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Issue 40 June 2010 £4.75
More money in live music than recordings By Christina Eccles THE outdoor event industry is leading a new trend which has seen revenue generated from live music overtake the amount of money made from recordings, figures have revealed. New research released by PRS for Music showed live music revenue was up by four per cent in 2009 – beating recorded for the second year running. Last year, consumers spent £1.45bn on live music – up from 1.39bn in 2008 – with festivals counting for 19 per cent of that and stadium gigs 11 per cent. And according to PRS for Music economist Chris Carey, festival organisers should be proud of the role their events play. He said: “Festivals are the fastest growing segment so they have contributed considerably. Arguably, festivals are the most valuable part of the live music industry. “They have been successful from the fact they haven’t overcharged and have managed their growth sensibly. “Pricing is important and credit is due to the industry as ticket prices have not gone up massively – promoters have been savvy.” Chris also revealed what organisers
should be doing to capitalise on the success of their events in 2009 and to make sure the trend continues this year. He added: “I think there is a good opportunity for organisers. There are a lot of good new bands coming through and it’s important for festivals not to just focus on big names. “They should be keeping an eye on what’s out there as they can really make a difference to small acts.” He added that although the market is growing, events shouldn’t be too worried about their competition as they are being split by genre and location – meaning that if organisers are savvy, there can be room for everyone. “Some events have a premium offer with corporate hospitality and value added services – that customer segmentation will always help grow the market. “Supply has been growing gently and gradually. Festivals have kept growing but organisers have managed the scale without flooding the market, which is a delicate balance.” However, he said although the trend is expected to continue, having a World Cup this summer plus the fact there aren’t as many big stadium gigs taking place this year may impact on 2010 figures.
New report on crowd safety
A festival in the Midlands has partnered with a European event as part of the Association of Independent Festivals’ twinning project. Summer Sundae in Leicester joined forces with Bergenfest in Norway after organiser Rob Challice (pictured) felt the two events were a good match. He explained: “There are a lot of independent festivals and when you run one, you are always looking at what your contemporaries do. It can be very lonely running your own project and assistance and advice can prove invaluable.”
A NEW report identifying areas of good practice in crowd safety has been published by the Health and Safety Executive. The HSE commissioned Buckinghamshire New University to undertake the research into the management of crowd safety at unusual and outdoor street events. Four events from around the country formed the basis of the study – including Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and the Notting Hill Carnival. The aim was to gather information at the events to identify areas of good practice, which was collected by indepth interviews, questionnaires and photographic evidence. Researchers looked at areas including communications, first aid and transport and the findings were then drawn together to produce a good practice checklist for crowd safety. The research will now be considered in a wider project to revise the existing Events Safety Guide. The Main Event is the official magazine of the National Outdoor Events Association
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3 Stacey hits the right note with race goers Page 29
Life’s a beach for X Factor’s Diana Page 5 Stars get behind Love Music Hate Racism Page 6
Local authority spotlight
Last year’s festival
Maria Bota
Festival unveils the secrets of keeping a loyal sponsor By Christina Eccles A FESTIVAL in Wiltshire which has managed to secure sponsorship with the same brand for 25 years has shared the secrets of its success. Friends Provident has been a long term supporter of the Salisbury International Arts Festival. As part of the deal, the company is mentioned in the festival’s marketing while the festival benefits from valuable funding and support. But the sponsorship is not totally focused on financial gain – with Friends Provident also promoting the value of attending the festival and how cultural experiences can enhance the lives of visitors. Festival director Maria Bota said:
“We are very proud to be taking Friends Provident’s sponsorship into its 25th year. Their long term support as principal sponsor has enabled the festival to flourish and grow into the vibrant and internationally renowned event it is today. “It is an extraordinary partnership and we know each other very well. We know we offer genuine business benefit and both parties have a lot of confidence around the festival “The festival can also reach a really wide audience. We have a really good range of activities and events which are attractive to a principal sponsor.” Maria also revealed why the partnership has flourished over the years and works so well.
Company celebrates contract GL events has been awarded the largest contract in the company’s history – working on the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The company has won the main overlay supply contract for the Games, which will see it supplying products including over 50,000sqm from its new Absolute range of structures – of which 40,000sqm has been man-
ufactured especially for the event. Scott Hayward – operations director for the UK division of GL events Owen Brown – has been seconded to Delhi as part of the GL events group management team for the contract. Find out more on the challenges which Scott and his team will face in Delhi next issue.
She added: “Sharing brand values is key. As is finding ways of working in harmony with each other. We take a lot of time to review what has worked and what could be done differently. “We are continuing to build relationships with our sponsors and looking at where we can add value for each other.” The festival has also won an award for the benefits it brings to tourism in the area – which is valued at about £2m – and how it helps to raise Wiltshire’s profile as a visitor destination. It takes place from May 21 to June 5 and includes performances in some of the area’s most spectacular venues including Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge.
Agency appointments TICKETING agency Quaytickets has two new members of staff. James Akers joins from Ticketline as business development manager and Amy Stonehewer in the role of business development executive. Head of ticketing services Keith Kelly said: “We are very pleased to welcome both James and Amy to the Quaytickets team. James has a wealth of experience from his time at Ticketline which will be invaluable as we continue to achieve the company’s projected growth.”
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Look out for the first of our Festival Round-ups in the next issue of Main Event and there will also a special feature on Crowd Management Safety ... If you want to promote your company’s services then contact our sales team on 01226 734484
CONTACTS EDITORIAL Group Editor Andrew Harrod Tel: 01226 734639 editorial@themaineventmagazine.co.uk Reporters: Christina Eccles (ce@whpl.net) Emma Spencer (emmas@whpl.net) Louise Cordell (lcordell@whpl.net) Dominic Musgrave (dm@whpl.net)
PRODUCTION Studio Manager: Stewart Holt (sth@whpl.net) Tel: 01226 734414 Group Deputy Editor: Judith Halkerston (jhalkerston@whpl.net) Tel: 01226 734458 Graphic designer: Kyle Wilkinson (kw@whpl.net) Tel: 01226 734711
ADVERTISING Group Sales Manager: Paul Allott Tel: 01226 734484 Fax: 01226 734478 Mob: 07500 905717 Email: pa@whpl.net Sales Executive: Mandy Mellor Tel: 01226 734702 Email: mm@whpl.net Sales and Marketing Director: Tony Barry Email: tb@whpl.net
CIRCULATION Kelly Tarff Tel: 01226 734695 email: circulation@wharncliffepublishing.co.uk
www.themaineventmagazine.co.uk
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Suffolk looks to be festival capital A NEW campaign has been launched to position Suffolk as the festival capital of the UK. The Festivals Suffolk brand has been created to highlight the number and quality of events taking place in the county and to encourage more tourists to tie a visit to an event into their holiday or short break. Festivals promoted will include Latitude, the Newmarket Festival and Harvest at Jimmy’s and festival fans will be able to find out more through a dedicated campaign website. Choose Suffolk’s tourism manager Alex Paul said: “There are a great variety and quality of festivals in Suffolk and festivals are increasingly driving traffic to destinations and are a great way to connect with new audiences. The idea has been very well received in the local area and events have been keen to get in board.” Alex added that the campaign will be beneficial both to the local tourism industry and to the events themselves who will be sharing database contacts to help to market each other’s events. He added: “Suffolk is a strong brand in itself but if you run high quality events you need to work with tourism. You can’t just rely on the same audiences coming back again. Tourists are a very serious source of new visits.”
Estate moves into festival market By Christina Eccles
Katherine Jenkins
A COUNTRY garden estate in West Sussex is moving into the festival market by staging three nights of entertainment in a spectacular open air setting. Wakehurst Place, which is owned by Kew Gardens, is following in the footsteps of Kew’s popular Summer Swing concerts by staging events against the backdrop of its 16th century Elizabethan mansion and ornamental gardens. Organisers have secured acts including Katherine Jenkins with the National Symphony Orchestra, The Magic of Motown and the Bootleg Beatles and hope that the concerts will become an annual event. Kew’s head of venue hire and commercial events Nickola Savage said: “After the success of Summer Swing at Kew, we thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase Wakehurst Place. “It is something different for the area and a unique setting and atmosphere.” Nickola also explained how organisers manage to overcome the difficul-
ties of staging an event on such a protected site, which is also open to the public during the day. She added: “There is lots to consider – from the site layout, to the route of guests coming in, to toilets. Sustainability is also important so we have a recycling policy. We have most of the deliveries before or after the gardens close to the public.” To stage the concerts, the venue is working with Musical Concerts Ltd – a company which has built up vast experience in this area after working on concerts at similar venues such as RHS Wisley. 4,000 people per night can enjoy the event, including those wishing to take advantage of hospitality packages. According to Nickola, these are selling well because instead of the traditional hospitality marquees, Wakehurst Place is able to offer something different. She added: “Instead of having marquees, we take advantage of having the mansion which allows us to offer the packages at a lower price.”
