North star

A new outdoor event series is heading to the NEC this May. Called the CP Projekt, James Dean, CEO of James Dean Events, explains all…

For 17 years, James Dean, chief executive officer of James Dean Events, has been running successful events and festivals across the UK. From tribute festivals and events packed full of nostalgic acts, Dean has made a name for himself, ploughing away, and building a group that is now comprised of 10 event companies.

Today, he is excited once more, as he sits to chat with StandOut about his latest new venture – a month-long run of shows at Birmingham’s NEC. But the events are not taking place indoors. Instead, Dean and his team are busy planning the “CP Projekt” – the car park project; a total of 14 shows that will take place over four weekends, including two Bank Holidays, this May.

Mitigate Risk

The car park project will take over the NEC’s North 5, a vast expanse of hard standing, so there’s no risk of any muddy fields if the heavens decide to open and Mother Nature has her way.

“In December [2022], I won an award at the UK Festival Awards and met a great guy called Andy Lenthall [CEO, UK Festival Awards],” explained Dean. “We had a conversation, and I said I was looking for a venue for a run of events. Andy knew what I was looking for; I needed the venue to be near major cities and I wanted an area of concrete to mitigate risks from infrequent weather patterns. He mentioned the NEC.”

He added: “On the same day, my assistant passed me an envelope and it was a digital pitch deck from the NEC. I got straight on the phone to Richard.”

The Richard that Dean refers to is Richard Mann, new business director at the NEC, the man in charge of promoting the NEC’s varied event spaces to organisers. And in this case, the NEC’s North 5. “We have 100 acres of hard standing on our site,” explained Mann. “James’ events will take place on the north side of our campus, on the sexily titled North 5 car park, next to where we hosted Wireless in 2022.”

Serendipity

Since Wireless graced the Birmingham site in 2022, the NEC has actively been encouraging outdoor event organisers and promoters to consider the NEC for their events and festivals. The NEC’s pitch deck caught Dean’s eye as it landed on his desk at the end of a busy summer. Some might even call Dean’s conversation with Lenthall and the pitch deck landing serendipity but whatever it is, it’s clear that this new relationship is working for both ambitious parties.

Dean is incredibly excited for the future. “Our first site meeting was at the end of October, and we have another site meeting tomorrow,” Dean commented. “The event management plan is done, and we have a few Ts to cross, and some Is to dot but I really do think the planets aligned and that’s why we’re here now.”

Lessons Learned

“We’ve been wanting to diversify for a while now,” Mann tells StandOut. “The summer was traditionally quite quiet, and the site was under-utilised at certain times of the year.

“When Live Nation and Festival Republic put in the infrastructure for Wireless, they took it all out and in hindsight, it could have stayed in, and the asset could have been sweated more.”

Mann says that the NEC team – Kara Pridmore, event manager, Michelle Baldwin, head of events, and Linda Ritchie, venue general manager – learned a lot from their first festival experience in 2022. They acquired new skills around outdoor events, particularly around wayfinding and egress, and these skills will be drawn on when Dean and his team descend on North 5 later this year.

LONG-TERM PLANS

The events – everything from cinematic events in a big top to concert-style shows, one-day festivals and family-focused events – will run from May 3 to 27. This year, Dean and his team – Michael Kelly, festival director, Connor Lovejoy, assistant festival director, and Simon Stanaway, operations and logistics – are expecting 5,000 to 6,000 people per show [except the cinematic events in the big top] and there is the potential to go up to 20,000 people in the future.

“We’re already looking at acts for next year,” Dean added. “This year, we were late getting to market but we’re now having big conversations about 2025.”

Dean is thinking long-term. He has three main goals for 2024. He wishes to develop a “fantastic working relationship” with the NEC team and leave a pristine site, he wants to ensure ticketholders a great customer experience, and he wants to try and breakeven in year one. Which is why that particular point is his third priority and not his first.

Mann confirms that both parties are already talking about year two. He added: “We want customers to have a great time and associate our campus with good entertainment. When we started on this journey, we were aware that when you think of festivals, you think of green fields, and you don’t think of a car park at the NEC. But I really do hope we can build something together.”