Issue 30 July 2009 £4.75
Tourist hopes for festivals
Cornbury cuts costs in recession By Christina Eccles THE promoter of one of the UK’s most popular festivals has told how he has been forced to make major cutbacks to ride the recession. The Cornbury festival in Oxfordshire has seen ticket sales plummet by about 20 per cent this year – presenting Hugh Phillimore with the headache of cutting costs wherever possible without compromising the quality of the festival experience. Cost-saving measures include using the services of Scouts and Brownies to pick up litter instead of the usual waste recycling company – saving the festival an estimated £20,000. Hugh said: “Sales are down a bit but we anticipated that so have reduced our spend on artists and infrastructure. Last year our headliner was Paul Simon and this year we have Sugababes and Scouting for Girls. We have also configured the site for less people so as not to waste money. “But a good thing about having to cut costs is that it is making us think creatively. We have never used the Brownies or Scouts before.” Hugh added that the festival is hav-
ing to budget carefully and has been getting comparative quotes to try and get the best prices – but he claimed this will not affect the feel of the event. He added: “We are keeping things tighter in terms of the site but we will be keeping the nice little touches. We are trying to make a smaller amount of money go further.” Last year, about 12,500 people came through the gates but this year Hugh said he would be happy with 8,000-10,000. However, he said although ticket sales aren’t as strong as in previous years, there has been a last-minute surge. “We were hit badly with the weather last year and our punters have been saying that they are waiting until the last minute. Sales are now coming in thick and fast but very late. We have had two local events cancelled in our area which does make it easier. “Anyone who gets through this year and is still in business has got a huge result.” How has your event been affected by the recession? Contact Christina Eccles on 01226 734463 or email ce@whpl.net
Crowd management and security will be among the issues dealt with by the organisers of this year’s X Factor auditions. The show has announced a change to its format where contestants will not only perform in front of celebrity judges including Cheryl Cole (pictured) but also a 1,300 strong live audience – presenting interesting challenges for the organising team. Look out for a special feature next month when The Main Event heads to one of the audition venues, Manchester Central, to see how things are done.
FESTIVALS and events are encouraging more people to choose the UK as a holiday destination, new research has revealed. According to figures released by Travelodge, places such as the Isle of Wight and Edinburgh are set to attract large numbers of tourists this year – and events held there are helping to draw in the crowds. Out of those surveyed, 14 per cent planned a trip to Edinburgh and 11 per cent to the Isle of Wight. Travelodge chief executive Grant Hearn said: “Right across the UK it is clear that some locations are going to gain a large windfall from British tourists choosing to holiday domestically rather than abroad. “Both the Homecoming celebrations and the Festival are clearly attracting people to Edinburgh whilst the re-addition of the music festival to the Isle of Wight has helped attract a younger crowd.” The Main Event is the official magazine of the National Outdoor Events Association
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‘Miracle’ festival sells out after last-minute change By Christina Eccles THE organisers of a sold out festival have claimed it was a miracle the event went ahead – after being forced to change venues just days before it began. With a week to go before 10,000 students made the journey to Cornwall for Beach Break Live, the show was dealt a huge blow by Cornwall council when planning permission was rejected. Organisers were then left with the decision to find a new site – or to cancel the event altogether. Fortunately, Port Lympne Safari Park stepped in and offered to host it, however, this meant a move from its beachside home in Cornwall up to Kent. To make the transition easier for festivalgoers, organisers put on free coach travel from Plymouth, Falmouth and Exeter or gave £15 towards transport costs to those who decided to travel by other means. Founder Celia Norowzian said: “There was a point where we thought we wouldn’t be able to put it on. We thought we had exhausted our options and that was heartbreaking. When it all turned around it was amazing.”
Why team makes sure Blackpool rocks ... Page 12
Local authority spotlight Temporary Structures Festival round-up NOEA
Page 12 Pages 13-16 Pages 17-34 Page 35
CONTACTS EDITORIAL Group Editor Andrew Harrod Tel: 01226 734639 editorial@themaineventmagazine.co.uk
The team Picture: James Hooker Celia had heard about the venue as it was due to host another festival Red List which got cancelled earlier in the year so approached them to get involved. Even though the safari park setting brought a new element to Beach Break Live, according to Celia, it was important that the event still reflected its Cornish roots. To achieve this, they tried to take as many suppliers with them as possible and brought in sand, palm trees, swimming pools and hot tubs to
Radio 1 Big Weekend is ‘the most interactive yet’ THIS year’s Radio 1 Big Weekend was the most interactive yet – with record numbers of audiences going online and using their mobiles. 5.3 million video requests were received to the website, compared to one million from last year and over 1.1million people tuned into BBC Red Button coverage of the event, according to figures released by the BBC. New additions to this year's coverage included six webcams placed around the site, which provided live footage from locations including the main stage, the exclusive Live Lounge and an overview of the entire site.
18 Pages of Festival Round-up featuring events including Download, Rockness, Chelsea Flower Show, Wychwood, Mad Ferret Festival and Forestry
For the first time, audiences were able to select which cameras they watched, giving them unprecedented access to backstage areas and unique performances. Radio 1’s interactive editor Ben Chapman said: “This year's event was one of the biggest to date and I'm pleased that our interactive offering was able to reach so many people. “We are always looking at how we connect with our audiences, and this success marks the beginning of an exciting year for interactive services from Radio 1 and 1Xtra.”
recreate the beach feel. With things being signed off just days earlier, a co-ordinated approach from everyone involved was vital to make things work. She added: “We have got an amazing production team and we pooled resources with people at the venue who had been working on Red List. We were also lucky to have a loyal ticket base.” The team are now reflecting on how they want to move the event forward for next year.
‘Pink pound’ promotion AN organiser in Torquay has found an unusual way of promoting his event – ‘pink pounds’ supporting the upcoming Pride Torbay. Gay venues across the Bay have been handing out the stickered pound coins which give details of the event, taking place later this month. Organiser Matt Newbury said: “We thought the stickers would be a little bit of cheeky fun to help promote the event, although it’s also going to be interesting to see where the coins are going to turn up. “Will it show the diverse journey that the coins will take? Will it show the variety of places gay people spend their money? Or will people just peel the stickers off? Who knows, but it’s certainly got people talking about the coins and Pride Torbay. As a charity event we are obviously on a limited budget, so we have been trying to think of fun way to promote this fantastic new four-day festival.”
Reporters: Christina Eccles (ce@whpl.net) Mary Ferguson (mf@whpl.net) Louise Cordell (lcordell@whpl.net)
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Live site will boost gateway to England By Christina Eccles
Directors Jon Drape and Steve Smith
Triple win for events company EVENTS company Ear to the Ground is celebrating after winning three major new clients – making 2009 the company’s most successful year so far. Umbro will be using Ear to the Ground to promote its 10-year sponsorship deal with Manchester City Football Club while PZ Cussons has enlisted them as part of their 125th anniversary celebrations. The company also worked with social networking brand MySpace to deliver a secret show starring Lily Allen in London. Fans were contacted via text before
the concert to meet in Hyde Park before being transported across the capital by private red London buses for an intimate show. Creative director Steve Smith said: “At the moment brands are looking for more creative methods of communicating to their audiences. Although we have been running successful events for years we are finding live communications – the creation of face to face moments between brands and consumers – are now working far more effectively than traditional media when it comes to getting a message across.”
PLANS to build a live site in Dover will boost the town’s regeneration plans and enhance its events programme, according to Dover District Council’s chief executive. Nadeem Aziz said that although 12 million visitors pass through Dover each year as the gateway to England – it can be a challenge getting them to stay. But working in partnership with LOGOG, the council is bringing a big screen to Dover which it hopes will attract events and as a result, visitors to the town. He said: “We have huge historical assets – the white cliffs, the castle, the port – and global brand recognition but people tend to pass through. “When the opportunity came along, we decided we would go for it in Market Square and had a meeting with LOGOG in January with planning permission granted in April.” The site is almost due to be complete and although there were initial objections, the council is confident it
will be well received. One of the first events to be broadcast on the screen is a live opera feed and it is hoped it will also have some involvement in the upcoming Bleriot festival, which celebrates the achievements of Louis Bleriot – the first person to fly across the Channel in an aeroplane. The screen will also be used for events surrounding the Cultural Olympiad and actual 2012 events. He added: “We had objections – there was a fear of screening football matches and a fear of how events around the screen would be dealt with. “But change is always controversial. We run events and the community get involved and a lot of fears about the event management aspects about the screen will go away. “I think it will be a great opportunity to add value to Dover and the regeneration plans.” Other plans to regenerate the town include a fast rail link to London and cable cars linking Dover Castle to the waterfront.
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Hot air balloon launch
Status Quo
Rockers headline at Tidworth By Dominic Musgrave STATUS Quo will be the main attraction at the Tidworth Festival, which will be held over three days for the first time this year. The legendary rockers, who recently celebrated 40 years in the business, will headline the Saturday, with the event beginning the previous evening with the Music in Flight concert. This combines live classical music with display flying, which features planes from World War II, wing walking, aerobatic displays and hot air balloons, and culminates in a firework display.
