Following the widely reported disaster that was last year’s Hope & Glory Festival, Skiddle – one of the failed event’s two primary ticketing outlets – made the ‘unprecedented’ decision to refund each and every snubbed attendee out of its own pocket, incurring a decidedly non-trivial loss of £65,000 in the process. Moves such as this, coupled with the company’s strong editorial voice, unique consumer friendly features and support for positive industry initiatives, suggest that Skiddle is intent on going beyond what is expected of a typical ticketing agent. Insights recently spoke with Victoria Bamber – Skiddle’s Head of Communications –…
Author: Festival Insights
UK: The annual Vision:2025 conference will take place at The Showman’s Show on October 17, hoping to increase the momentum of festival industry communities working together to create more sustainable events. The conference, hosted by industry think-tank Powerful Thinking, welcomes the 70+ festival organisers signed up to the Vision:2025 pledge to cut the environmental impacts of their events, together with key figures from the festival industry who will share their experiences and offer expertise and advice to Vision:2025 members alongside green-minded event suppliers and organisations that can provide networks of support around sustainability. Paul Reed, CEO of the Association of…
UK: This August, Jika Jika Festival marked its debut event by hosting Northern Ireland’s first ever cashless festival with the help of Event Genius Pay. Set across two days in Derry at the picturesque Ebrington Square, the experienced event organisers from Jika Jika teamed up with the experts at Event Genius to use the company’s innovative RFID technology at the festival to increase spending by 23% per-head, when compared to non-cashless events ran by the organisers and held at the same location last year. Prior to attending, fans were offered the opportunity to plan their budget by pre-purchasing credit –…
UK: 2000trees, the latest UK festival to go 100% cashless using RFID technology, has proclaimed the move a great success and credits its new system, provided by PlayPass, with improving the customer experience along with trading efficiency. 2000trees Co-Founder and Director, Andy Rea, stated: “2018 has been a momentous year for us with our move to cashless. It was a decision we had been deliberating for a couple of years, and I think it is a very positive step forward for our festival that we are really proud of. “You can’t underestimate the convenience it adds to the customer experience,…
UK: The first ever London Music Conference will take place from October 11 – 13 and will educate on, engage with and explore a wide range of dance music topics via a series of networking events, discussion panels and parties featuring the industry’s most esteemed professionals from around the world. In all there will be more than 30 conference sessions, 15 label showcases, 45 events, 450 delegates, 60 speakers and 50 content partners on hand to provide an all encompassing experience and education on a range of topics. Conference topics will include: Secrets to Success in booking, promoting and managing…
UK: Festicket, the world’s largest online booking portal for music festivals, has shared its annual industry findings as the summer season draws to a close. As a leading retailer of international live music experiences, Festicket’s annual insights offer a unique overview of the who, what, and how of festivals across the globe. According to data gathered from Festicket’s users*, travellers who went abroad for a festival rose by 29% this year. The standout destination globally was Hungary, with a 773% growth in festival visitors, but festivals in Portugal (127%), Spain (132%), Belgium (120%) and the Netherlands (104%) have all seen…
NETHERLANDS: As of October 1, Mariana Sanchotene will be the new Director of the Amsterdam Dance Event foundation. She succeeds Richard Zijlma, who together with Buma Cultuur director Frank Helmink, is still responsible for the upcoming edition of the Amsterdam Dance Event. Sanchotene’s appointment coincides with the foundation’s transition into an independent entity. The Amsterdam Dance Event had been part of Buma Cultuur since its beginning in 1995. Willemijn Maas, former Director of AVRO and currently an independent consultant and supervisor, will become the Chairman of the independent foundation’s Supervisory Board. The remaining members of the Supervisory Board are currently…
Lou Fitzpatrick has extensive experience in festival and event management. With a passion for technology and problem solving, Lou is always looking for ways to streamline processes to make lives easier for event managers, the production office and on-site operations. Having experienced firsthand the demands of managing meal tickets from 20 years at the heart of event production, Lou knew there had to be a better way to manage the process and so created Grub Stub; an online meal management system that turns a spreadsheet of requirements into one manageable meal ticket per person. Not only has the system proved…
UK: Shambala festival, taking place from August 23 – 26, is launching a first of its kind reusable plate service as part of its ambition to be completely disposables free by 2020. One of the first festivals to ban plastic bottles in 2014 and reduce coffee cups in 2017, the reusable plate is the next step in the festival’s drive towards sustainability. The pioneering plate service, entitled ‘Less Mess’ is being provided by Unpackaged and the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) as a pilot project, before being offered to all festivals next year. Behind the scenes, all crew catering will also…
WORLDWIDE: PlayPass, a global market leader in RFID and cashless payment technology for the live events industry, has secured €1.9 million in its latest round of capital funding. Since being founded in 2012, the award winning company has expanded to deliver innovative solutions to more than 600 events, in 19 countries across five continents. With a client list including Live Nation, AEG Presents, IMG, Mojo Concerts, Ticketmaster and PayPal, It has securely processed over €50 million in payment transactions involving more than four million ticket-holders. The new capital will allow PlayPass to further strengthen its core offering, building enhanced data…