UK: Continest UK has launched its new range of award-winning foldable container units for events, which claim to offer event organisers an 80% cost-cut on logistics and storage, as well as a similar reduction of CO2 and GHG emissions. The new company brings together two experienced event professionals: CEO Andy Moss, owner of sport event logistics & management company Cube Management, and Continest UK managing director Brandon Weston, who brings many years’ experience in portable modular buildings and event structures. Both were present at the Event Production Show in London to launch the new UK distributorship, with Moss commenting: “The…
Author: Festival Insights
Richard Zijlma is the former Director of Amsterdam Dance Event, where over two decades he helped develop it into the pre-eminent festival & conference for electronic music. He is currently working to curate AVA events throughout 2020, including the forthcoming editions in London and Belfast. Back in the day, I was the guy that tried to make music myself. It was not bad, but definitely not what I would describe as being ‘good’ either. Nonetheless, I spent all of my free time and money on gear, records and concerts. When I studied in Groningen I saw a poster for Eurosonic…
From January 30 – February 1, London Music Conference hosted over 70 workshops, gear demonstrations, talks and panels to help emerging electronic artists engage with and break into the music industry, with the event’s accompanying showcase festival providing a complementary discovery platform for fans. Beyond the walls of the legendary Fabric nightclub in which it is housed, LMC goes further than many of its competitors by striving to build a year-round community of aspiring creatives – whether that’s through subscriptions, livestreams, or satellite events. Insights attended LMC and spoke with its Director, Sam Speaight, about the main challenges in hosting…
UK: Shambala Festival has awarded Gorilla UK a three-year contract for the design, installation and removal its bridges, security towers and site structures – including marquee facades and DJ towers. Production Manager Christine Dent from Shambala’s parent company, Kambe Events, said: “We needed a number of temporary structures to be designed and built around the festival site, primarily two bridges – one for foot traffic and the other capable of carrying buggies –plus seven security towers and other structures including marquee facades and DJ towers. The team from Gorilla worked with us throughout the process to design, install and de-rig them…
UK: After its debut in 2019, Latitude Festival’s Art Caravan competition will return in 2020. Latitude has once again teamed up with Will Hardie, the craftsman behind Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces and Shed of the Year to offer several designers grants of up £2000 to build and showcase a conceptual caravan creation at this year’s festival. The concept is as follows: turn a caravan, vehicle or trailer into something ‘implausibly wonderful’ and Latitude will give it a home within its Trailer Park zone. The hope is that Trailer Park will become a creative greenhouse for artists to present large-scale installations. Artists, architects, theatre-makers, performance groups and creators of all sorts are…
UK: Festicket has compiled a list of its 2019 ‘festival heroes’ – the artists that have appeared at the most festivals in the past year. Belgian DJ and producer Lost Frequencies topped the Festival Heroes list for 2019 as he performed at 49 festivals worldwide, with his 2019 festival tour spanning 21 countries and three continents. The 1975 were the biggest festival performers when it came to non-electronic artists. The British indie quartet played at 44 festivals (that’s one every eight days), and travelled to 30 countries along the way, including sets at Reading & Leeds, Governor’s Ball, Mad Cool…
UK: Sound City has announced the 12 participants in its 2020 artist development initiative, Launch. As part of a brand new partnership with CAPLL and with longterm support from Arts Council England, Launch will help support and develop the careers of emerging artists from across the North of England. As well as featuring on this year’s festival bill on from May 1 – 3 and showcasing at Sound City events around the world, the 12 artists involved will receive support over a 12-month period with recording and releasing music; funding; tour management; marketing and PR; personal development; and the transition to…
Vicki Taylor is PR Manager for Wild Rumpus, and works across Just So Festival, Timber Festival and Hinterlands Rural Film Festival. Alongside producing large-scale events, Wild Rumpus works with performers and producers to shape a cultural environment where excellent outdoor work thrives. My daily commute starts off in the same way as many other people’s. There’s a mad rush to cram everything into my bag and race to the car, I hope I can get away with not stopping for petrol, and then I promptly get stuck in a traffic jam on the motorway. But that’s probably where the similarities end.…
UK: In collaboration with its 2020 charity partner TreeSisters, Boomtown is aiming to plant one million trees this year to help tackle the climate emergency. With growing concern around the climate crisis, the 66,000 capacity event will use its platform to raise awareness and invite audience members, artists, crew and external partners to work together to restore nature by collectively planting over one million trees. This follows the success of the 2019 campaign that saw Boomtown collaborate with TreeSisters, and plant 71,725 trees to regenerate tropical rainforests around the world. To contribute to one of the most powerful solutions for climate…
UK: The sustainability initiative, Festival Vision:2025, has released the second edition of its flagship Show Must Go On report, revealing the latest figures, trends and practices surrounding the festival industry’s response to the climate crisis. The full report is available as a free download here. Five years on since the first edition was published, the new 126-page report, which has been crowdfunded by the industry, gives an insight into sector sustainability, and reflects the progress made in technologies, materials and operational practices to reduce environmental impacts. Its main chapters, authored by experts in their own fields, cover governance, resources & waste, water, food,…