Festival organiser Baz Reilly told Main Event magazine that the committee behind the event decided to do something different this year. He added: “We purposely took a year off and looked at doing something bigger and better across three days, rather than just the one. “We thought the previous format had reached a peak and that we couldn’t get really do much more with it, so opted to go for a big name that everybody knows to try and bring people in, and we settled on Status Quo. “Everybody knows a Status Quo
song, and people of my age and older have followed their career for the past 40 years, so they are a big pull.” The third day of the festival will once again be a family fun day, with The Troggs headlining the main stage and a variety of spectacular events taking place in the main arena. To attract more families a lot of the activities and rides on offer will be free once the entry fee has been paid. Baz said tickets are selling well, but not as quickly as they had hoped. “We booked a lot of the attractions a year ago when the financial climate was a lot rosier than it is now.
“When we first announced the event we had a lot of people saying they would buy tickets, but it appears that many are waiting until closer to the time and are watching their pennies. “The response has been good, and we are confident that we will get close to our target of 15,000 people over the three days,though obviously we would like a few more.” The event is organised by a charity called Community Dynamix Ltd, and after deduction of expenditure, surplus funds are put back into the local community.
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‘Festivals will feel recession next year’ THE festival market will cope this summer but will feel the effects of the recession next year, according to one of the UK’s best known event organisers. Vince Power – who organises the Hop Farm festival in Kent and Benicassim in Spain – claims that festivals this year may go ahead as usual but it will be more of a struggle to come back in 2010. He said: “Next year is going to be hard. This year, the industry will get way with it because a lot of the major festivals were sold out before the depths of the recession. “It’s business. Some will survive and
some won’t but there will be less festivals.” Vince is currently getting ready for Benicassim – which this year has managed to secure acts including Oasis, Kings of Leon and The Killers – and he also revealed the differences between organising a festival in the UK and one abroad. About 20,000 UK customers are expected to head over to Spain for the event and Vince said that attitudes are very different over there when it comes to events. He added: “Spain is a different country with a different culture. Spanish people are more laid back
and have a different attitude – people appreciate that a festival is in their town. “Bands can also play louder and later. We don’t have the same restrictions on licensing conditions as in the UK. “The last act at Benicassim goes on about 8am and it doesn’t start until about 11pm at night.” Vince added that he feels European festivals are growing in popularity as they are attracting a lot of the same major headline acts as events in the UK but can work out good value for money with cheap flights available and guaranteed good weather.
Olympics provide events opportunity for London Catering company Eat to the Beat has celebrated its 25th anniversary with a party themed and catered for by sister company Upbeat Event Design. The ball was held in Buckinghamshire as a celebration for employees and friends of the company. Eat to the Beat was founded in 1984 by managing director Tony Laurenson, pictured, and works on a number of events including Glastonbury, Leeds and the V Festival at Chelmsford.
HOSTING the 2012 Olympics will give London the chance to show it can successfully hold major events and the confidence to bid for more, according to an expert. VisitBritain’s 2012 games strategy manager Chris Foy told delegates at a conference dedicated to the commercial opportunities from the Olympics in London that the event is a great chance for the capital to show what it has to offer both as a stage for events and as a tourist destination.
He said: “Culture is one of the main reasons why people visit the UK and events add more reasons to visit. “We need to use the games to attract business and sporting events and seize the opportunity to bid for more events. The Olympics can act as a catalyst to improve transport, infrastructure, conference and event facilities and accommodation. There is the opportunity to show how we can host events and bring leading industry figures to the UK and show the
quality of the business product.” Chris said figures have shown the economic benefits of the Olympics will be £2.1b – £2.9b for the UK as a whole and up to £1.47b in London. He added: “Our role is to build Britain’s brand and add value to bids from destinations around the country by supporting them and championing the events sector. We want to deliver a world class welcome to visitors in 2012 and beyond and enhance the image of the UK as a destination.”
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VIP packages proving a real winner By Christina Eccles SALES of VIP packages are booming as visitors look to enhance their festival experience, according to one organiser. James Algate, who organises Global Gathering in Stratford Upon Avon, said the festival has noticed an increased uptake of its VIP packages, Cloud Nine, since they were launched at the event in 2007. Visitors who purchase one of the packages benefit from VIP entry to the festival plus a range of benefits including several accommodation options, separate shower block and washroom facilities and free parking in a private car park. And James said this is proving more and more appealing to festivalgoers looking for a different and more luxurious experience – particularly those who are going to just one event this year and want to get the most out of it. He said: “We started Cloud Nine at 2007’s event as we felt there was a market for customers who wanted
to experience a festival but didn’t want to be with 30 - 40,000 other campers. “Our partners Live Nation were already successfully doing it at Download so we tried it and it became very successful. “We are seeing our sales go up for the VIP experiences – we are selling triple to what we were doing in 2007.” James also said that the VIP experience is something which other festivals are also choosing to include in order to give their visitors more options. He added: “There are always people who want to try something different and people like the VIP experience. We look at it along the same lines as a holiday – some people fly economy and some go business class. “It is about giving people choice. A lot of festivals have now switched on to the fact that some people who want to go to festivals do want more privacy and a more personal touch. There is definitely a market for this.”
Why Vince puts the festivalgoer first THE organiser of the Hop Farm Festival has revealed why he chose to steer clear of sponsorship and branding when he launched the event last year. Vince Power set up the festival after becoming tired of events where the festivalgoer was not put first – something which he has set out to change with his event. Vince – who previously worked on events such as Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds before selling his shares in Mean Fiddler – told The Main Event he hopes that the festival will provide something for everybody – without visitors being disappointed that they cannot gain access to certain areas as they don’t have the right ticket. He said: “I thought the customer was being ignored slightly as lots of festivals have VIP areas and places where you can get upgraded. “I felt that festivals were over-
Vince Power branded and oversponsored and that was not to the benefit of the customer. I wanted to make a clean break with one ticket for everybody.” After the success of last year, this year’s event has been extended to two days plus camping and includes performances from the likes of The Fratellis, Pigeon Detectives and Paul Weller, a fairground and a five a side celebrity football tournament.
Luxury demand still strong THE demand for luxury festival accommodation is still strong despite the credit crunch, according to the founder of myhab. James Dunlop created the upmarket festival accommodation – made from recycled plastic and waterproof cardboard while he was a student in Bristol – and last year it was successful at 10 festivals. This year even more events will be offering the product and according to James, its success proves that there is still a place for the VIP festi-
val experience – even in challenging economic times. He said: “We are extremely pleased by the demand for our myhabs, this is not only great news for us but also the entire festival industry. “It highlights that people are still spending their money on live music and luxury products like myhab, even during these economic times.” Myhabs will be on offer at festivals including The Isle of Wight, The Big Chill and Creamfields.
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MIDDLE EAST
Olympics would transform Dubai events industry By Andrew Harrod THE flourishing Middle East events industry will be transformed if Dubai enters the race to stage the 2020 Olympics. A working group has been set up to examine the possibility of Dubai hosting the Games as part of audacious plans to establish the region as a world-beating destination for events. The working group – made up of government and private sector representatives and led by the Falcon and Associates company – will carry out a feasibility study before a decision is taken over launching formal bids to the International Olympic Committee and the Bureau of International Expositions. A spokesman said: “The Dubai 2020 initiative will look at how we can shape our environment and society for future generations. “It will address, in an integrated way, the building blocks that underpin social and economic progress – sport, education, culture, business, science, technology, health and the
‘There is a real will in the Middle East to prove to the rest of the world that it can host the biggest and best events’ environment. Dubai is also bidding to stage World Expo in 2020 too – a coup which would be ‘a unique proposition’, according to the official Government news agency. Qatar made a bid to host the 2016 Olympics but did not make it on to the shortlist of candidate cities. Qatar had hoped to hold the Games in October to take advantage of slightly cooler weather, but that clashed with established deals for televised sport coverage. Alexander McNabb, a Dubai-based
marketing expert, said a Dubai Olympic bid would bring the emirate nothing but benefits. “It’s an interesting and smart move. It’s great for the brand because it says Dubai isn’t sulking but is aiming for the sky. It sends a very clear message of confidence. Should either bid prove successful, it would be good news for the events industry – especially for UK contractors who are already passing on their skills and expertise in the Middle East. One source told The Main Event: “There is a real will in the Middle East to prove to the rest of the world that it can host the biggest and best events. At the minute, that means the organisers are keen to learn from experts in the UK so now is a good time for businesses to look into winning work over there. “The eventual aim, obviously, is for these oil-rich countries to develop the skills and workforce they need locally but for the next few years at least, there are many opportunities for UK contractors and suppliers.”
Stars like Enrique Iglesias are already lining up events in the Middle East but if Dubai succeeds in getting the 2020 Olympics it is likely to be a huge boost to the events industry there.
11 Scotland’s year of Homecoming is providing a unique platform for organisers to come together and raise the profile of the Scottish events industry. Christina Eccles spoke to Visit Scotland’s chief executive Philip Riddle
Why there’s no place like Homecoming Scotland ... HOMECOMING Scotland celebrates Scotland’s strengths as a tourist destination and as a place to host major events. Annual events such as T in the Park and the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival sit alongside new events – some of them created especially for Homecoming – to encourage people with Scottish ancestry or those who love Scotland to come home in 2009 and enjoy what the country has to offer. According to Philip, Scottish tourism has always placed value on events and the role they play in attracting visitors but the continuing success of Homecoming this year has strengthened this idea. Philip said: “We have always considered events to be important but Homecoming has reinforced how important they are. For
repeat visitors it gives them a reason to come back. “We are seeing the benefits of Homecoming as it gives a big message to amplify how much is going on in Scotland. “There are quite a few events which are not specific to this year but we have used this year to bring it all under the one umbrella.” Events are taking place all over Scotland throughout the year and Philip added that part of the programme’s success is that there are always activities and events going on – to suit many interests, age groups and budgets. He added: “We have events across the country and have tried to spread them out throughout the year – you don’t want all your events at one time.