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A festival taking place in England’s most land-locked county has surprised ticket holders by giving this year’s event a beach theme, complete with 50 tonnes of sand. Christina Eccles found out more ...
Organisers bring beach to land-locked Leicester THE Summer Sundae Weekender takes place at De Montfort Hall in Leicester and each year takes on a new theme. This year, organisers have chosen to bring all the fun of the seaside to the event – even though the site is situated miles from the coast. The festival is also celebrating its 10th birthday this year and according to organiser Rob Challice, one of its biggest selling points is that acts are able to perform both outdoors and inside of De Montfort Hall. He explained: “The proximity of the two is such we are able to have two large stages very close to each other. In the day, we only ever have one act on one stage but in the evening we start overlapping. “The indoor hall is great. We can have acts playing a festival but with proper production. It is one of my favourite spaces to programme in and one of the best civic venues in the country.” As part of the 10th birthday celebrations, some of the best loved acts from previous years have been invited back to perform alongside newcomers such as Tinchy Stryder and X Factor star Diana Vickers. And Rob added he is feeling con-
fident that this year’s event will thrive, even in a difficult marketplace, because it has so much to offer. He added: “We thought last year that a lot of people were buying late so this is always a difficult period. There is so much competition over what people can spend their money on. “But we had one of our best years last year so didn’t need to change much for this year. I am optimistic and think the established festivals will be ok. One of the main attractions boutique events have got are the festivals themselves.” The festival is unusual in that it is a partnership approach between a commercial company – CODA – and a local authority. “There isn’t a festival like it in the Midlands. We have always kept very good production values and good contacts. Going back 10 years, a lot of people had perceptions of what a council run festival would be but we were not conforming to that perception. “10 years ago, there weren’t festivals like Bestival. Now Summer Sundae can consider itself one of the boutique festivals.”
Diana Vickers
Barty, left, and his business partner Adam
Pair add a touch of luxury to camping By Louise Cordell A NEW boutique camping venture is being set up to help Glastonbury celebrate its 40th birthday. Pennard Orchard will launch at this year’s festival, providing furnished tipis and exclusive facilities in a private meadow close to the Stone Circle and the Park Stage. Barty Dearden, company MD, said: “I have been visiting and working at festivals all my life and so have been in a good position to see what trends are popular, both with organisers and guests. “I had seen similar temporary camping site schemes, but lower cost versions, and thought that there was a gap in the market for something more luxurious. “I talked to a lot of organisers and festival goers to get their thoughts on
the idea before setting up, and they were all very enthusiastic.” The Pennard Orchard site will be filled with around 50 traditional pole tipis, which are furnished with bedding, cushions rugs and lockable storage boxes. Guests are also given exclusive access to facilities including hot power showers, toilets and hair dryers, home cooked, organic catering and a lounge bar featuring beanbags and hammocks. Barty added: “Our aim is to improve the festival experience for people. “We have our own access gate to the main grounds, so our guests never have to queue to get in and out, and we also offer a shuttle service for people who can’t face the nine minute walk! “We also offer private parking with its own entrance, so people’s cars are
always accessible and they can make a quick getaway when the party ends.” Reservations so far have shown that the campsite will be fully booked for Glastonbury and Barty is now planning to expand the scheme to other festivals. He is already in talks with organisers to find new future partners and build on their success. He added: “It is a competitive market because there is only so much land available around festivals - but there are more events each year so it is just a matter of finding the right ones to work with. “I think festival managers like to offer another string to their bow, as long as they are well managed, because it means less pressure on their facilities and the opportunity to attract a new audience.”
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LOVE MUSIC HATE RACISM
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Town centre event goes on despite rain and illness By Christina Eccles A LAST minute change of headliner and the unpredictable British weather did nothing to dampen the spirit of festivalgoers at Barnsley’s biggest ever outdoor event... Crowds of about 5,000 gathered in a town centre car park – chosen for its size and good local transport links – for the Love Music Hate Racism carnival, which was staged to promote multiculturalism and diversity within the community. Established acts including Chipmunk, Roll Deep and Reverend and the Makers shared the stage with several local bands. But although the final act was advertised as UB40, the band’s drummer was taken ill just two days before the event – forcing them to pull out and leaving organisers with the last minute headache of finding a suitable replacement. Fortunately, they managed to secure an alternative act, with
Neville Staple from The Specials closing the show with his band. Sharon Stacey from Barnsley Love Music Hate Racism helped to organise the concert and The Main Event spoke to her on site at the event. She said: “Barnsley LMHR has been running regular gigs at a local venue, Lucorum, and have had a lot of success over the years. “We thought it would be nice to have some sort of music festival in the town but backed with the knowledge of a national campaign, so we came up with a plan to stage a gig to celebrate multiculturalism and diversity. “We have the main bands as the attraction but the event is also about being culturally aware. A lot of people have been very positive about this message, which has never really been at the forefront before. “We had a last minute change of headliner but we have tried to get The Specials before so were really happy that Neville came down at
the last minute. “We found out on Thursday that UB40’s drummer had been taken to hospital so with that news, we had to find an alternative. It is really unfortunate but it was a great show anyway.” The main festival was also supported by a number of fringe events taking place in 20 venues across the town and Sharon added that the team are proud of bringing something different to Barnsley which hasn’t been seen before. She added: “We have filled a gap in the market for an event in Barnsley and any venue or festival that wants to work with us in future is more than welcome to. “People in Barnsley have never had the opportunity of such a huge event right on their doorstep which also has a really important message to share. “It is very exciting. We are making history here. Finally Barnsley is on the map for having something really positive.”
Contractors Ticket mart Med Event Event Solutions Nine Hundred Communications Media Displays Florida Marquees Oakwood Services The Hire Station Barnsley William G Search The Sign and Banner Factory Generator power Tega Hire Doyle Security
Springboard hope for event THE Main Event also caught up with Sharon after the event to find out her thoughts on the day. She added that although the weather was disappointing, overall she was pleased with how the festival went and hopes that it can act as a springboard for other events in the area. She added: “We were pleased with the
turnout and even though the weather wasn’t on our side, I was really happy that the audiences managed to stick around. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.” Future plans include staging more gigs in venues around the town centre and a presence at local festival BOMfest in July.
Chipmunk
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This year’s Radio One Big Weekend took place on its most rural site to date – The Vaynol Estate in North Wales. Prior to the gig, The Main Event caught up with Radio One’s executive producer, live events Neil Wyatt who revealed the challenges and rewards of hosting the event in such a rural location ...
Rural location adds to buzz and excitement “BIG Weekend grew out of the Radio One roadshow and is now the biggest free ticketed event in Europe. “We started off going to cities but we realised it would have a far greater impact if we took it to the secondary market – places which don’t have an event of this nature, where we know the buzz and excitement is going to be incredible. “Our aim is to deliver the most professional, exciting event we can do but we also want to celebrate the region that we go to. “The first part is finding a council and a site which we can work with. The key is to go where the council are supportive and welcoming. “We also want people to see the benefit of the event coming. We want to celebrate the local region and economy and that relationship is key. “Our priorities are that the site has to work, the council has to be great and then we start looking at the infrastructure. “We can see real benefits to the local economy of us putting these systems [such as traffic management] in place. But there are a lot of challenges about rural events, which you
don’t get in big cities. “One of the big problems for us is hotel rooms, as we normally have about 1500 people working on the event. Here travel is also going to be very different. We normally see the majority of people arriving by public transport but we know there will be a lot more people driving this year. “The key moment is when we have to tell people that they haven’t got a ticket. Ticket demand is huge and not everyone is going to be able to come to the event. “For us as the BBC, this is a huge priority. Negative PR around the event could be very damaging to us and the council so it is a sensitive area. This year we also have to think about the Welsh language. We are putting processes in place for Welsh language signage and editorial content on big screens at the event. We want to engage with Wales in the right way. “The site itself is beautiful and one of our aims for the estate is to establish it as a viable events site for future use.” For a full round up of Big Weekend see the July issue of The Main Event.
