Index In Brief

IN BRIEFINDEX

The concert business digest

The Danish government drops all remaining Covid-19 restrictions.

Iceland Airwaves cancels for a second year due to “new and ongoing Covid-19 measures imposed by the government.”

Vaccine passports may be legally required to enter certain events in Scotland in a bid to “help stem the recent surge in the number of Covid cases.”

OVG appoints Chris Granger as CEO of the group’s facilities, following the company’s merge with US venue giant Spectra.

Belgium’s Sportpaleis Antwerp opens its doors for the first time in a year and a half.

Electric Picnic 2021 cancels following the local council’s refusal to grant the organisers a licence.

Dutch campaign group Unmute Us enlists the support of 4,000 organisers for its second protest against government restrictions.

Australia’s live industry comes together to launch a provaccination campaign under the banner #Vaxthenation. Live Nation GSA reveals more details about the inaugural edition of Download Germany.

Belgium’s live industry may take up to two years to get to pre-pandemic levels of operation, according to key venues.

Roblox and Warner Music Group announce a virtual concert experience with Grammy-awardwinning duo Twenty One Pilots.

Coldplay will be the first act to play OVG’s Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle – the world’s first carbonneutral-certified arena.

The fourth annual Nordic Music Biz Top 20 under 30 list is revealed.

Twitter starts to roll out Ticketed Spaces, a functionality that will enable some creators to generate revenue from hosting live audio events on the platform.

American rock band Kings of Leon becomes the first act to send an NFT into space.

SJM Concerts’ Chris York is presented with the NAA’s 2021 award for Outstanding Contribution to the Live Entertainment Industry.

Live Nation Denmark announces the first full-capacity stadium show in Europe since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

British band Massive Attack calls on the government to introduce a plan to cut carbon emissions in the live music business.

More details emerge about ABBA’s upcoming Voyage concerts, as tickets go on general sale.

The Swedish government announces that it will drop almost all restrictions on live events by 29 September.

Portugal is set to gain an 18,000-capacity, multiday festival this winter.

Viagogo sells its StubHub business outside of North America – including the UK – to investment firm Digital Fuel Capital LLC.

Live Nation resumes its acquisition of Ocesa, the third-largest promoter in the world and the parent company of Ticketmaster Mexico.

Amazon brings its palmrecognition technology to music venues, starting with the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in the US. The Scottish parliament approves plans for vaccine passports.

Copenhagen is set to gain a new 2,500-capacity music venue this winter.

An estimated 150,000 people across ten cities take part in the second Unmute Us protest in the Netherlands.

Leading dance music promoters Insomniac and Alda host Saga, Romania’s first large-scale music festival since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

The Netherlands’ live sector say the new 75%-capacity limit for indoor standing events is “unsubstantiated, arbitrary, and extremely harmful.”

Australia is set to gain two new rock festivals in 2021 and 2022, Knight & Day and Uncaged.

Wasserman Music announces five newly promoted agents.

Dutch promoter ID&T signs a partnership agreement with leading live organisation Superstruct Entertainment (see page 12).Thousands of

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minority stake in Ocesa.

With the pandemic still causing uncertainty, Live Nation is expected to hold back 7% of the closing price to cover any potential operating losses for several quarters.

“After serving as Live Nation’s touring, festival, and ticketing partner in Mexico for years, we know Ocesa is a stellar business with deep roots in live entertainment in Mexico,” says Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation. “As we continue to build on the return to live, Ocesa will play a pivotal role in putting together many incredible shows in Mexico and the rest of Latin America.”

Alejandro Soberón Kuri, president and CEO of CIE, adds: “We are extremely proud to finally join Live Nation. This is a natural evolution of our long-standing relationship and it gives us a unique opportunity to continue Ocesa’s 30-year contribution to the development of the Mexican live entertainment industry. Additionally, it will help us foster CIE’s commitment to the promotion of Mexican artistic talent abroad.”

Ocesa promotes more than 3,100 events for nearly six million fans annually across Mexico and Colombia and has a robust business portfolio in ticketing, sponsorship, food & beverage, merchandise, and venue operation – including 13 premier venues across Mexico with a collective capacity of nearly 250,000 seats. Its primary ticketing business, Ticketmaster Mexico, was shifting around 20 million tickets annually, pre-Covid.

TOTH ASSUMES EAA PRESIDENCY

The European Arenas Association (EAA) has named Olivier Toth, CEO of Rockhal in Luxembourg, as its new president. Toth succeeds AEG Europe’s John Langford, who is stepping down after completing his two-year tenure.

“I can think of no better person to lead the EAA,” says Langford of Toth. “Since joining the association, Olivier has been working tirelessly on behalf of the members to deliver the association’s goal of strengthening ties with the European Union and boosting the advocacy impact of the EAA at EU level.”

Toth is a co-founder of the Arena Resilience Alliance (ARA), which has been lobbying the EU’s governing bodies during the pandemic.

“Through the ARA, we have seen how arenas play a vital role as the hub of the live events ecosystem and how necessary it is to have a collective voice for our industry,” says Toth. “We can all agree the world we are Thousands of returning to is not the same one we left behind and I am confident that professionals read the EAA and its ARA subgroup will work towards building a stronger and IQ every day. Make more unified European live events sector.” sure you get the

The EAA’s membership comprises 34 arenas in 20 European countries.whole picture… Magazine 11 SUBSCRIBE HERE