“The big message with Homecoming is there is always something to do, particularly for UK visitors. It has helped to publicise what’s going on and made visitors much more aware. The events so far which are not one-offs have had higher attendances than in the past.” Scotland has also been successful in attracting major events to the country – including the MOBO Awards, which are taking place in Glasgow in September – as well as securing events for the future. Philip added: “Coming up we have the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup and are continually looking at major things on the horizon to bring them in. We also have homegrown events like the Edinburgh Tattoo and International Festival – it is about having that mix.”
Philip Riddle
Managing Manchester masses By Mary Ferguson THE unique site used for Oasis’ Manchester concerts presented security and stewarding challenges for G4S. Held in Heaton Park, a public park in the band’s home town, it was important to balance the needs of those wanting to use the park and manage access to the concert for fee paying ticket holders. A temporary perimeter was erected to create a barrier between ticket holders and non ticket holders and G4S provided over 800 security and stewarding staff to manage the entry and egress of ticket holders into the concert area. The public were permitted to access the park outside the concert perime-
ter but because of the concerts there was a much higher volume of people in the vicinity than normal over the weekend. To help ensure a positive experience for those using the park and minimise disruption to local residents, a number of staff were also deployed to patrol the park beyond
the confines of the concert perimeter in conjunction with local police. Managing director Mark Hamilton said: “In particular this size and type of event demands lots of planning and an experienced team. “A traditional venue or stadium is always easier to manage from a security point of view than a green field
site due mainly to the temporary design of the infrastructure, entrances and exits. We have, however, had a lot of experience of managing crowds in less permanent environments and ensure we do it in a way which helps people enjoy the novelty of the site without increasing the risk to their safety and comfort.”
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Bid to free up event space SOMETHING which the council is particularly keen to do is find more spaces suitable to host major events. Currently five headlands are being built around Blackpool – including one directly underneath Blackpool Tower – which will be able to host year round outdoor events for up to 20,000 spectators. Media, film and events co-ordinator Mike Chadwick added: “The Tower Events Headland is under construction and we hope it will open in September 2010. “It is such an iconic position right under Blackpool Tower and we can also close the road so people can move more freely.”
Showzam! success ONE of Blackpool’s most successful events is the Showzam! festival which has run for the last two years. The festival is on in February and according to Claire and Mike, has proved a successful way of drawing in visitors outside of the traditional summer season. This year’s events programme for Showzam! included: A carnival ball at Blackpool Tower Ballroom A Circus of Wonders A family variety show A festival parade Claire added: “Showzam! has seen a fantastic growth. “We have seen a 150 per cent increase in visitors, a 50 per cent increase in overnight stays and a 200 per cent increase in resident engagement. “There has never been anything done in February half term but if you can develop something people will enjoy then they will come – we have proved that in October with the illuminations. “October half term is massive and there has been a clear uplift in February half-term. “Events are starting to have a real impact across the year and we are giving people other reasons to come to Blackpool. “There is the potential to extend the season and that is why we chose to call our major events programme 365.”
LOCAL AUTHORITY SPOTLIGHT When it comes to events in Blackpool, one thing that springs to mind is the annual illuminations. But what else does the town have to offer and how is the council’s events team changing perceptions of one of the UK’s best known seaside resorts? Christina Eccles found out.
Blackpool rocks ... thanks to council’s events team BLACKPOOL is currently going through a period of regeneration – designed to build on its rich heritage as a well-loved holiday destination but also to make changes which will appeal to a new generation of visitors. And as part of this, the town’s events programme is rapidly expanding. Sitting alongside well known events such as the illuminations – which are still a massive draw for visitors – are newer events such as the out2dance and Showzam! festivals. There is also a new major events programme in place – funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency – which aims to sustain events through the regeneration process. According to Visit Blackpool’s events development manager Claire Turner, this events programme is working successfully to attract visitors to Blackpool and is helping the town to gain a positive image as a place to visit and to live.
out2dance is one of the newest events Claire said: “Perceptions are very much changing and we are starting to bring in new audiences. People are starting to rediscover the Blackpool that has been a bit forgotten.” A detailed year round events programme is acting not only as a tourist draw but also as something for Blackpool’s residents to engage in – which the team feel is vital. Claire added: “It is important that not everything is for the visitor. It’s not just about residents taking part but also about how they can benefit from the events.” As part of this, the council has
formed links with local event management students and encourages artists who are appearing in shows in Blackpool to go into schools and deliver workshops. However, although building work and new projects are signalling the start of a new era in Blackpool, coping with the disruption and fitting events around it is not without its challenges. “While it is incredibly positive, it can be difficult with the regeneration work because of practicalities in terms of the logistics. “We have to have that vision to be able to look at a space that we may not consider using and how we can turn it into a great visitor experience. We have to start thinking creatively. “There is a real excitement about events in Blackpool and a sense of working together. There is an anticipation for the works to be finished and we are continuing to build on our programme and look at new events.”
Left: Beach volleyball and, right, the World Firework Champion -ship
Town turns tide with themes THE major events programme has been divided into five themes which allow the town to showcase its strengths: Dance – the out2dance festival took place in May. Dance is performed at indoor and outdoor venues throughout Blackpool to make it accessible for everyone.
This category also reflects Blackpool’s great reputation in this area as the home of world class ballroom dancing. Circus magic and variety comedy – events reflecting the town’s rich entertainment heritage. Fire and light – the town is the home of the World Firework
Championship. Heat the streets – bringing both UK and international artists out into the town to show off different forms of entertainment. Beach sport – Blackpool has hosted championships in beach volleyball and kite surfing. Blackpool’s flagship event is its annual illuminations which attract millions of visitors to the town every year. The illuminations season runs from September to November and highlights include a celebrity switch on ceremony and Ride the Lights – where visitors can cycle along the promenade to enjoy the lights in a traffic free environment.
Blackpool suppliers Production: Nine Lives Productions, Andy Cheeseman Productions Marquees: Smiths Marquees, Field and Lawn Road Safety: Road Safety Services
Security: Northern Security, G4S Communications: Corrys Sound and Lighting: AP Audio, The Production House Staging: Stageworks, Manchester Light and Stage Screens: Light Media Displays
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TEMPORARY STRUCTURES
Latest additions unveiled at Paris Air Show DE BOER unveiled the latest additions to its range of structures at the Paris Air Show. ‘Vista by De Boer’ incorporates high-end wall systems based on horizontal panoramic glass panels, providing a dramatic facade to many of its most popular structures including the Panorama, Emperor, Delta Emperor and Alu Halls. For the centenary International Paris Air Show, De Boer supplied a ‘Delta Vista’ structure for French communications agency Seditas and its client Thales Group – one of the world’s leading aerospace, defence and security companies. Seditas was responsible for the creative concept, design and build of
Thales’ impressive exhibition hall at Le Bourget which was situated in a 1200-square metre, six-metre-high structure. Patrice Pic, director of Seditas, said: “With the Delta Vista, De Boer has provided us with a visually attractive but also efficient space solution that has no additional columns inside. Both the product and the service of De Boer have absolutely lived up to our expectations.” De Boer is already gearing up for next year’s Farnborough International Airshow which is the company’s largest single construction project in Europe. It provides 100,000 square metres of temporary accommodation for exhibitors and visitors.
Dedicated team has expertise TEMPORARY structures for some of the UK’s most popular events will be provided by GL Events Owen Brown and Snowdens. Owen Brown has been providing structures for the V Festival at Staffordshire’s Weston Park for over seven years and have a rolling three year contract with the event’s organisers. The company will be supplying almost 3,500sqm of hard and soft sided structures, being used for a
range of applications at the site. Sister company Snowdens will also be busy – supplying tentage at events including Coventry’s Godiva Festival and Latitude in Suffolk. Sales director Keith Bishop said: “Both Snowdens and Owen Brown have a long tradition of serving this important sector of the events industry. We have a lot of expertise in this area, a dedicated team and a great product range which meets the requirements of show organisers.”
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TEMPORARY STRUCTURES
Cool company is hot on design and innovations ... WATKINS Hire Events are rapidly becoming well known not just within the events industry for the quality of their equipment and project management, but also on new design and innovations they are introducing to the air conditioning, heating and power supply services. With this in mind the team have announced the latest edition to one of the youngest hire fleets in Europe. It’s the new 100kw trailer mounted heat pump, which in essence allows the end user to switch from air conditioning to heating at the press of a button. The ease of use, and most importantly speed in which the unit can be installed and removed will prove a big hit with event organisers and structure companies across the UK and Europe. Project Manager James Bowers
said: “We specifically designed this unit for ease of transportation into sites that have limited access, for example city centres or projects that are off the beaten track. “Coupled to a trailer mounted generator, from ourselves, it is a brilliant package that works superbly in all conditions and again shows our commitment to the events industry that Watkins are here to change the standards so many people have had to put up with in the past and raise the bar when it comes to temperature control.” With air conditioning ranging from 2kw to 750kw and heating from 3kw to 1000kw there really is nothing that the Watkins team cannot provide, manage and service for any event.
