News this week

Festival fever hits UK

Police and event suppliers have hailed the weekend’s events a success, as both Rewind and V Festivals attracted thousands of revellers.

Over 30,000 people enjoyed listening to sounds of the 80s on Saturday and Sunday, as festivalgoers flocked to Rewind at Temple Meads in Henley-on-Thames.

Along with A1 Loo Hire and AP Security, Piggotts supplied 800 square metres of marquees, working closely alongside the event’s production organisers – Riverside Production’s Keith Morris and Rival Organisation’s David Heartfield.

Piggotts provided 11 tents in total – four of which provided shelter for VIPs and corporate hospitality. The other structures were used to house catering, changing rooms and production facilities as well as ticket collection areas.

The VIP marquees were elaborately decorated with a Moroccan theme and allowed guests and the likes of Altered Images’ Clare Grogan and T’Pau’s Carol Decker to shelter from a weekend of mixed weather.

Meanwhile, both Chelmsford, Essex, and Weston Park in Staffordshire, saw crowds in excess of 150,000 as Kings of Leon, Kasabian and Faithless entertained crowds at V.

According to the Press Association, a total of 59 arrests for offences including drug supply, theft and possession of an offensive weapon had been recorded in Staffordshire.

Both Eat to the Beat and Owen Brown were contracted to work at V Festival this weekend with Eat to the Beat providing crew and backstage catering at Chelmsford and Owen Brown supplying 4,750 square metres of marquees and temporary structures V Festival Weston Park. The marquees were used to house first aid areas, medical centres and information points yet the temporary structures featured some famous faces, forming dressing rooms, artist catering and bar areas and the NME signing tent.

Agility wins major UK defence event contract

Agility has been awarded the contract to manage logistics services for Clarion’s Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEi) exhibition in 2011 and 2013.

DSEi is one of the world’s leading defence and security supply chain exhibitions and attracted 1,280 exhibitors from 40 countries in 2009.

Clarion Defence and Security awarded Agility the contract as the official logistics management provider. This will include all on-site handling services alongside Agility’s offering to provide UK and international freight movement to and from the show.

As the sole official Logistics Management contractor, Agility will be responsible for assisting exhibitors and their contractors, from around the world, with the shipping of their exhibits to and from the show. Some of the exhibits are security controlled and require expert assistance and advice.

Organisers are taking too many risks

Event managers and company directors are risking prosecution and heavy fines because they do not allow for their many liabilities when organising an event warns Alison McDougall, managing director of Relevant Risk.

“It’s not just about ticking a few compliance boxes. Any event, however small, has to allow for a multitude of legislation and a failure in any one of these can mean fines, director disqualification or even jail,” says McDougall, citing a recent example.

A man died when dismantling a marquee in Gloucestershire. Last year, a coroners report blamed all three companies involved in the event – the venue, the marquee company and the company whose event it was. Commented McDougall: “If one of the employees on-site had been appropriately knowledgeable, and knew how to apply their knowledge, it is likely this tragic accident would never have happened. But they all assumed it was each other’s responsibility! Employees need know-how not just knowledge.”

All events have to comply with laws covering disability discrimination, data protection, working time regulations, manual handling, PUWER, COSHH, insurance and much more.

McDougall continues: “We have recently seen a worrying number of companies who just don’t understand their liabilities and as a result are at real risk. Ignorance is not an acceptable defence in law. And you cannot transfer your liability, even with a contract in place, so it’s no good saying it was your supplier’s responsibility or the events. It is also pointless having your health and safety and other compliance paperwork in the office if those on the ground don’t understand what has to be done when they’re on site.”

Slick begins work on 2012 basketball arena

Work has begun on the temporary seating structure that will seat thousands of fans at the London 2012 Basketball Arena – one of the largest temporary venues ever used for an Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Slick Seating is working on the structure inside the 12,000-capacity venue, and will provide black and orange seats, designed to represent the colours of a basketball.

The arena, which will be dismantled after the Games and potentially reused elsewhere, is set to be one of the quickest venues to finish in the 500-acre Olympic Park. Construction of the 1,000-tonne steel frame only started in March – just over a year before the expected project completion date in April 2011.

Basketball preliminary matches and Women’s quarter finals will be staged at the venue, in addition to the Handball men’s quarter finals, all semi finals and medal matches. It will also host Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby during the Paralympic Games.

Work is currently underway preparing the foundations for the seating on the arena.

The main internal steelwork providing the framework for the building’s services and amenities is nearly complete, while the installation of scaffolding required to support the seating has now begun.

The seating frame and seats will then be put into place a section at a time so work can start on installing facilities underneath – including lifts, toilet blocks, corridors and VIP access rooms. It is planned that the first block of seating will be complete by early September to make way for the construction of the first of eight spectator toilet blocks.

The venue, which is as high as the Tate Modern at 35 metres and longer than a football pitch at 115 metres, is wrapped in 20,000 square metres of recyclable white PVC membrane that has been stretched over three different variations of arched panels. During the games the exterior will act as a canvas for an artistic and innovative lighting design.