The Jersey Boys performance from last year’s event
Stars turn out for West End event THE world’s largest free theatre festival is returning to London later this month starring some of the West End’s most famous faces. West End Live will take place over two days in Leicester Square – with an outdoor stage showcasing some of the capital’s best loved shows. Performances will include Sheridan Smith as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Kerry Ellis as Nancy in Cameron Mackintosh’s Oliver! and
Patina Miller as Delores in Sister Act. Last year, nearly a quarter of a million people attended the event, which scooped The People’s Choice Music Event of the Year at the 2009 Visit London Awards. Look out for the next issue of The Main Event where we will be catching up with West End Live’s organisers to discover the rewards and challenges of pulling the event together.
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LOCAL AUTHORITY SPOTLIGHT
Sustainability, training and advising local organisers on how to stage their events are just some of the areas which Lambeth Council is focusing on this year. Christina Eccles found out more.
Community is more and more willing to stage their own events
The team has also been celebrating after winning a top industry award. The Lambeth Country Show scooped the production partnership award at the National Outdoor Event Association’s tribute awards in recognition of the success of the partnership between the council and Capita Symonds. Pictured are the events team with their award (from left) Roy Robinson, Lee Fiorentino, Emma Dagnes, David Holley, Somia Elmartaoui and Angelie Yeboah.
WHEN head of events Emma Dagnes joined Lambeth Council five years ago, her strategy for events recommended a greater focus on the needs of the community. And she admits she believes strongly in the benefits which events can bring, not only from a cultural point of view but also with the training and employment opportunities they can provide. The council facilitates about 200 events per year and has a core programme of its own – including the popular Lambeth country show, a bonfire night firework display in three local parks and a Christmas parade – and with each one comes the chance for local people to engage with the events. She explained: “One of the areas we are looking at is developing workshops and training opportunities through our events. “I believe that the more cultur-
al experiences people can have, the better life is in general.” According to Emma, the community is becoming more and more willing to get involved with staging their own events and the council is on hand to support those who wish to stage something in the borough. A dedicated page on the council’s website has been set up to assist anyone who needs advice about organising an event and Emma added that this has been well received by local people. She added: “I thought with a
downturn in the economy, we would see less applications. We have seen less commercial events applying but we are up on the number of community organisations wanting to organise events. We have a detailed page on our website where anyone wanting to organise an event can get advice – so people feel they are looked after by us. Lambeth Council is very keen for a diverse cultural offer for the borough. This allows us to build an event service around that strategy.”
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LOCAL AUTHORITY SPOTLIGHT
‘The jewel in the crown’ THE Lambeth Country Show has been running for the last 36 years and is the most varied event organised by the council. The site – Brockwell Park – is divided up into several zones including a funfair, farm area, flower zone and a music stage, which has a dedicated reggae day on the Sunday. The event is free to attend and attracts an estimated 100,000 people over two days. Emma added: “The show started off as a horticultural event and has organically developed over the years.
“It has been run in house for the last three years and the idea behind that was to engage more closely with the community to find out what they want to happen at the event. We did evaluations to see what they wanted more of and what they want to change. It is an incredible event and we have people who have been coming every year for the last 36 years. “It is the jewel in the crown of our events season – we reach almost half of the borough with one event. “We are really trying to engage people through events and activities
which they wouldn’t normally get involved in. At the show, in one day visitors could learn activities from how to knit, to shearing a sheep and watching jousting.” Future plans for the show include expanding the content of the event to incorporate an activity zone focusing on health and well being and making it more sustainable. Emma added: “Moving forward, we are working hard for sustainability at events and our ultimate goal is to achieve the British standard for sustainability.”
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120,000 see firework displays ONE of the council’s most popular events is its Bonfire Night firework display – which takes place simultaneously over three sites. About 120,000 people flock to displays at Clapham Common, Brockwell Park and Streatham Common where the fireworks are timed to go off at each site at exactly 7.30pm.
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Experts unite to create festival By Christina Eccles
Eye-in-the-sky first for Yorkshire company THE face of security and crowd management at events has changed with the launch of a new product. Yorkshire-based company MRL has become the first in the UK to be granted the licence to operate an eye-in-the-sky flying unit – the MRL Eye. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has full CCTV capabilities and can be used to survey inaccessible or dangerous locations, overhead power lines or pipeline inspections and traffic management. The eye provides constant airborne imaging or data transmission while hovering and flying in the air. On the ground, MRL use a hightech surveillance vehicle in which images from the flying eye can be
seen in real time on a large screen and recorded to computer, before being transmitted to anywhere in the world. MRL Eye project manager John King said: “The UAV is an amazing piece of kit. It is so versatile and responsive it can be used in so many locations which are normally inaccessible and can give an unusual bird’s-eye view to put a location into perspective in its setting. “Helicopter filming is the only other alternative, but helicopters are noisy, bulky and not always environmentally sustainable. “Also, they cannot be used inside large structures and helicopter hire is expensive, which is becoming more of a factor for clients.”
A GROUP of industry experts have joined forces to create a festival after working on others and realising that they could do better. The weekend of concerts – organised by UK Events – will take place at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire over two nights in August. The first will be a flashback to the 80s night with artists such as Rick Astley and Toyah and the second a pop party in the park featuring N Dubz, Peter Andre and The Saturdays. Stage manager Andy White told The Main Event that the organisers of the event all have vast experience working on various projects in the industry, which they thought they could put to good use by staging their own event.
He said: “We have all worked in the industry and there are a lot of people out there trying to do it on a budget. It is time to move into event production. We have seen what has gone off and know we can do it better and by keeping costs reasonable and retaining that level of professionalism.” Andy added that this year the team are concentrating on the Nottinghamshire area as that is where they know best. But in future they hope to take events to the rest of the country. He added: “In the first year we don’t intend to overstretch ourselves. We want to get a good reputation and then next year hope to do six events in locations such as stately homes and National Trust parks. The year after that we hope to be doing about 16 events.”
Hard work pays off for Irish firm SELECT Management and Security has become the first crowd management and event security company in Northern Ireland to achieve approved contractor standard from the Security Industry Authority. Select has also become the first Northern Irish company to achieve Approved Contractor status for Close Protection. In total, Select has received approval for the Security Guarding, Public Space Surveillance
(CCTV), Door Supervision and Close Protection sectors. Managing director Andrew McQuillan said: “Our entire senior management team and staff have been working very hard to achieve this standard and set a benchmark for our peers. We see clients repeatedly coming back to us year on year and believe this new accreditation will help us expand our client base within our industry.”
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INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
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Croatia offers cheap alternative A NEW festival in Croatia is aiming to offer a cheaper alternative this summer to the ‘saturated’ UK market, according to its organiser. Stop Making Sense is the brainchild of Chris Greenwood who is launching his own event after building up experience working as a director on the Big Chill. After looking abroad for the right market to create his festival in, he decided on Croatia and will be staging his first event there in September. He said: “When the sale of the Big Chill festival went through, I decided to do my own event. Having had my share of the English summer weather and the big festival set up, I really wanted to do something on a smaller scale and with better weather. There are enough festivals to go round in the UK and we wanted to do something different.”
Chris added he is conscious that the festival doesn’t just become a ‘Brits abroad’ type of event and wants to encourage people from all over Europe to attend. To help with this, the event is being promoted in Paris and Berlin. And after doing a Big Chill event in India, Chris also said he discovered that it was important to make sure local people weren’t priced out of attending a festival on their own doorstep – so Croatians are being offered cheaper tickets. He added: “We are looking at the event as a holiday with three days of music but a lot of people choose to go for more than the three days. The Croatian coast is amazing and also really good value because it is outside the Euro zone. For a similar price to attending a UK festival, you can get a week’s holiday.
Picture: Turnmaster Tim “The locals are very into the idea of us coming. People coming to the festival are encouraged to rent villas or
stay in local hotels and to spend money in the village. We really want to involve the local community.”
Volcanic ash challenge required quick-thinking THE recent volcanic ash cloud created a challenge for The Amazing Tent Company on a recent project in the Middle East. The company was in the final planning stages of providing structures for this year’s WOMAD Abu Dhabi festival when it was affected by various operational obstacles such as crew shortages, delivery delays and generally dealing with the unknown.
Director Steve Haddrell explained: “Working in the Middle East requires the ability to think fast and outside the box – different working hours, an extreme climate and an unfamiliar place. So at a time like this, it’s proved invaluable that we offer a highly-skilled and tailor-made service, continually committed to building our local connections.” Through a unique strategic alliance, The Amazing Tent Company and
Dubai based Harlequin Arena successfully installed over 1800m2 of covered space for the festival, now in its second year. The TriSpan structure was installed in just two days on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche, a sensitive site requiring special ballast. Director Dan Hyde added: “We weren’t able to use the beach sand as ballast, instead we installed 50 custom-built metal stillages, each filled
with 1000kg of curb stones to anchor the structure – it’s a really simple yet practical idea, just how we like it.” The TriSpan worked perfectly for the size of the site as a central focal point for Taste the World, an area where performing artists have the opportunity to cook their national dishes – all part of WOMAD’s commitment to increasing understanding of other cultures through music.