Watkins welcomes Steve to the team WATKINS Hire Events – the air conditioning, heating and power supply specialists are pleased to announce yet another new arrival to their already hugely experienced team. Steve Platt has joined both Graham Evans and James Bowers to further expand the project management team and brings with him over 15
years of experience within the temperature control industry. Events director Graham Evans said: “Steve is a fantastic addition to Watkins, his vast experience on events, project management skills, attention to detail, knowledge and enthusiasm will further increase our already excellent reputation within the events industry.”
Busy times for marquee firm PIGGOTTS Marquees are having a very busy summer season with prestigious events such as Polo In The Park at The Hurlingham Club and The Duke of Essex Polo Cup in Epping. The company is also planning its events calendar for later in the year. Business development manager Richard Treml said: “The second half of the year looks like being as busy as our summer season has been. “We will be providing various structures for the first time at The Blenheim International Horse Trials in September as well as structures for various Christmas party venues and temporary ice rinks.
The company creates versatile robust temporary event venues “In addition to these we also have a large number of longstanding events to service.”
Firm gives individual service WILTSHIRE-based Specialist Structures Ltd provides clients with an individually-tailored service, using their SPACE building system to create versatile robust temporary event venues suitable for year round use, both indoors and outside. Based on a 5m by 5m grid, the modular nature of the SPACE building system allows clients to specify the shape, size and functionality of their venue – anything from a 5m x 5m kiosk, to a 40m wide unique party venue. Catering areas, toilet facilities, stages, dining rooms and pre-dinner foyers can all be located where the client wants them, rather than being dictated by the confines of a permanent venue. Recent product development at SSL has focused on enhancing the load bearing capacity of their structures, and the new ‘Space Anchor’ compo-
nent now enables SSL to build larger clear span structures, which in turn allow clients more choice in terms of stand layout. The use of lightweight yet extremely strong aluminium extrusions also means that the system can be used to create stunning structures up to four storeys in height. This ability is unique to Specialist Structures and was used to great effect at the Farnborough Air Show last year, where two four storey structures designed and built by SSL dominated the skyline of this, the world’s largest temporary exhibition. Sloping sites, limited space, interior applications and short assembly times can all be accommodated. Most importantly in the cooler months, SSL’s structures can be efficiently climate controlled to ensure an ideal ambient temperature within, whatever the weather outside.
Fans forget the gloom ...
Download
By Christina Eccles WITH fears over the economy and after several festivals being cancelled already this year, many people have cautiously been waiting for the summer event season to begin. It is now in full swing – with established events such as Download and Rockness taking place alongside newer ones such as Mad Ferret in Manchester. And from the point of view of both organisers and fans it seems that, despite the worries, so far things are going well – with even the unpredictable British weather managing to behave itself. In the first of our special festival round ups for 2009, The Main Event visits festivals old and new to discover how everything went this year and the secrets behind hosting some of the UK’s most successful and popular events.
Download
Rockness
Wychwood
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CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW Chelsea Flower Show contractors’ list SUPPLIERS at the event included: Allsignsgroup – Signage ARB Piccadilly – Staging and PA Arena Structures – Marquees Ascot Structures – Marquees Brandon Tool Hire – Equipment hire and purchase CBA Ltd – Telecoms Supplier Cranborne House Productions – Operational Support De Boer Structures (UK) Ltd Marquees – Great Pavilion Equinox Security Management Ltd – Security Eve Trakway Ltd – Vehicle Trackway Event & Exhibition Partnership – Safety Stewards
Exhibition Traffic Management Services –Traffic Management Expo Floors Ltd – Flooring and shell scheme Express Cafes/P & C Morris Catering – Mobile Catering Fence Hire (Southern) Ltd – Fencing GL Events Owen Brown – Marquees GT Trax – Rubber Mats Hi Pro Scaffolding Ltd – Scaffolding John Deere Ltd – Buggies JSB Management Services – Furniture coordinator Just Loos.com Ltd – Mobile Toilets Mobile CCTV Ltd – CCTV Peppermint Bars Ltd – Cash Machines Red Box Fire Control – Fire Safety
Equipment Sagum Events Ltd – Waste, cleaning and general site contractor Seatum Theatre, Sport & Concert Tickets UK Ltd –Ticketing Select Services Intl. Ltd – Health & Safety SGB Eventlink – Turnstiles Show Site Services Ltd – Water/ Plumbing Sodexo Prestige – Catering Specialist Structures Ltd – Tents Steeldeck Rentals Ltd – Decked pedestrian walkway Thorns Group Plc – Furniture TT Tents – Marquee Wernick Event Hire – Cabins
The Queen during a visit to the show
CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW The Chelsea Flower Show beat the recession and tickets sold out a day earlier than last year. Dominic Musgrave spoke to organiser Alex Baulkwill about the secret of its success.
Show blossoms despite sponsors pulling out ... THE biggest change to this year’s annual event organised by the Royal Horticultural Society was the number of large show gardens almost halving due to sponsors pulling out. But Alex, for whom this year’s event was her third, told Main Event magazine it gave them the opportunity to change the layout and introduce more smaller urban gardens and a new talks theatre. She added: “It went brilliantly. Many predicted that it would be a tricky year for us, but we seem to have pulled it out of the bag, and the tickets even sold out earlier than they did last year, which was amazing. “The early responses we have had from the traders also indicate that many saw an improvement on last year. “We were slightly worried with the reduced number of the larger show gardens, but what was a negative turned out to be a positive as I think people can take more inspiration from the smaller gardens.” The build up to the show was badly affected by the weather last year, but
Alex Baulkwill Alex said there was no repeat of the headaches this time around. She added: “It went like a dream from start to finish, and we hardly had any rain in the build up to the show, which made it easy to build.
“The biggest challenge for my team came at the planning stage in February and March when we had to change the layout of the showground quite close to going on the site. “Everything else seemed to hold up well apart from the corporate element of the show, where the numbers in hospitality were down on last year, but not so much that we need to worry.” Security was also tightened at this year’s show for exhibitors gaining access to the show, with wristbands replacing badges. Alex said: “We thought moving to wristbands would cause problems and there were a few minor teething issues, but overall it worked well. “The idea behind wristbands was to improve security because badges can be forged a lot easier.” And she says plans are already well underway for next year’s event. “Judging by the number of telephone calls that we have already received from prospective traders and exhibitors next year’s show will be as big as ever,” she added.
Sienna Miller
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CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW
Crowds enjoy the show and the sunshine.
De Boer returns for 10th successive year THE team at De Boer worked on a milestone project – creating the main exhibition venue for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the 10th successive year. The company first introduced its modular Delta System structures to the international event in 2000 when organisers broke with decades of tradition by abandoning the show’s former canvas-style exhibition space. The temporary venue – in the grounds of Chelsea’s historic Royal Hospital – was named the Great
Pavilion by show organiser the Royal Horticultural Society and has since been the setting for the launch of nearly 500 new plants and flowers. De Boer project manager Liz Routh said: “The arrival of De Boer’s modular Deltas in 2000 marked a monumental break with tradition for the world’s most famous horticultural celebration. The fact that De Boer’s structures are now returning to Chelsea for the 10th successive year show just how much they have become part of this great event.”
CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW
The greenest show yet ... ‘We worked with a large recycling facility based in North West London called Powerday’s, who took away all sorts of our waste and their own figures suggest that they will recycle around 98 per cent of it, but we will be delighted with more than 90’ THIS year’s Chelsea Flower Show was the greenest yet, with more than 90 per cent of the 600 tonnes of waste generated over the week recycled. The event’s carbon footprint was measured for the first time this year, and a number of materials that are harmful to the environment such as gas patio heaters were banned. Alex Baulkwill said: “We recycled more than 80 per cent of our waste last year, but we wanted to go that
step further at this year’s show. “We worked with a large recycling facility based in North West London called Powerday’s, who took away all sorts of our waste and their own figures suggest that they will recycle around 98 per cent of it, but we will be delighted with more than 90. “After the show the London Community Recycling Network also took away a lot of products that would otherwise have probably ended up in a skip or have had to
travel a long way back to their original source. They will use it in community projects throughout London.” A new reuse scheme was launched this year in the build up to the show for exhibitors to swap any excess materials they may have with others. Many of the showgardens themselves also find new homes after the show, with an award winning creation sold on an online auction site to raise money for charity.
Blooming busy time for water team SHOWSITE dismantled their equipmment from the Chelsea Flower Show – and headed straight off to set up at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. The company was brought in to ensure a wholesome water supply to the event and this involved carrying out biological tests on around 30 samples throughout the show. The Showsite team included Andy Crook, Tony Crook and three plumbers. Their first job involved filling underground storage tanks which supplied the site. Demands for water grew as exhibitors moved onto the site and they needed a ready supply for water features. Then there were toilet blocks to supply and with 70 per cent of the show’s audience being female, that meant supplying water for a fleet of 120 ladies’ cubicles and 80 gents’ as well as disabled units. Seven temporary kitchens also had to be equipped with hot and cold water. And once the system was up and running, it had to be maintained for the duration of the event.
