloting the Sustainable Meal directions created by Aalto University students, GreenEvent Oy and Osuuskunta Visia. The food partners of…
USA: LiveXLive, the world’s first premium live music streaming network that will deliver around the clock live music to viewers on any connected device, has entered into an agreement with POSSIBLE Mobile to develop the LiveXLive mobile video and web experience. POSSIBLE Mobile has developed the mobile app experience for Major League Soccer, the PGA TOUR, and numerous other leading live content companies. LiveXLive is taking a mobile-first approach to presenting the world’s greatest live music experiences by selecting POSSIBLE Mobile to lead all design, build and development efforts for both the fan experience and opportunities for advertisers. “We have…
UK: Trailblazing controllable LED design and manufacture house Light Initiative (LI) lit up this year’s Glastonbury Festival with bespoke creations for Years & Years, Enter Shikari and the Arcadia Spectacular stage. For Arcadia’s audio-visual feast ‘Metamorphosis’, LI worked alongside costume designer Joanna Peacock to create six custom performance wearables, integrated with LED, and six zorbs. The costumes transformed Arcadia’s dancers into fantastic alien / jellyfish hybrids, or ‘Jellyfish Light Queens’, who appeared from the zorbs as if hatching from an alien egg. “The moment we saw Jo Peacock’s sketch of a performer being released from a zorb we knew the…