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Streets ahead
INSURANCE ADVERTISER’S ANNOUNCEMENT
Following the inaugural success of last year’s Big Lunch we have evaluated the market requirement for a bespoke policy specifically for street parties. Based on historic data going back as far as the last jubilee and taking into consideration the forthcoming celebrations and ongoing annual occasions, we believe there is a strong growing market for
such a product. Currently an online product only, this policy offers public liability cover at fantastically discounted rates and as with all our policies is underwritten by AXA Insurance UK plc. For full details go to http://www.eventsinsurance.co.uk/pages/street-party/
Premium versus claims IT only takes one person to slip or trip at an event to run up a claim for £16-£20,000. Forget the size of the event, and the number of visitors is immaterial, it takes just one person to slip on a wet step, find that hole in the car park where you took the post out, or trip on a guide rope. The result, a soft tissue injury or worse still, a fracture can take up to 18 months to resolve.
Accidents do happen, that’s life, naturally not everyone claims, but those that do, if they have a valid case have a right to compensation. This culture did not originate in the UK but it has crept in all the same, accidents are not always caused by negligence, nobody may be at fault. Compensation – it is not insurance companies who award huge sums in compensation, we merely pay the claimant and the exorbitant costs stacked over the course of time, the
events industry would benefit immeasurably if somebody could reestablish some principles and apply common sense in reducing such payments. The fear of litigation is damaging and limiting to such an important all encompassing industry. Families no longer feel able to make their gardens available for charity events in case someone slips into the pond, and there was the cancellation of the infamous cheese rolling event
Last orders ... FORGOTTEN anything? You’ve booked the venue, organised your suppliers and sold the tickets, job done. Or is it? Who’s sorted out the insurance? We fully understand the enormity of organising any event, however big or small. A lot of organisers don’t have the luxury of operating within the 9-5.30 bracket – they organise their event in the evenings or at weekends and therefore it is vital for us to be as accessible and accommodating whenever and wherever possible.
Always first for customer service, we have developed our systems to allow accessibility 24/7, supported by an extended out of office hours answering service and a team of experienced underwriters in the office five and a half days a week. This way we try as much as we can not to “ring time” on organisers. Having finished a busy Saturday morning last summer I was contacted by our out of office answering service with a client in distress who desperately needed a policy for that afternoon. The call was
patched through to me and I duly took the clients details, a credit card payment and drove the 40 minutes back to the office to issue the policy and email it across. I’m not entirely sure the premium covered my fuel bill but the event went ahead as planned. I am sure we are not unique in our level of support that insurers give to the event industry. We have to remember after all that without events, we would have no business.
because it attracted too many visitors. Every day we seem to encounter another absurdity. Risk is an inevitable part of life, this is why the insurance industry has responded by developing a range of bespoke niche market products specifically for the event market and rated them according to the risk. Organisers bemoan the premium but in relative terms you pay a mere fraction of what a claim may end up costing us.
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EVENT BRANDING
Branding should surprise and engage audiences ORGANISERS should surprise and engage audiences with the branding they choose at events, according to an expert. Lee Marriott, pictured left, account director at Logistik, revealed the most effective way to create impactful branding at events and what organisers should be considering. He said: “Always remember, impact is key. If it is not going to make an impact then don’t do it. But, don’t over do it either, because there is nothing worse than an over-branded event. “Organisers need to think carefully about where to place the branding. Be interesting with the positioning of the branding and try to find ways of surprising consumers. “These days everyone is so used to brands and their ways of communicating that if event organisers can surprise in the way they brand events, immeasurable impact can be achieved. “The best thing to do when choosing branding for an event is to play to the strengths of the client’s brand. It is an easy thing to say but don’t complicate the
‘The best thing to do when choosing branding for an event is to play to the strengths of the client’s brand. It is an easy thing to say but don’t complicate the brand’s message, keep it short and sweet’ brand’s message, keep it short and sweet. “At Logistik we want sustainability to become second nature to our clients, so we regularly recommend and educate them about the more environmentally friendly types of materials available, which can also be more cost effective too. “We encourage all of our clients to use a product called PE for their event branding, because it is just as good as PVC, is half the cost and is 100 per cent recyclable.”
With experience of producing event branding at the highest level, Piggotts is ideally placed to offer advice to organisers. Head of sales and marketing Gary Smith revealed more ...
Promoting messages on the best possible platform “OUR experienced branding team create successful products by consulting with clients and listening to their requirements, ensuring that the message they want to promote is given the best possible platform. Tips I would give organisers choosing branding for their events are: Hire a branding company with a proven track record who work on a variety of projects. Look into the types of branding the company has produced in the past, as this will give you a flavour of what the company can do for you. Discuss any bespoke ideas with the branding company. If there is a product they have not manufactured before, it doesn’t mean they can’t obtain it. Branding solutions should reflect the brand itself, so on trend products should utilise contemporary branding solutions like digital signage or pop up banners.
Branded products can take subtle forms – rather than having one solution consider using a combination, placed throughout a venue or event. For example, at live music events pa scrims can deliver optimum message output with branded barriers, banners and flags used alongside for further promotion. “The Piggotts branding division has recently won several contracts including ‘Taste of Spain’ and the ‘Marylebone Summer Fayre’ where we will supply and install banners to promote each event. “We are also working alongside Harrods and will construct a bespoke installation for the store consisting of a flag from each competing country in the 2010 World Cup. “The flag display will be on show to welcome shoppers to the World Cup area within this famous London store.”
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Branding specialist Sunbaba believes bigger is better when it comes to messages and has seen increasing demand for its products at events. The Main Event found out more ....
Bigger is better for branding ACCORDING to director Jonathan Booth, there are many considerations when implementing messages on such a grand scale at events. He explained: “Firstly, it is important to have a meeting with all the stakeholders involved in the event such as the organiser, marketing manager and facilities management as everyone will be involved at some point in the process from design through to implementation. This helps uncover unforeseen issues early on and helps encourage stakeholder compromise. “When it comes to design, it is important to remember that the artwork is required to fit over a large, expansive area and consider which sides are audience facing so will have the most exposure. Sunbaba’s inhouse design team are on hand to assist with all design elements and coordinate the process with everyone in the events team, taking the pressure off one single organiser. “The material used is also a prime consideration as the wrap could be affected by high wind speeds and the weather. We recommend a PVC mesh such as Ultramesh as this is a porous, lightweight, flexible and fire resistant. It can be welded into one panel and fully digitally printed for intricate design options.
“The installation can be a complex process which requires the expertise of a specialist rigging team. We apply dragons tails which are specialised fastenings used to pull the material towards the structure, welded flaps are used to hide bungee cord
fastenings.” Jonathan also said event organisers are under increasing pressure from sponsors when it comes to event site branding as everyone wants their messages to be highly visible so they are getting obvious value for money.
He added: “People tend to think that this will be a costly option when in reality it offers excellent value for money. The foot fall in front of a large building wrap can greatly exceed the number of people one might reach in the regional press.”
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SCREEN HIRE
Big screens can play a vital role in any event. But how do organisers choose what’s right for them? In a special feature, PSCo’s global rental director Mike Nield shares his top tips for 2010 ...
What’s proving most popular in the world of big screens PSCo specialises in investing in new, high value screens and technologies and making them available at UK events through partner AV companies. Its rental team works with organisers to advise them about which technology is best suited to the needs of their event, taking into account factors such as application, venue lighting and space. And Mike revealed to The Main Event what is proving popular at present. He explained: “Everyone’s talking about interactivity and how to make statement presentations at events. Some organisers are investing in engaging multimedia presentations but even simple PowerPoint can be made interactive to captivate an audience on exhibition stands by using a touchscreen overlay. This can be applied to any size of plasma screen from a 42” plasma right through to the 103” Panasonic Plasma. “With exhibition and event space more valuable than ever and a focus on getting value for money, AV products need to help organisers maximise space. One of our top rental products is the Infinite Plasma videowall, used in place of rear projection. Using these slim plasma walls, means you can produce a large scale, high resolution display at a fraction of the space requirements. “Another top tip is using videowall technoloXL Video supplied a range of products for the Deadmau5 world tour, which kicked off in the US headlining Coachella and is currently in Europe. The tour has been using Pixled F11, Mitrix, VersaTUBEs and Catalyst control – supplied by XL – to wow audiences with multi-layered video design and elaborate visuals, designed by Martin Phillips and John McGuire of Bionic Head. The tour originated from XL Video UK, project managed by Des Fallon and Chris Ferrante with support from Phil Mercer and his XL Video LA team. Des said: "This show creates a new benchmark for dance act visuals – we're very proud to be involved.”
gies in a creative way. Set designers are installing them in strips and unusual modular combinations in event sets and exhibition stands to capture the audience. “This enables you to still have high resolution graphics but in an engaging or clever way. “Our screenlifter is probably the biggest secret weapon of our clients. When you think of installing a huge, heavy screen measuring 103” or 108”, then it seems prohibitive. We developed a unique lifting system which means the screen is already on its stand in the flight case and it is positioned in place, and lifted out at the touch of a button. That means you can use big screens even when access and timescales may restrict it.”