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DOWNLOAD
Medical director Matt Robbins
Healthcare in a field ... MAKING sure as many incidents as possible could be dealt with onsite without taking patients to hospital was a priority for the team at Event Medical Services. About 140 staff were onsite at Download – a mixture of doctors, nurses, paramedics and radiographers – who aimed to provide the most comprehensive service – which included X Rays – without the need for patients to leave the festival. Medical director Matt Robbins explained: “The festival is the size of a moderately sized town and our aim is to provide duplicate, quality health care. “It is very easy to ship everything off
to hospital but it is not good for the local hospital, festivalgoers, local people or the organisers. We aim to minimise the impact on the local health service. “We experimented with X Rays last year and it made a big impact in reducing the number of cases going to hospital. “Last year we saw about 1,500 patients over the weekend and less than 20 of them were removed to hospital. “Festival medicine is different to anything else we do. The implications of putting someone in plaster and crutches is very different in the middle of a field.”
DOWNLOAD Download is one of the UK’s most popular festivals – with a loyal fan forum always keen to have its say. Christina Eccles caught up with organisers and suppliers on site to discover how everything went this year ...
Upbeat feel at Download ... A CHANGE to the site layout for 2009 meant a capacity of up to 80,000 people for the main stage plus up to 35,000 for the second stage, which had previously been limited to between 12,000 and 17,000. Festivalgoers at Donington Park enjoyed performances from headliners Faith No More, Slipknot and Def Leppard as well as a range of acts over the festival’s four stages. According to Paul Cook – organiser Live Nation’s health and safety manager – this change meant a new feel for Download this year – something which seemed to be go down well with festivalgoers. He explained: “We have a really active forum and the feedback from there was that they weren’t on the grass as much last year as before. “With arrangements for the Formula One motor racing on site, we looked at where we could use year on year. We looked at what was car parking and moved there. “This means we have a fantastic open area for the main stage and stage two has its biggest capacity. We also managed to extend camping to 57,500 spaces.”
Live Nation’s Paul Cook Another change for this year was a new event control room which was praised by all the people allocated to work in there. The building was open from the Wednesday morning before the festival to the Monday after it finished and is run 24 hours. It included cover from the police, fire, ambulance, local authority, security and the pro-
moter. Paul added: “We have got a nice big facility and that makes a big difference – it is the best we have had so far. “We have a good relationship with the local authority and every month we have a planning meeting. We work with really good contractors and agencies at Download.”
Contractors’ list Security Arena Showsec Security Campsite G4S Security Car Parks Safestyle Staging Star Events Group Sound SSE / Skan PA / Stage Audio Services Medical Events Medical Services Ltd CCTV Spindlewood Trackway & Heras Eve Trakway, T Shield Fencing Entertee & Steelshield Power Buffalo & BRM Lighting PRG Water & Plumbing Tempsite Bigtops A&J Bigtops Tents Field & Lawn Communications Chris Beale Associates Radios NRB Crew Catering Eat to the Beat Barriers Mojo Cleaning Ryans Event Clean Site Crew Rock City Crew Local Crew Stage Wolves, Stagecraft, Stage Alliance Lockers & Showers A1 Mobile Toilets PTL Cabins & Trailers Search Disabled Platforms SGB Hospitality Catering Sanctum Events Hospitality Marquees Papakata Concessions D&J Catering Bars Management Stephen Freeman Concessions Fire Cover Sharp Fire Ltd Traffic Management SEP
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DOWNLOAD
Major festivals join forces to add value to event experience By Christina Eccles SEVERAL major festivals including Download have joined forces with well known brands to add value to the event experience. One of these brands is Tuborg – which will be exposed to over one million festivalgoers this summer thanks to partnerships with Live Nation and other festivals including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds.
Director of sponsorship Gareth Roberts
Director of sponsorship Gareth Roberts told The Main Event that one of the advantages of this relationship
is that the brand can bring in extra features to give visitors more for their money. One example of this was seen at this year’s Download where the Amp It Up campaign was activated. This campaign gave festivalgoers chance to “Amp It Up” on camera and enjoy 10 seconds of fame on the Amp It Up video walls. There was also the opportunity to feature on the main stage screens inbetween acts, with winners each day being picked to receive VIP treatment backstage. Star Events returned to the festival to take care of staging after a two-year absence – and revealed how things had changed since they were last there. Senior project manager Phil Addyman told The Main Event that a change in the layout of the site made things better when heavy rain came during the build and the suppliers pulled together to make sure there were no problems. He said: “Sunday was horrendous as it was raining and really windy but we managed it. Access wise it was a good site.”
Gareth said: “Festivalgoers want high profile, premium products which add value to the festival experience. When you add the Tuborg association with music it becomes a powerful combination. “Amp it Up is something which festivalgoers will enjoy. It creates interaction and is something to fill the downtime when the bands aren’t playing. This all creates a better experience.” Tuborg also worked with Glastonbury’s organisers to put on a launch gig at its new William’s Green area – with Maximo Park playing to lucky festivalgoers who made their way to the Tuborg bar. Associating with festivals also gives the brand a chance to develop prizes to give away to people who buy the product in stores – raising both its profile and that of the events it is working with. This year a ‘golden ticket’ prize has been created – with the chance to win a ticket to all the events which Tuborg supplies.
DOWNLOAD
Bluetooth mobile phone technology was used to send crime prevention and personal safety advice to Download’s visitors. Four different messages were prepared and automatically sent to Bluetooth-enabled phones. Of the 4,019 people who picked them up, 1,165 users (25 per cent) accepted them while 2,854 rejected them. Police said they were happy with the pick-up rate as it was higher than the average of 20 per cent.
Nottingham-based BRM Productions provided power to concessions at this year’s Download festival. In the early stages, heavy rainfall hindered the process but Martyn ‘Miffy’ Smith and his team coped really well and saw that power was uninterrupted throughout the festival. BRM Productions have a strong relationship with Buffalo Power who supplied power to the stages, the two companies have worked together on many events over the years and will continue to support each other on events throughout the UK.
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DOWNLOAD
The audience at Download is among the best in the country, according to the team at Showsec.
Cracking down on festival crime A TASK force has also been set up to tackle crime at the festival – a joined up approach between Live Nation, Leicestershire Police and security company Showsec. Operation’s director Simon Battersby said the company welcomes the approach which includes vetting security staff and that Showsec was keen for the scheme to be extended throughout the festival. He said: “We are looking at crime at major festivals and are being proactive in trying to clean up illegal mer-
chandise and touts. All our staff are vetted and we fully cooperate with it. For us it is a good thing because it allows us to have fresh, clean checks and another layer of vetting. We are all determined to try to crack down on organised crime.” Managing director Mark Harding added: “We are very keen to cooperate and like the idea of cleaning up the workforces. “It should be extended to other areas on site such as concessions and car parks as it gives people confi-
dence but it is a good start with security.” Mark also revealed why the team enjoy working at Download so much and are keen to return to the event year on year. He added: “We have 600 staff at Download and the top 100 staff have done more than 650 gigs each. “The key to being successful is having knowledge of the site and the confidence we have in our management team. “This audience is fantastic – one of
the best of the year.” The company also uses a reporting system for incidents which gives the chance for Showsec Academy associates to get involved in working on major events. When incidents are reported back to the control, the associates are tasked with achieving reports cards detailing the incident. The results are then collated into a report which looks at different incidents and figures to see if there are any patterns emerging.
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ROCKNESS
Contractors’ list Staging First Stage Scotland Power Tower Event Power Sanitation Portakabin, Farquah and Helian Loos Cabins Farquah and Portakabin Security Showsec and G4S Production Project Audio, Limelight, Blink TV, Production Hire Bars Central Catering Tents A&J Big Top
Buggies Golf Buggy Hire Marquees Purvis and Grants Fireworks Fireworx Scotland Ltd Health & Safety MRL Limited Radio NRB Site crew Rock City Stage crew Roe Street Runners Plumbing Temp Site Installations Branding Imaginators
Safety software programme helps Rockness run smoothly MRL dealt with event safety at Rockness and director Judy Jackson revealed how a software programme the company uses helped everything to run smoothly. Judy told The Main Event that by using the Atlas Ops software, the company has a record of what incidents occur, how they are dealt with and the outcome – and as it is impossible to go back on what has been logged and change it, it can also be used as evidence in court. She also revealed the team’s responsibilities at the festival, which included both work on the event and in the planning stages. She said: “We provided an event safety manager who went up during
the build and during the three days of the event. We also had a member of staff doing the job of overnight event manager and provided the emergency liasion team cover. “We did it differently this year – a member of Jim’s team was doing the event control side and we provided staff and recording systems for the more emergency side. “There was huge amounts of rain leading up to the event which can have a knock on effect on the site. But if you plan to cope with more obvious things – for example bringing in more trackway for bad weather – then you have enough resources to cope with problems.”
ROCKNESS
Festival goers gather at the site overlooking Loch Ness
Jim King
Rockness holds steady despite economic turmoil By Mary Ferguson VISITOR numbers to this year’s Rockness festival held steady despite the economic turmoil. 35,000 people converged on Scotland – the same number as last year – to see headliners The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx and The Flaming Lips, and rock out to the backdrop of the Highlands and Loch Ness. Organiser Jim King said: “It was such a great show last year that at first, we expected a big increase in ticket sales. But when the recession kicked in we were nervous about how resilient the UK event market would be. “Sales went slower this year but we had an 88 per cent approval rate from the people who came in 2008 so were confident we would draw an acceptable number.”