A double-sided screen was created four metres in the air to enable fans to get a better view at a film premiere in Leicester Square. Summit Steel was asked by production company Premier PR to float the screen outside the cinema on the north east corner of Leicester Square for the premiere of The Back Up Plan starring Jennifer Lopez. The screen allowed the crowds
of fans waiting outside, gathered on both sides of the road, to clearly see all the red carpet action as celebrities arrived for the screening. The project also involved a hectic build schedule – the Summit team of three started work at 6am and the screens had to be in position and ready to go for 1pm. The show started about 7pm with everything being cleared away by midnight.
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SCREEN HIRE ADVERTISER’S ANNOUNCEMENT
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‘Big screens really maximise an event’ ORGANISERS could safely control their crowds and encourage audience interaction by including big screens at their events. Big TV will be bringing its screens to major outdoor events this summer including Glastonbury and Formula One at Silverstone. And according to project coordinator Amy Jenkins, although the first
thing that springs to mind when using a screen at an event is that it allows the audience a better view of what’s going on on stage, screens can also have many other uses for organisers. She explained: “Using big screens really maximises an event and for organisers of a mass participation event, they are really crucial as they
can also be used as an information source. “They also heighten the event and add to the element of excitement, especially when they have an interactive element. “Also you find that the crowds don’t push forward because they can watch what’s going on on the screens.”
The company specialises in mobile LED screens, which can be used at any event from a sporting event to a major music festival, and is also able to supply a total package including services such as staging, lighting, sound, filming and outside broadcast to give organisers flexibility at their events.
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In the second of his articles on health and safety, Heath Freeman managing director of Pinnacle Crew looks at the qualifications required for working with plant and equipment, and asks whether the live events industry should continue working with other organisations or have its own validation system for training.
Should sector adopt monitored training scheme? HEALTH and safety regulations relating to plant and equipment – such as mobile access towers, forklifts and scissor lifts – require that such items should be assembled and used only by people who have received adequate information, instruction and training, and are therefore competent in their use. The important word here is “competent”, its definition, and ultimately who or what measures it. Training companies for their part have implemented training courses in various plant to instruct and test levels of competency, but they are not governed – even by the Health and Safety Directive which simply states that it is the employer’s responsibility to make sure its employees are competent in using and assembling this type of equipment. So, does this mean that it is the training companies that set training standards and competency levels? This might have been the case historically, but today we have governing bodies like the National Plant Operators Registration Scheme (NPORS), which is an HSE accredited
body providing training for rider-operated lift trucks, and in turn accredits instructors and training providers. Other governing bodies include The Prefabricated Access Suppliers Association (PASMA), which accredits trainers to run a standard training course in the use, erection and inspection of mobile access towers. Certain industries, like the construction industry, specify that if you use plant on site you must have a licence that is accredited by one of their governing bodies. This makes sense to me because it eliminates any doubt or grey areas. Put quite simply, an organisation that governs and monitors training, sets standards of competency, and looks after the interests of a particular industry can only be a force for good. Unfortunately, this process is not happening consistently in the live events industry. Some venues require proof of competency, while others do not. This is worrying and potentially hazardous. I am not implying that we have plant operators on site who do not have licences.
However, they may possibly have acquired a version that is not monitored or endorsed by any governing body. These are “in house” certificates of competency that training companies can provide at a reduced rate. Again, I am not suggesting that these training programmes are inadequate, but it does mean that it is the training companies that are setting these standards. So should we change this? I believe our industry trade organisations, of which there are many, should work together and establish, monitor and govern health and safety training standards that would benefit the entire industry. Alternatively, as a sector we could adopt a monitored training scheme from one of the existing governing bodies in another industry (say the construction trade) and set this as our standard. Either way, as our sector continues to strive for recognition from government, I believe that such initiatives would not only provide a meaningful progression in health and safety on site, but also give our sector more credibility.
Health and Safety Regulations relating to plant and equipment – such as mobile access towers, forklifts and scissor lifts – require that such items should be assembled and used only by people who are therefore competent in their use.
The UK event industry is without a doubt one of the world’s best, thanks to a number of extremely professional individuals and companies at the top of the tree. These people and firms have the benefit of years of experience, a competency in their field and the training to back it all up, according to Andy Cotton...
Training, knowledge and experience TRAINING, knowledge and experience are the key factors for occupational competency in the events world; each one is as important as the other. So many times clients take on personnel or companies that have some knowledge and some training but no experience – or if they have experience they may have it in the wrong industry area; running a corporate conference is not the same as running an outdoor festival. Events industry training is getting better but is still a long way behind other industry sectors, mainly because the training of events personnel is a relatively virgin trade. In some cases training and education is delivered by personnel who have never worked in the industry, such as academics with little or no experience other than what they have read in a book. There are numerous ex military, police, civil servants and emergency services trainers that are extremely competent in delivering specialist training for their fields, like medical, manual handling or fire training, but on numerous occasions they venture
into general event management training. Running a concert however does not need the same skills sets that retaking the Falklands Islands did. The competent trainers are mainly the competent operators, like Richard Limb, Tim Roberts, Dick Tee, Mike Williams and Mike Richmond to name a few, but these guys are busy running events. However there are a few trainers like Keith Stills, Ron Woodham, Conor Moss and Eddy Grant who do work within academic confines but manage to provide considerable amounts of credible event training. The training for technical production in the UK, however is some of the best globally. Rigging, sound, staging, light and power is exceptional, and certainly event safety is moving forward in leaps and bounds. Specialist courses at Derby and Leeds seem to be bridging the gaps where the standard NEBOSH qualifications are not always suitable for the events world. It must be said that NEBOSH and BSC are extremely important qualifications, however specific events safety qualifications must be seriously developed as the events
world has nuances all of its own, especially where crowds are concerned. The most important thing though without a shadow of a doubt is experience and that experience should be in the sector of the industry that the companies are operating in. There are so many companies and personnel in the events world who have done a course, helped other parties on a couple of events and then started their own company to
run events; disasters waiting to happen! The key to successful and safe events is personnel that have been trained, have knowledge and have experience, all of which should be confirmed. If they’ve been in the industry a few years, have NEBOSH qualifications and have watched others run events they may not necessarily be competent to run your event; that may be for a judge to decide in hindsight.
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LAST-MINUTE LIFESAVERS
Big Chill makes offer to Glade ticketholders THE Big Chill Festival has provided a last-minute lifeline for disappointed festivalgoers following the cancellation of the Glade Festival. Anyone who bought their Glade ticket through Ticketline has been given the option to swap their ticket for one for The Big Chill by paying an additional transaction fee of £7 per ticket. Organiser Melvin Benn said: “It’s a very hard decision to cancel an event and I understand the external pressures on the organisers. “Glade has built a great reputation as a leading electronic music festival since its inception at Glastonbury. We are more than happy to invite Glade ticket holders to swap to become honorary Chillers this year. There is synergy within the bill and certainly the party spirit of the festival. Hopefully The Glade will return next year. It’s a great festival on a great site with very good people behind it.” Glade – one of the UK’s most popular independent festivals – was cancelled as a result of rising costs and increasing restrictions from the police and local authorities. A statement from organisers said
although the event has fought hard against restrictions and tried to compromise with authorities, this has resulted in increased costs and ticket prices. A move to a new venue last year – Matterley Bowl – was met with support from the local council, but this year, requirements for policing, security and stewarding were also increased – leaving them with no choice but to pull the plug on the event. The statement said: “Faced with what is already an expensive event to put on and with these unexpected forced increases in security and police costs as well as a level of advanced ticket sales that is below our expectations we have no choice but to do the responsible thing and cancel the event. “We have explored every way we can to keep the event going and, unfortunately, have been unable to find a solution. We have been unable to secure sufficient financial backing and scaling back the event, to a level where we can be confident we could pay all our bills, would mean losing smaller venues and the quirkiness that make up the heart and soul of the festival.”