An ‘early bird’ ticket scheme launched as soon as the last festival ended – generating an initial flurry of sales – and Jim said he believes staggered payment schemes for all events are here to stay. Last year, he told the Main Event he was hoping to draw more people to the event from European countries, and received a small grant from tourism agency VisitScotland to help with international marketing. “We attracted a high percentage of people from other parts of the UK but I think next year will be when we see more European visitors, if the weak pound stays the same. “The festival is hugely important to tourism in the area and last year it brought £5m into the local economy, but the test will be whether the young people who visit Rockness will come back to the area when they are
older.” This year Rockness featured a headline act on the Friday night for the first time. The Flaming Lips took to the stage to kick off the event as part of Jim’s bid to attract big name bands back to the festival circuit. He said: “I’m trying to give artists more control over their performances and production. “There are a lot of bands out there that don’t like playing big festivals anymore because they want more control so I’m trying to do something about it, and I already have some ideas for who to invite next year.” The untimely death of a 22-year-old festival-goer during the event cast a shadow over the weekend. James Smith – who was wheelchairbound due to a rare bone disease – died of an asthma attack on the Saturday night after attending the
festival on a special VIP package donated by organisers. Jim said: “His mother called the office a few weeks previously to say her son was very ill and to ask whether we could arrange a VIP experience for him. “It was tremendously sad but his mother called us back shortly afterwards to thank us and I think that speaks volumes.” To engage people with the festival from a young age, Jim decided to let under 12s in free, hoping they will return as paying customers in future years. He added: “We want to be as successful as Glastonbury in terms of attracting generations of people and even though this is only our fourth event, I still want to be doing Rockness in 30 years time.”
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Emergency services report less incidents to previous years By Mary Ferguson THE emergency services involved with Rockness claim there were fewer thefts, incidents of public disorder and assaults compared with previous years. A health initiative called Safeness was trialled at the event, which included supplies of bottled water, wet wipes, torches and rucksacks and free condoms available from a dedicated tent onsite. This is what the festival’s delivery partners had to say:
Supplying power solutions to the industry TOWER Event Power has been supplying the industry with temporary power solutions for over 14 years and in this time has built a comprehensive stock of cabling and distribution equipment to handle the most demanding of projects. Tower has been involved with a
diverse range of installations across the globe including distribution systems around the canals of Venice and temporary systems atop the mountains of Klosters, putting Tower in the ideal position to deal with power requirements over a wide range of events.
Chief Superintendent Andy Cowie of the Northern Constabulary “Obviously from a policing perspective the event is ongoing until everyone leaves the campsite, but at present we are happy with how this year has gone. “We have had fewer incidents of public disorder and assaults and I think this is reflective of the carnival atmosphere and general good humour of the crowd over the weekend.”
Nigel Stafford, British Red Cross "Generally this year we found that the people who required medical assistance were happy to be treated. "We found that most people who came to us in need of assistance were suffering from the effects of a previous medical condition or simply hadn't remembered to bring their prescribed medication with them. "We had one case where a young man suffered superficial burns to his hands after using a gas canister at the campsite and we had a few people who suffered bumps and grazes from falls but overall our figures look like we had less people presenting with problems relating to illegal drug use.” Suzy Calder, coordinator for the Highland Drug and Alcohol Action Team "As expected at any large musical festival there were a lot of people drinking alcohol but we would hope that new initiatives, such as free water at the Safeness tent, would help to reduce the ill effects of that as much as possible. It was certainly a very popular tent."
WYCHWOOD FESTIVAL
Balancing value with loyalty By Louise Cordell FESTIVAL organisers need to find a balance between forming long term relationships with suppliers and getting the best value deals according to industry expert Ben Parker. Ben was in charge of this year’s Wychwood Festival which took place at Cheltenham Racecourse from May 29 to 31. Due to the difficult financial climate he took the decision to trial a wide selection of new suppliers right across the event, from furniture and tents to power and water. He said: “Our ticket sales were around 5,500 this year, which is a little bit down on previous events and we put this down to the current difficult financial climate. “We needed to find the best value suppliers possible to keep costs down but it was definitely a risk trying all these new things out at once – luckily it worked out very well.” Ben believes that many other festivals will have been doing the same this year and even long term suppliers will have had to drop prices or risk being replaced by more cost effective alternatives. He added: “It is a very competitive industry, which is good in some ways because it tends to keep standards high, but it also means there are lots of other prices to beat. “Organisers will always stay with
certain suppliers to some degree because you build up a relationship with them and that loyal service and knowledge is valuable. “It is very important to try and preserve that, but at the same time, when times are tough financially, you have to get the best prices you can. “Currently there are some great deals to be done out there – that is what I have heard from people all over the country – but as organisers we also have a duty of care to keep suppliers going, so that there are some left in the future when hard times improve.”
Pictured: Little Boots
Sun shines on festival Contractors’ list
THIS year’s Wychwood Festival was a three-day event including music, comedy, caberet and cinema. It was held May 29-31 at Cheltenham Racecourse and Supergrass, Super Furry Animals and Little Boots headlined. Production officer Ben Parker said: “We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. “The weather was fantastic, there were few hitches and the event was running like clockwork by the Sunday. The atmosphere was brilliant and we hope to build an even greater event next year.”
Production Event and Management Services Ltd Sound Canegreen & CSS Lighting CSS Marquees Crockers Big Tops A&J Big Tops Fencing Vince Hire Main stage Serious Barriers LMS Events
Power Event Power Services Water Watermills ELT AD Health and Safety Security ESP Fire Midland Fire Protection Medical Special Event Medical Services Trackways Prima Direct
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FORESTRY COMMISSION
Switched on to carbon footprint PEARCE Hire was responsible for lighting and power at the event and project manager John Huson revealed his experiences. He said: “One of the key challenges for us is designing a lighting rig that will fulfil the requirements of all the artists on the tour. “This year has proved more difficult than previous years where there were fewer artists doing more shows, this year we have 12 artists spread over 22 shows. “We are ever conscious of our carbon footprint and this year we have rearranged our trucking logistics,
reducing our travel to just one truck. “We are also turning off lighting fixtures that aren’t in use during the day to save diesel, which is something that we are implementing at every event we work on. “We have two teams on the tour led by myself and Dan Shelton. “Everyone enjoys working on the shows because it has been largely the same contractors and production team since 2000 so everyone knows each other and has a good working relationship, creating a relaxed atmosphere.”
The Main Event returned to nature for the Forestry Commission’s live music tours where the magical mix of woodland, top artists and professional production continues to attract sell-out audiences despite the credit crunch.
Forestry Commission tours continue to blossom ALL contractors were required to reapply for their positions this year with the original team of Pearce Hire (lighting and power) and TourTech (audio), successfully winning new contracts extending until 2012. Forest Tours programming and production manager David Barrow from DB Event Services explained why he thought things have been going so well. He said: “We’ve struck the right balance of finding the right artists for the size of our venues. “That has meant we kept prices realistic. Ticket sales have been fantastic with Paul Weller and Simply Red shows selling out in advance. We also had a real treat with the home
Contractors’ list Production Sound Lighting Security Stage Power Medical Branding
DB Events Tourtech Pearce Hire AP Security Serious Pearce Hire Showmed Imaginators
coming show for Doves in Cheshire. We started the tour with nine of the 23 shows sold out before we’d opened doors. I anticipate we will hit just over 81 per cent globally so over 100,000 ticket sales which is pretty good in this current financial climate. “This is a busy tour as we are doing 23 shows across seven sites over six weekends. It’s the team spirit between contractors that makes it work. I’m keen that we offer the artists and audiences uniformly high levels of production across all sites. The core of the team has worked together since the tours began in 2000 and are a well-oiled machine. More recent additions such as AP Security have fitted in well and understand what we’re looking to achieve.” “The tour is pretty unique, as it’s promoted by the Forestry Commission, has no branding, no sponsorship, no media partners and no VIP areas. “It is self-sustaining, paying for itself, and providing valuable revenue to plough back into the woodland in a variety of environmental and social projects as well as bringing new audiences to the forests.”
MAD FERRET FESTIVAL Organisers of The Mad Ferret Festival are celebrating after a successful second year entertaining visitors in Manchester’s Platt Fields Park. Christina Eccles found out what lessons they had learned from last year and why seven world records were broken at the event ...
Mad Ferret breaks seven world records LAST year’s one-day festival had been expanded to two days for 2009 and organisers were pleased with the turnout of 6,000 people on the Friday and 7,000 on the Saturday – with plans already in the pipeline to make it a three day event next year. But holding a festival in a major city centre presented its challenges – particularly when it comes to noise. Throw in the close proximity of both a school full of pupils taking exams and a wedding taking place in a nearby church and that challenge became more serious. After issues surrounding the noise last year, events manager Ben Tillett and his team made some changes to ensure the same did not happen again. To make sure exams were not disturbed, the festival kicked off at 5pm on the Friday and to work round a wedding on the Saturday afternoon, organisers had to think outside the box. Ben explained: “The church is about 5m away from the fence. We
Last-minute life savers
had to turn the music off between 2pm -3.30pm but managed to control it quite well and keep within our licence. “We had the Mad Ferret noise team on hand and it was early on in the day which helped. We made sure there was so much else for visitors to do and an alternative to the music – we even had someone down from Guinness World Records and broke seven world records in that time.” Ben also revealed what the organisers had learned from staging the festival for the first time last year – and how it had helped them with this event. He added: “This year we had the benefit of hindsight and the experience of having done it before. “We also had proper guest lists and accreditation. We didn’t understand the severity of that last year and it wasn’t tight enough. “We spent a long time this year trying to get it right.” He added that he thought the event
filled the gap for a music festival in Manchester and that although it attracted a large student population last year, this year they had worked hard to bring in more local people. Future plans for the event include adding on an extra day and possibly camping – which could mean moving to another site in Manchester such as the bigger Heaton Park.