Tower rushes to the rescue of Edinburgh hotel FOLLOWING an intermittent and recurring grid fault affecting Edinburgh’s Tiger Lily hotel on a busy Saturday, facilities manager Innes Bolt called Tower for help. Tower had provided temporary power to Montpelier’s, the hotels parent company, on a number of previous occasions. On-call manager James Mitchelmore quickly assessed the situation after a rapid site visit. Within three hours, a pair of synchronised super-hushed 135kva generators had been delivered and an extensive network of mains cable installed into the hotel’s plant room, ready for a programmed shut down of the mains to allow change over to generation. Four hours from the time of the first call, the hotel was running as normal with 230+ amps per phase being reliably supplied by the generators from Tower’s own stock.
The choice of machine was dictated by access restrictions – it wasn’t possible to install larger machines, so load-sharing was the only option. Being a residential area meant noise levels and encroaching on the highway were a consideration too. David Hall, Tiger Lily’s general manager, was delighted with the outcome that saw him able to resume normal service to guests at one of the busiest times of the week. Work of this type is becoming more regular for Tower who have recently provided temporary power installations for a number of non-events clients. These include; a factory in Linwood near Glasgow, a 2000a 3phase supply to a temporary bakery in Paisley and backing-up the mains and supplying emergency lighting and heating for Edinburgh City Council at Meadowbank stadium for the recent General Election.
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LAST-MINUTE LIFESAVERS
Africa Oye clean up made easy ... THE organiser of a festival in Liverpool has revealed how the event cleans up after itself. Africa Oye is the UK’s largest free African music festival and takes place at Sefton Park later this month. About 15-20,000 people per day come to the weekend long event – leaving organisers with the potential headache of clearing up after them once the event is over. However, organiser Joe Blackman from Green Ant Events explained
what is done at the festival to make the job easier. He said that the key to success comes from effective communications between organisers, traders and visitors and that at Africa Oye, specific roles are given to people to help with this. He said the company has a dedicated trading manager who speaks to traders about their responsibility to clear up after the event and stewards who are briefed to remind festivalgoers of the part which they
can also play. Joe also said that disposing of litter and keeping the site tidy should be part of everyone on site’s social responsibility but sometimes financial restrictions can cause problems. He explained: “It is something which people make a bigger deal about than it actually is. Implementing clearing and environmental policies should be standard practice. “But the problem is financial
implications where it can come down to affordability versus implementing every single measure and that’s where the difficulties lie. “Festivalgoers should take responsibility for themselves but event organisers also have a responsibility to communicate the message.” Measures put in place at Africa Oye include encouraging all stall holders to use sustainable materials, onsite recycling and using solar power.
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LAST-MINUTE LIFESAVERS
Paul stepped in to save day A LEGENDARY music promoter saved the day after stepping into help a festival in difficulty. Paul King – who has worked with acts including Tears For Fears and Level 42 – was brought on board by the organisers of Weekend at Willow, a new festival taking place in Kent. The festival was originally due to to happen in May but, after struggling to get its licence application ready in time, consulted Paul for advice. He explained: “They brought me in about four weeks ago when it became clear they weren’t going to get a licence. All the bands were booked but my job was to build confidence with the artists.” Paul took the decision to move the event to the end of September – right at the end of the festival season and away from competing events. He added: “They desperately wanted to hang on to the May date but I wanted to minimise the risk – it took 24 hours to persuade the landowner. “We have moved to the end of September where we will be the only festival left. This also enables us to market all through the season.
“My background [as a manager and promoter] is absolutely crucial as I can come in as a consultant with an independent point of view and people trust my judgment because I have been doing this at a high level for so many years.” Paul also brought on board established suppliers such as Capita Symonds, which he said gives the festival a higher level of expertise and credibility. The event includes entertainment spread over two nights – the first showcasing the best of the 1980s and 1990s and the second featuring pop acts such as N-Dubz. And Paul added the aim is to start small and build the festival up gradually. “We have sold about 1,000 tickets and are looking to sell about 7,000. This year our break even is very low but we see the festival as an event which can gradually build over the next few years to attract 20,000 plus.” The site for the festival – Willow Farm – is also a horse rescue centre so it is hoped the festival will raise money for the centre and create awareness of the work being done there.
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The Stage Bus is no stranger to supplying last-minute solutions to organisers. Here, the company shares a couple of its recent experiences with The Main Event ...
The route to solutions ... RUN to the Hills is a 2,000 person, VW car club event in Derbyshire with fun, music and activities for all the family. The Stage Bus has been the main stage since 2008, when two weeks before the event they were let down by their tech supplier. The Stage Bus comes with a professional PA and lighting rig installed and in house crew, meaning a fast and efficient service as well as an eye catching stage, that adds real value to an event – particularly one attended by vehicle enthusiasts. You can come and see the Stage Bus at Run to the Hills this year on August 28/29. “The Stage Bus is an inspired idea and made an amazing focal point for the whole event.” Adey – Run To The Hills
CANCER Research UK Birmingham Relay for life, was an event with a difference. With continuous entertainment for 24 hours, whatever the problems that arose, the Stage Bus crew were invaluable in making the event run smoothly across entire site. Spokesman Katherine Howlett said: “Having just hired the Stage Bus and its delightful crew for a local event, I would honestly recommend them to anyone. “As well as providing a very practical and efficient light, sound and staging service for a mammoth 26 hours, they were also wonderfully nice people to work with. “The crew were incredibly helpful and provided extra assistance in many matters not related to the stage at all, which was very much appreciated.”
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TEMPORARY SITE FACILITIES
Providing the right facilities to allow festivalgoers and those working on site to communicate is a key part of the planning process of any outdoor event. Etherlive’s event director Tom McInerney reveals some tricks of the trade.
Technology’s key role at events WHILE headlines are dominated by the glamour of the line-up at festivals, behind the scenes there is a hubbub of activity by a myriad of experts and suppliers to make sure that the show runs smoothly. One element of this is the technology – the means to ensure organisers, stewards and punters can communicate and receive information on site. They need phones, broadband connectivity, CCTV, payment terminals, connected ticketing systems and interactive content – and these things need to work. Top tips for organisers include: From boutique festivals to a national event, the chances are you’ll need phone lines as part of your licence. Be aware that it can take up to four weeks for your telecoms provider to install a line assuming they offer a temporary service. An alternative option would be satellite connectivity, which can be deployed at a couple of days notice. When you’re planning the number of phone lines you need, it’s not a disaster if you don’t get it spot on; or if you leave it until the last minute to do. You can always opt for Voice over IP (VoIP) lines which can be easily deployed to meet
demand with no extra cost whilst delivering the same quality. Many also offer free national calls. Your communications technologies are all reliant on the power supply – if your power source fails, you have a problem. So when you’re planning your power requirements for organiser areas, opt for an uninterruptible supply, or arrange a back-up generator to ensure operations continue in emergencies. An increasing number of venues have existing Wi-Fi networks in place for organisers and punters. Don’t make the assumption this network will be enough to provide everyone with the right connectivity and support. Check the capacity of the network and what would happen if you need technical support. It sounds obvious, but before you install Wi-fi, check that the laptops your staff have are set up to use the latest standards (802.11n is the most modern), which means they will be able to enjoy faster speeds and get better signal strength. Don’t be afraid of using wire if you need to. Better that, than no internet access. Check with your technology provider that they’re bringing the correct kit for your needs. In our experience, the onsite team at a festival get bombarded
with questions during the event which come up time and time again – opening times, parking details etc. If you have a telephone exchange on site, why not set up an automated attendant system to reduce the volume of calls to your key staff. Ensure you have a method of secure one to one communication which doesn’t rely on mobile phone networks (which may become too busy). Radio networks are great for most communications on site, but what if you need to transfer private or sensitive information, like the description of a missing child, for example? It makes sense to have a secure line dedicated to staff in case of instances like this. Does your licence require keeping within noise levels at agreed locations? If so, it is now possible to monitor multiple remote units from a central location – and have an audit trail of readings should they be required. CCTV can now be used for far more than surveillance – it can fulfill a much grander role in your on site security without the requirement of cabling between each camera. For starters, number plate recognition technology can help you to keep track of cars coming onsite.
Tom McInerney
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TEMPORARY SITE FACILITIES Igloos has provided temporary facilities on events ranging from Royal Ascot to the British Grand Prix. Here, the company’s shares its top tips for getting temporary toilets right at your event ...