Contractors’ list Staging - Panda Hire Main Stage - Saddle Stage Lighting - Audile Sound - Audile Security - Showsec Bars - Fluid Bars Toilets – Kensite Services
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FESTIVAL ROUND-UP
‘Festival fans could be left out of pocket’ By Christina Eccles
Glastonbury organisers could face legal action for breaching licensing conditions after Bruce Springsteen’s performance over-ran by nine minutes. Mendip District Council’s legal team is discussing whether to take any action against Glastonbury Festivals Ltd for the breach and for ‘a number of other matters’ relating to the licence. Overall though, the show has been praised as a shining example of partnership between organisers, the police and the dis-
trict council. A council spokesman said: “Overall we seem to have had another successful festival, and the work we do in partnership with others is clearly making this a better event every year. “Even though lots of people are singing the praises of the event and some saying it’s the best ever, we are not complacent and will continue to see how we can make even more improvements for the future.”
FANS buying festival tickets from unauthorised websites could be left out of pocket after paying over the odds for their purchases, new research has revealed. G4S Events’ annual Ticket Tout Index showed tickets from these sites cost on average 64 per cent more than their original value – meaning those wanting to see a major festival, sporting event or concert could end up paying much more. The research showed that sports fans are prepared to pay the highest premium for black market tickets, paying an average of 71 per cent over the face value to secure their seats. Music fans also end up paying more – an average of 53 per cent over the face value to see artists such as Oasis and Take That. Managing director Mark Hamilton said: “Despite the introduction of legitimate sites for the resale of event tickets, thousands of tickets can still be found for sale across the internet on unauthorised websites. “Many of these tickets are ‘phantom’ tickets and do not even exist, as touts prey on the public’s desire to secure ‘must have’ tickets for sold out events. “Purchasers of second-hand tickets may find that they are denied entry to events such as Glastonbury, if the ticket holder is not able to produce a credit card or identification matching
‘Many of these tickets are ‘phantom’ tickets and do not even exist, as touts prey on the public’s desire to secure ‘must have’ tickets for sold out events’ that of the original ticket purchaser.” Mark also said that fans paying huge premiums for sold out concerts could also be left out of pocket as if the concert gets rescheduled or cancelled, the money is refunded to the original purchaser of the tickets. He added that fans buying tickets to sporting events could also be putting their safety at risk if they end up with tickets sitting near supporters of rival teams. He added: “Crowd segregation at sporting events is particularly important to avoid dangerous incidents occurring between rival supporters. “Fans buying tickets on the black market could find themselves sitting with opposing fans, putting their health and safety at risk and they could find themselves ejected and barred from a stadium.”
NOEA
NOEA president Richard presents paper at COOL conference COOL 2012 CONFERENCE O2 LONDON “COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE OLYMPICS IN LONDON” – June 2 and 3 2009 RICHARD Limb, NOEA president chaired the first day of the conference and presented a paper on “Taking Creativity Seriously” – health and safety issues on the second day. John Barton, general secretary manned the NOEA trade information stand over the two days and some 150 delegates attended the event with a number of other exhibitors. Presentations included the Olympic Sponsors Coca-Cola London 2012 Project and Deloitte, opportunities for marketing, is your business ready to compete, Where and how to identify business opportunities, fair pricing charter, sustainability and branding issues, real life case studies and much more – a fuller report elsewhere. There followed a tour of the London 2012 Olympic sites. Delegates were impressed with the level of speakers and with the content of their presentations. NOEA received some good ideas for their own convention in 2010 and had a number of interesting conversations with potential members and some who wished to work with NOEA. The delegate list was most impressive and NOEA would welcome the opportunity to work with COOL again in the future.
Keith Allen, partner, Allen-Drake Management Limited, hon treasurer General council PJ Aldred, Aldred Associates Ltd Michael Bell, safety practitioner, Bellensen Associates
September 22-23 EVENT UK Exhibition, NEC, Birmingham – NOEA Stand
October 21 NOEA Local Authority Network Meeting, Showman’s Show (tbc) November Regional Conferences to be announced (Perth/Leeds) 2010 January The Event Show, London February 24 – 26 NOEA Convention & Tribute Celebration Evening – Venue to be confirmed February 25 NOEA Golf Day (Convention) – being considered Other Conferences to include Teesside, Bath, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Channel Islands and Cornwall, (tbc) = all to be confirmed
GENERAL COUNCIL MEETING MAY 2009 Richard Limb
Centre for Crowd Management & Security Studies Portable Sanitation Europe Production Services Association National Caterers Association Rugby Football Union National Market Traders Institute of Sports & Recreation Management British Pyrotechnic Association Emergency Planning College, Easingwold
NOEA general council Richard Limb, director of leisure safety, Capita Symonds Ltd president Annemarie Chebib, managing director, Select Security & Stewarding Ltd vice president Philip Day, partner, Horsey Lightly Fynn vice president
NOEA calendar October 21 – 22 Showman’s Show, Newbury – NOEA Stand
The Event Safety Guide ... THE Event Safety Guide known as the Purple Guide – the HSE wish to publish this again and the Event Industry Forum (EIF) is to be involved in the re-writing. The EIF are supported by the following: The Event Services Association National Outdoor Events Association, Association of Show and Agricultural Associations Performance Textiles Association
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Jan Booth, managing director, Sunbaba Rob Corp, special events manager, Cardiff Council Simon Graveling, chairman, Stage One Creative Services Ltd Tony Ireland, consultant Sylvia McCann, events manager, Millennium Square, Leeds Conor Moss, programme leader, University of Derby Faculty of Culture & Lifestyle Craig Oldfield, consultant (formerly Ipswich Borough Council) Terry Waller, managing director, CoverEx International
Association of Independent Festival Organisers Association of Festival Organisers Major Event Organisers Local Authorities Event Organisers Group. There is much preparation to be done and the terms of reference and timetable to be agreed with the HSE. Everyone will be advised accordingly.
THERE were many important matters discussed including some restructuring of the association, the convention and tribute celebration evening February 24 -26 2010 – venue to be announced shortly; the integration of the National Entertainment Agents Council with NOEA; EVENT UK Exhibition at NEC Birmingham September 22 and 23 at which NOEA will man an information stand; NOEA Scotland conference in Perth in November and possibly conference and annual general meeting in Leeds in November too and a myriad of other matters which are being dealt with separately. The association continues to be very busy both in the summer and the rest of the year.
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New team bucks the trend ... THE team behind a new event management company is bucking the trend by successfully launching during the recession. Staff at Wakefield based Square Twenty One Events – which was set up earlier this year to provide event services to organisations across Yorkshire and Humber – are drawing on experiences gained from the New York event industry during last year’s Wall Street crash. Company founder, Jodie Speight, was based in New York during the height of the economic crisis in the United States and believes her experience gained there will be useful. She said: “Having witnessed first hand the effect the recession had on the industry there, I feel we are well placed to anticipate the problems that arise from the economic crisis in this country. “Despite the economic gloom, we’ve found that organisations in this region still see the value of holding events, although in the current climate, they may no longer have the resources to take on this sort of task in-house and need to bring in a firm to do this for them. “We feel that there is a clear place for us in the market, even in these uncertain times, and we’re eager to build on the success of the regional events we have already worked on.”
TRAINING & RECRUITMENT
College teams up with farmer Simon for festival STUDENTS in Cheshire have been given the chance to experience life in the events industry thanks to a partnership between local festival Whatfest and Mid Cheshire College. Festival organiser Simon Bennett joined forces with the college to give students first hand experience of working on a major event and the college is even sponsoring the second stage for one of the nights. Tickets for the festival are also sold at the college and Simon said that their attractive price also makes it an event which young people want to be involved in and attend. Students are offered a discount price of £35 for the weekend to be able to see acts including The Bluetones, Dodgy and Sam Isaac – making it one of the most affordable festivals in the market. Simon said: “Mid Cheshire College has a musical and technical department and they have sponsored the second stage for one of the nights to give the students the experience. It would be ridiculous to hold a music
The students got a close-up look at the events industry
festival on their doorstep and not get them involved. “The festival is popular with the student market and we are going to get in touch with other universities in the area.” Simon’s day job is an organic farmer and this will be the second year he has allowed his farm, Shipbrook Hill Farm in Whatcroft, Cheshire, to be
used as the festival site. About 2,000 people attended over two days at the first festival last year but this year Simon is expecting up to 10,000 over three days. He has also made some changes for this year – including encouraging more organic food and drink concessions to trade at the event to stay loyal to the site’s organic roots.