Tips for getting temporary toilets right at events The practical issues of certain types of events start with advance logistical planning with the client. This is absolutely vital to ensure work is carried out to budget. Consideration for other contractors is also imperative and where a venue has restrictive access it is especially important that mutual schedules are agreed. An agreed timetable of actions can reduce unnecessary waiting on-site; prevent unforeseen labour and other costs – essential in the current economic climate. Teamwork among contractors is helpful to ensure a successful cooperative installation: communicate and agree your requirements with each party before the build commences.
Clients’ expectations have reached unprecedented levels despite current budget cuts so to retain business and maintain a good working relationship, it is important to deliver what has been promised both in terms of service and equipment. Preparation on-site for the loose is essential for ensuring they perform well at the event, therefore, on-site communication with a key contact is vital to ensure that delivery runs smoothly. Remember there are various things that the crew may need in order to complete the installation, for instance depending on the type of product, they may need access to fresh water, power and occasionally mains drainage.
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Fiesta on the move ... FIESTA Furniture has recently moved to brand new premises and has trebled in size – with the opportunity to expand further. Features of the new premises, pictured above, include large offices and a purpose built showroom across two levels as well as new spray facilities, a woodwork and upholstery division. In addition to expanding the company, another main reason for the move was to cope with an increase in demand – such as 1,000 trestle tables for this year’s General Election. The company also recently supplied 1,000 of the same chair to a customer – making it one of the only suppliers that can offer a next day service for this amount of chairs.
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Unique new service ... WITH the launch of a new unique service, Fiesta is now able to offer customers mixed container lots – which avoids the customer having to buy a container load of each item to get the best price. As well as sales, Fiesta also has a large hire department and can supply up to 4,000 chairs at any one time. For existing customers, smaller hire is available so they don’t have to purchase extra furniture for one job.
Always on the lookout for new products FIESTA has over 500 associates in Asia, Europe and America and the company is always on the look out for new and innovative products that will satisfy customer needs and current trends. Current clients include marquee companies, major restaurant and hotel chains and Fiesta has already supplied a large number of its new Crystal Chair to a several high profile London venues.
Big plans for new service BIG plans are already in place for the future, with Fiesta soon to be launching a new ordering service which enables customer to order seven days a week, 24 hours a day. A fleet of delivery vehicles ranging from a 7.5ft vans to arctics means that delivery costs are kept to a minimum, as is the impact on the environment. Fiesta is also working towards BS9001 accreditation.
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NOEA
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Event Evaluation – eventIMPACTS web site MEMBERS may be interested to look at how they evaluate their outdoor events, not only by attendance, but also sustainability and economic impact and take a look at the web site www.eventimpacts.com. eventIMPACTS has been developed by a consortium of UK-based organisations that have an interest in staging or supporting major
public events – particularly those of a cultural or sporting nature. They include among others – UK Sport, VisitBritain, London Development Agency and North West Development Agency. In addition, there were research partners who undertook research on various events and outlined a framework for the toolkit.
Increasingly, sponsors and event organisers need to have the figures and facts behind their events as confirmation of its success. This important tool kit will guide you in evaluating your performance and could prove useful in securing funding and support. There are sections on evaluating
the media impact and tools so that you can put a monetary value on the media coverage. In addition, there are case studies on various events such as the Edinburgh Film Festival. In order to access the information you have to register your email address but then you can view all the documents and download information.
Pictured right: The Vaynol Estate and, left: Richard Limb
Diary Dates 21 – 22 September Event UK NEC 20 – 21 October Showman’s Show, Newbury Mid November Scottish Conference (venue tbc) 26 November Regional Conference and AGM (venue tbc) Contact details: Susan Tanner PO Box 4495, Wells. BA5 9AS. (T) 01749 674 531 (E) secreretary@noea.org.uk
Welsh conference held at impressive location THE NOEA Wales Conference was held in association with Gwynedd Council and the Welsh Assembly Government at The Vaynol Estate, Felinheli in Gwynedd in April. The estate also hosted the Radio One Big Weekend show last month and is an impressive location with a beautiful lake and park like setting. The owner is working in conjunction with Gwynedd Council to bring events to north Wales and offers an exceptional location for outdoor events. Hugh Edwin Jones, the creative
enterprises officer for Cyngor Gwynedd Council, was the brains behind the conference and pulled together a diverse range of speakers. Monday afternoon opened with a discussion about the role of the main statutory agencies involvement with events, with representatives from the Police, Fire and Ambulance services. Richard Limb, NOEA president and director of Capita Symonds, produced a health and safety presentation, which was very informative. Vice president Jan Booth from Sunbaba also attended as her holiday was postponed due to volcanic ash!
Dear Auntie Noea ... OH no, what a disaster folks. Sorry I have been away but I have battled back through the winter weather and return to help out with any problems, issues or dilemmas. Now we can look forward to a blazing summer at last ...? If any of you poor souls, however, had to stage events during the winter, please send me your blizzard (or just white stuff) pictures. Email letters and pics to auntienoea@googlemail.com. Dear Auntie Noea I run an event that attracts more and more attendees every year. This results in the local authority demanding I provide more and more toilets which, quite frankly, is beginning to bust our budget as it’s a free event. Have you got any bright ideas? Gerald of Eastbourne Hello Gerald Stop crossing your fingers or your legs – firstly, look at the gender split of your audience as
much as you can. Let's face it, if you're running a steam rally you're going to get far more guys than you would if you were hosting flower festival. So, more urinals are your answer here – up the number of the urinal blocks to replace cubicles. And, don't despair if it is a flower festival – there are now at least two companies offering the tackle for you to operate female urinals … yes, you heard right. Quite simply, you provide the urinal blocks and the supplier will come along and sell your desperate housewives with either cardboard (throw away) or plastic funnels. Sounds grim but it works at festivals. Punters too posh to pee this way? Then up the stakes and provide screens along the blocks for privacy – they'll be giggling at the very least. So sit yourself down, get out your calculator and flush away those pounds by consolidating your toilets units. Auntie Noea
On Tuesday, the Head of the Welsh Assembly Major Events Unit, Arthur Emyr attended – speaking about how events are important to the Welsh economy. He is very keen to see NOEA more involved with a strategy for events in Wales, which is very encouraging. NOEA will be looking at making the Wales conference an annual event, moving location from North to South every other year. Conwy Council is one of the councils who have offered to host the conference for 2011 and the NOEA Council will look at all the options later in the year.
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Record sales sees festival head towards a sell-out A BOUTIQUE festival in Hertfordshire is bucking the trend by being on course to sell out – despite stiff competition and a challenging economic climate. Standon Calling has seen record numbers of tickets sold at this time and organiser Alex Trenchard anticipates that all 5,000 will be snapped up before the event takes place in August. He told The Main Event that he feels this is because of the festival’s uniqueness and commitment to supporting new and upcoming talent. He explained: “People are excited about our line up as we have a strong focus on emerging acts.
Ticket sales are much stronger than at this time in previous years. “The festival always feels really warm and people can get around the site easily. Festivalgoers are increasingly looking for intimate events but the big difference is we are putting on that type of event but also with a strong line up. “We are a music festival so that’s what our main focus is but people come to the event for other reasons too. And because we have a late licence, we can give them more of what they want.” The festival has a late licence until 6am but Alex added this was something which they had to work at achieving.
Cathedral challenge A SENSITIVE site created a series of challenges for Mobile Promotions at a recent event in Liverpool. The company had the job of fitting a Mercedes-Benz car into the Anglican Liverpool Cathedral as part of an event supporting Everton Football Club’s end of season Players’ Awards. As the club’s official car supplier, the team at Mobile Promotions had the job of providing Mercedes-Benz’s product awareness branding as well as managing the logistics for cars both inside and outside the cathedral. Managing director Robin Carlisle explained: “Due to the event taking place in such a spectacular, beautiful building and yet also a vibrant living church, it was essential that the correct and respectful approach was taken to ensure that no part of the architecture was damaged. “We calculated the ramp angles, car’s body skirting, and step positions, fully padding the steps and inserted flooring underlay’s to ensure that there was no chance to damage any part of the building or the marble flooring once inside.” The team also had to contend with a very tight time schedule – with the installation taking place just hours before the event and needing to be removed immediately after at 12.30am.
He added: “We had to work at it and develop confidence with the local licensing authority. It is all about developing that partnership.” Alex also revealed his thoughts for the festival market this year. “We are well up on last year. Less people seem to be travelling abroad and people are concerned about the credit crunch and new government. But this is great for the UK and for festivals. “We have been growing slowly for a number of years and word is now getting out. It has been tough getting here but now it is paying dividends.”
Alex Trenchard
Homecoming 2014 SCOTLAND will build on the success of last year’s Year of Homecoming by staging a second celebration in 2014. Homecoming 2014 will take place in the year that Scotland hosts the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup and marks the 700th anniver-
sary of the Battle of Bannockburn. Figures showed that 2009’s Homecoming generated £53.7m in additional tourism revenue for Scotland – exceeding the £44m target by 22 per cent – and attracted 95,000 additional visitors to the country.
Thousands at Great Escape A RECORD breaking 16,000 people descended on Brighton for the fifth Great Escape Festival. The festival included over 300 acts playing at over 30 venues in and around Brighton as well as panel discussions and talks from some of the biggest names
in the music industry. As well as scheduled venue appearances, bands made impromptu appearances throughout the day in Brighton – with The King Blues taking things to a new level by playing shows in the sewer system under Brighton Pier.
Shoreditch Park venue for new festival A NEW festival is to be launched in London this summer at Shoreditch Park. The Apple Cart Festival has been launched by Tom Baker and Marcus Weedon
– two of the partners behind London's Field Day and the Underage Festival. It will combine music, comedy, art, cinema, magic and spoken word. Over 13,000 fans extended an evening of racing at Newbury by staying for a concert starring three of the most popular contestants from last year’s X Factor. The racecourse kicked off its summer season of Party in the Paddock concerts with performances from Stacey Solomon, Olly Murs and Danyl Johnson – the first of three live gigs taking place at the venue over the summer. Next up to perform there are Simply Red in July and Westlife in August.
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Audio Visual Arcstream AV Unit 22 Nonsuch Industrial Estate Kiln Lane Epsom Surrey KT17 1DH T: 01372 742 682 M: 07813 825 215 F: 01372 737 279 E: neil.m@arcstreamav.com www.arcstreamav.com
Bars Eagle Event Bars 27 Bridge Street Carmarthen Carmarthenshire SA31 3JS T: 01267 235031 M: 07790 614401 E: dyfrig@eaglehospitality.co.uk www.eaglehospitality.co.uk
Backline & PA Hire Sensible Music Group 90-96 Brewery Road London N7 9NT T: 020 7700 9900 F: 020 7700 4802 E: studio@sensible-music.co.uk www.sensible-music.co.uk
365 - SUPPLIER DIRECTORY
Emergency Marquee Stakes Heating & Cooling and Accessories Staging Carrier Rental Systems Wigan Road Leyland Preston PR25 5XW T: 0800 026 4717 E: info@CarrierRentalSystems.co.uk
Event Branding Piggotts Branding 43 London Road Stanford Rivers Ongar Essex CM5 9PJ T: 01277 363262 E: kelly.seymour@piggotts.co.uk www.piggotts.co.uk
Event Power BRM Productions Unit 12 Canalside Industrial Park Kinoulton Road Cropwell Bishop Notts NG12 3BE T: 0115 989 9955 M: 07860 285305 F: 0115 989 9977 E: power@brm-productions.co.uk
& Safety Communications Health Event Safety Wall to Wall Communications Unilink House 21 Lewis Road Sutton, Surrey SM1 4BR T:020 8770 1007 F:020 8770 9700 E:hire@walltowallcomms.co.uk www.walltowallcomms.co.uk
Crowd Management A.P. Security (North) Ltd. 33 Metro Centre Dwight Road Watford Herts WD189SB T: 0870 412 2232 E: johnphillips@apsecurity.co.uk www.apsecurity.co.uk Event Security Solutions Limited B1-B6 The Alison Business Centre 40 Alison Crescent Sheffield S2 1AS T: 0114 283 5948 E: info@eventsecuritysolutions.co.uk www.eventsecuritysolutions.co.uk G4S Events Sutton Park House 15 Carshalton Road Sutton Surrey SM1 4LD T: 0800 085 9899 E: sales@uk.g4s.com www.g4s.com/uk-events Specialized Security 4 Fairways Business Park Deer Park Livingston EH54 8AF T: 01506 442255 E: tom@specializedsecurity.co.uk www.specializedsecurity.co.uk
12 Vale Avenue Bury BL9 9LW M: 07812 159 339 T: 0161 763 7020 E: kevin@event-safety.org www.event-safety.org
Insurance Services ARC International St. Clare House 30-33 Minories London EC3N 1PE T: +44 (0) 207 977 7630 F: +44 (0) 207 977 7631 E: twaller@arc-int.co.uk Event Insurance Services Limited Event House 20A Headlands Business Park Ringwood BH24 3PB T: 01425 470360 E: info@events-insurance.co.uk www.events-insurance.co.uk Robertson Taylor 33 Harbour Exchange Square London E14 9GG T: 020 7510 1234
E: enquiries@rtib.co.uk www.Robertonson-taylor.com
Marquees Piggotts Marquees 43 London Road Stanford Rivers Ongar Essex CM5 9PJ T: 01277 363262 E: richard.treml@piggotts.co.uk www.piggotts.co.uk
Ansell Hand Tools 72 Catley Road Darnall Sheffield S9 5JF T: 0114 244 8098 E: ansellhandtools@aol.com www.ansellhandtools.co.uk
Medical Management SP Services (UK) Ltd Unit D4, Hortonpark Estate Hortonwood 7 Telford Shropshire TF1 7GX T: 01952 288 999 F: 01952 606 112 E: sales@spservices.co.uk www.spservices.co.uk Venture Event Medical Management Copperfield House 47 Leeds Road Gawthorpe Ossett West Yorkshire WF5 9QW T: 07988 388461 E: enquiries@ventureemm.co.uk www.ventureemm.co.uk
Portable Kitchens PKL Group (UK) Ltd, Stella Way Bishops Cleeve Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL52 7DQ T: 01242 663000 E: postbox@pkl.co.uk www.pkl.co.uk
Promotional Staff ACG : Artimis Creative Group Hickory House Primsland Close Monkspath Solihull B90 4YH T: 0121 703 3168 M: 07977 252308 E: info@artimis.co.uk www.artimis.co.uk
Revolving Stages Movetech UK A division of British Turntable Co Ltd Emblem Street Bolton BL3 5BW T: 01204 537682 E: rental@movetechuk.com www.movetechuk.com/rental
Screen Hire XL Video 2 Eastman Way Hemel Hempstead Herts HP27DU T: 01442 849400 E: info@xlvideo.tv www.xlvideo.com
Centre Stage Events Unit 108a Leyland Trading Estate Irthlingborough Road Wellingborough T: 01234 783234 E: info@centrestageevents.com www.centrestageevents.com Daytona Stage Hire P.O. Box 43 Huddersfield HD8 9YU T: 01484 605555 M: 07889 132580 F: 01484 602806 E: daytonastagehire@mac.com www.daytonastagehire.com Steeldeck Rentals Ltd Unit 58 T.Marchant Estate 42-72 Verney Road London SE16 3DH T: 020 7833 2031 E: richard@steeldeck.co.uk www.steeldeck.co.uk
The Outdoor Staging Company Ltd 1 Langley Drive Castle Bromwich B35 7AD T: +44(0)7866 470 293 E: info@outdoorstage.co.uk www.outdoorstage.co.uk The Stage Bus 19 Prestwood Road Weoley Castle Birmingham B29 5EB T: 0121 603 8367 M: 07738 900 762 E info@thestagebus.com www.thestagebus.com
Ticketing Performance Ticket Printers Ltd The Smithy Brownlow Heath Congleton CW12 4TJ T: 01260 276164 E: austin@ticketprinters.co.uk www. ticketprinters.co.uk
Trade Associations NOEA Susan Tanner PO Box 4495 WELLS. BA5 9AS T: 01749 674 531 E: secretary@NOEA.org.uk www.noea.org.uk
Venues Fabric London Level 2 Greenhill House Cowcross Street London EC1M 6B T: 020 7549 4844 E: celine@fabriclondon.com www.fabricevents.com
Water supplies Water Direct Ltd B-26 Earls Colne Business Park Earls Colne Colchester Essex CO6 2NS T: 0845 345 1725 F: 01787 223354 E: enquiries@water-direct.co.uk www.water-direct.co.uk
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POWER SUPPLY
FAIRGROUNDS
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MEDICAL
CATERING
VEHICLE HIRE
The Event Medicine Company Unit D, Central Estate, Albert Road, Aldershot, Hampshire GU11 1SZ Tel: 01252 313005 Email: info@eventmedicinecompany.co.uk www.eventmedicinecompany.co.uk
BARS
BALLOONS
STAGE HIRE
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RADIO HIRE
EVENT BRANDING
PORTABLE ROADWAY
RECYCLING
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HEATING & COOLING
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