Rachel joins event company
Experts from all over Europe to converge on conference
LEEDS-based event management company, Wellpleased Events has a new account manager – Rachel Booth. Rachel, pictured left, will help manage the company’s increasing portfolio of clients and assist in the delivery of their events. She said: “I am extremely excited about my new role at Wellpleased Events. “Their astonishing creativity and client portfolio are second to none and I am looking forward to working with them immensely. It is a real pleasure to join such an enthusiastic and dynamic team with their market leading originality.”
A TWO day conference will take place in September which brings together health and safety and crowd management experts from all over Europe. The European Health and Safety Conference and Seminar – hosted by Buckinghamshire New University – will be held at Missenden Abbey in Buckinghamshire on September 24 and 25 with the theme of working in harmony to create safer events in Europe.
TRAINING & RECRUITMENT
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Future looks bright with Showsec Academy AS part of a series that tracked Showsec’s Academy training program last year, The Main Event met Emmalene Charlton at Download Festival. We covered her learning role, managing disabled members of the audience, while the other five associates took on different aspects of the huge logistics operation. We caught up with course manager Keith Hackett at this year’s Download festival and asked him whether the innovative training program is achieving its aims. Keith said: “The great success of the Academy is evident looking around us at Donington Park. The Academy two team is here in training roles and there is a great, positive buzz around the site about applications for Academy three, which we are currently recruiting. “We set out to give the associates the knowledge, skills and correct attitude to become operations executives; the first six academy associates all passed recently and have accepted positions within the company. “Four of them are here at Download, with Simon Gunn acting as Showsec’s logistics site coordinator. Last year Academy one studied all aspects of the event’s logistics to gain an understanding of what the delivery of a successful security operation for a major festival entails.
“He is now an operations executive in the local Nottingham area and was ideally suited to manage the complex logistics operation at Download with enthusiasm and proficiency, while introducing some fresh ideas. “The company is so busy across the country this summer that two of our associates are employed elsewhere. Emmalene is working in London this weekend, having accepted an operations executive role in The Roundhouse, Camden, while Rachel Evans is supporting our newly opened Scottish office this weekend as part of the security team at the Rockness Festival. “The Academy’s two associates are on-site to help with logistics, but also had a variety of other learning roles. They were given a degree of responsibility, while being mentored by experienced managers and supervisors; they’ve all been surprised how hard they’ve had to work having been there for ‘build’, through the festival and including the ‘break’ on the Monday. However, they all said they wouldn’t have missed a minute of it and have got a real buzz from their first big festival and how well all the staff from various areas worked so well as a team. “They now fully appreciate how their theoretical classroom learning and months of observation translate into operational practice.
Craig and Christine become latest additions to team DB Systems has recruited two new members of staff – Craig Simmons, pictured above, and Christine O’Connor. Craig has joined the business as a technician and Christine will support commercial services director, Penny Pearson, by handling the day-to-day administration of DB’s sales activities. Sales director Oliver Richardson said: “While this year may be difficult
for some contractors, I’m confident that our first class service and reputation of delivering innovative AV and IT solutions for clients will ensure that we have another successful year. “It’s with this confidence that we have increased our workforce to cope with levels of demand. Craig and Christine will make great additions to the team.”
“They were particularly impressed with how the management policies and procedures came
together to provide a smooth and professional security operation at such a large festival.”
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Audio Visual FMX Fenwick By-pass Ayrshire KA3 6AW T: 01560 600271 ross@fmx-ltd.com www.fmx-ltd.com SRD Group Limited The Studio Shipbourne Road Tonbridge TN10 3DJ T: 01732 373920 info@srdgroup.co.uk www.srdgroup.co.uk
Bars Creativevents Earls Court Exhibition Centre London SW5 9TA T: 0207 370 8685 general@cevents.co.uk www.creativevents.co.uk Peppermint Bars 19 Pensbury Street Battersea London SW8 4TL T: 0845 226 7845 info-me@peppermintbars.co.uk www.peppermintbars.co.uk
CCTV Etherlive Brinkworth House Chippenham Wiltshire SN15 5DF T: 01666 511862 tom.mcinerney@etherlive.co.uk www.etherlive.co.uk In Focus Communications & Vision Ltd Unit P Part L Hadrian's Enterprise Park, Haltwhistle Northumberland NE49 0EX T: 01434 322162 info@ifcv.co.uk www.ifcv.co.uk Spindlewood CCTV The Resource Centre Featherstone WF7 5EW T: 0845 230 0113 charlieb@spindlewoodcctv.com www.spindlewoodcctv.com
365 - SUPPLIER DIRECTORY
Crowd Management G4S Events Sutton Park House 15 Carshalton Road Sutton Surrey SM1 4LD T: 0800 085 9899 sales@uk.g4s.com www.g4s.com/uk-events Showsec International Limited Floor 1e & 2e Phoenix Yard Upper Brown Street Leicester LE1 5TE T: 0116 204 3333 simon.battersby@ crowd-managment.com www.crowd-management.com Specialized Security Royal Highland Centre Ingliston Edinburgh EH28 8NF T: 0131 333 4747 tom@specializedsecurity.co.uk www.specializedsecurity.co.uk Touchline Event Management Ltd 7 Allison Court Metro Centre Gateshead Tyne & Wear NE11 9YS T: 0191 496 1000 info@touchline-em.co.uk www.touchline-em.co.uk
Murphy Comhire Ltd Communications House Sheffield S9 1LD T: 0114 243 4567 mandy@murphy-com-hire.com www.murphy-com-hire.com Smye-Rumsby Limited 123-125 Snargate Street Dover Kent CT17 9AP T: 01304 248900 info@smye-rumsby.com www.smye-rumsby.com
Event Safety 12 Vale Avenue Bury BL9 9LW M: 07812 159 339 T: 0161 763 7020 kevin@event-safety.org www.event-safety.org
Centre Stage Events Unit 108a Leyland Trading Estate Irthlingborough Road Wellingborough T: 01234 783234 info@centrestageevents.com www.centrestageevents.com
Insurance Services
CPS Seating & Staging Co Brunel House Brunel Close Harworth Doncaster DN11 8QA T: 01302 741888 jason.hughes@seatingandstaging.co.uk
Event Insurance Services Limited Event House 20A Headlands Business Park Ringwood BH24 3PB T: 01425 470360 info@events-insurance.co.uk www.events-insurance.co.uk Robertson Taylor 117 Fenchurch Street London EC3M 5DY T: (0)870 114 2643 enquiries@rtib.co.uk www.robertson-taylor.co.uk
Marquees Piggotts Marquees 43 London Road Stanford Rivers Ongar Essex CM5 9PJ T: 01277 363262 richard.treml@piggotts.co.uk www.piggotts.co.uk
Emergency Medical Heating & Cooling Management Cool Services Building 26 Bay 4 The Pensnett Estate Kingswinford DY6 7TB T: 0800 9705656 kevin@event-heating.co.uk www.coolservices.co.uk Carrier Rental Systems Wigan Road Leyland Preston PR25 5XW T: 0800 026 4717 Info@CarrierRentalSystems.co.uk
Communications Event Branding Midland Radio Links Unit 4, 181-187 Moseley Street Birmingham B12 0RT T: 0121 7667661 paul@midlandradiolinks.com www.midlandradiolinks.com
Health & Safety Staging
Piggotts Branding 43 London Road Stanford Rivers Ongar Essex CM5 9PJ T: 01277 363262 kelly.seymour@piggotts.co.uk www.piggotts.co.uk
Event Production Sledge The Mill House Millers Way London W6 7NH T: 020 8743 3232 ian.irving@sledge.co.uk www.sledge.co.uk
SP Services (UK) Ltd Unit D4, Hortonpark Estate Hortonwood 7 Telford Shropshire TF1 7GX T: 01952 288 999 F: 01952 606 112 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 enquiries@ventureemm.co.uk www.ventureemm.co.uk
Revolving Stages Movetech UK A division of British Turntable Co Ltd Emblem Street Bolton BL3 5BW T: 01204 537682 rental@movetechuk.com www.movetechuk.com/rental
Screen Hire XL Video 2 Eastman Way Hemel Hempstead Herts HP27DU T: 01442 849400 zoe@xlvideo.tv www.xlvideo.com
Steeldeck Rentals Ltd Unit 58 T.Marchant Estate 42-72 Verney Road London SE16 3DH T: 020 7833 2031 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 info@outdoorstage.co.uk www.outdoorstage.co.uk
Temporary Fencing Beaver 84 Beaver House Crompton Close Basildon SS14 3AY T: 01708 861821 info@beaver84.co.uk www.beaver84.co.uk
Ticketing Tungate Group Brookhouse Way Cheadle Staffordshire ST10 1SR T: 01538 755755 F: 01538 756062 info@tungategroup.co.uk www.tungategroup.co.uk
Venues Fabric London Level 2 Greenhill House Cowcross Street London EC1M 6B T: 020 7549 4844 celine@fabriclondon.com www.fabricevents.com
Waste Management Morris Holdings (UK) Limited 17B Mile Oak Industrial Estate, Maesbury Road Oswestry Shropshire SY10 8GA T: 01691 680373 info@morrisholdings.co.uk www.morrisholdings.co.uk Grundon Waste Management Special Events Services Ewelme Wallingford Oxon OX10 6PJ T: 08700 604366 specialevents@grundon.com www.grundon.com
To advertise here call 01226 734 456
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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
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