Glastonbury of gaming returns to Newbury

Newbury Racecourse is set to host the UK’s largest gaming festival this Bank Holiday weekend, including the UK qualifiers for the World Cyber Games. After securing a new deal with the organiser Multiplay, the flagship i-Series is returning to the racecourse. The four day event sees over 20km of cable connect up to 5,000 gamers to a combination of professional tournaments, industry exhibitions, large-scale LAN gaming and social events. A further 100,000 will observe the spectacle online with many planning to come down and try their luck in the World Cyber Games UK qualifiers, exclusively at the event.

Newbury Racecourse is offer catering and accommodation space throughout the event for Multiplay, which spreads across its 2,500m squared of indoor exhibition and event space. On top of the indoor exhibits this year will see an outdoor stage used for an evening performance from Radio 1 DJ Devin Griffin. Sponsors and exhibitors include Samsung, Samsung Mobile and Demon, Relentless, Thermaltake, EA Store, Microsoft.

Private boxes will be used for individual gaming communities and food delivered to the individual gamers desk via an online ordering system “Frankie’s Diner” developed by Newbury Racecourse and Multiplay. This year it is expected that around 2,500 pizzas will be consumed and 10,000 cans of drink, provided by the in-house catering team.

Hospitality enquiries rise for Ryder Cup

Keith Prowse, an official hospitality agent at the 2010 Ryder Cup, is reporting high levels of interest from companies based in both the United Kingdom and United States eager to entertain at the event.

The biennial golf showpiece is contested by the finest players in Europe and the United States and will also be a star attraction for the major players in business on both sides of the Atlantic.

Transatlantic firms are eager to use the match-play spectacular – taking place from September 30 to October 3 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.

Ted Walker, head of marketing at Keith Prowse said: “The Ryder Cup is always a hugely popular event with our clients from the United States, and 2010 will be no different. In particular firms with offices on both sides of the Atlantic are keen to embrace an event which represents the international element of their brand.”

Icon has announced its acquisition of event production company, MEI.

Both companies have well established reputations in their respective fields – Icon in branding and signage and MEI in event production - and this new development will give clients access to some of the best creative and technological expertise available in these highly competitive markets.

Commenting on the acquisition, John Francis, managing director of Icon, said: “We are delighted to welcome the MEI team to Icon. There is an obvious synergy between our two businesses and there is no doubt that this new arrangement will bring real benefit to both existing and new customers in terms of the depth of experience and breadth of knowledge we are now able to offer.”

The acquisition comes exactly a year after Icon’s MBO and sees the company fulfilling its promise to look for new opportunities in products and services that will strengthen its offerings to both existing and prospective clients. MEI has already moved its operations and all staff to Icon’s headquarters in Sidcup, Kent, and work is already underway on the redevelopment of a building on this site. This will provide additional design and production facilities to complement those already utilised by Icon for the signage side of its business

Altitude to host England 2018 bid event

Events space Altitude 360º has been announced as an England 2018 Official Supplier and will tonight welcome guests and officials from FIFA by hosting the England 2018 Bid event.

The event is a key part of a four-day trip by FIFA inspectors who will be visiting facilities and stadiums in Manchester, London, Sunderland and Newcastle as England bids to hold the 2018 World Cup.

Plain sailing for Clarion as it signs exclusive deal with P&O Ferries

Clarion Events and P&O Ferries have signed an exclusive deal that will see every visitor to the International Caravan and Motorhome Show at the NEC receive one free return ferry crossing if they purchase a new caravan or motorhome at the event.

Mark Atherton, head of sales of P&O Ferries, said: “Next year we launch the first of the two largest ferries ever to operate on the Dover – Calais route. After investment worth more than £300 million we’ll see the Spirit of Britain come into service in January 2011 and the Spirit of France will follow in September next year. Sponsoring International Caravan & Motorhome is a great way to promote the benefits of these exciting ships to caravan and motorhome users and let them know how welcome they are on these new vessels.”

Added show director Sam North: “We’re absolutely delighted that our new show sponsor P&O Ferries has given such a headline-grabbing offer to attract even more buyers to the show. In addition to the VAT rise to 20 percent in January, this will make an even more compelling reason for buyers to get their orders in early. The free return ticket will help every exhibitor to get the maximum benefit from this year’s show and of course – we welcome P&O Ferries as one of our 30 new exhibitors.”

More than 250 exhibitors are already lined up for 2010 International Caravan & Motorhome Show with P&O Ferries.

drpgroup has become the first communication and events agency in the world to achieve accredited certification against the combined ISO 14001 (International Standard in Environmental Management) and BS 8901 (the recently launched British Standard for a Sustainable Event Management System).

drpgroup worked closely with EcoEvents, which specialise in sustainable management solutions designed specifically for the events industry.

Dale Parmenter, drpgroup managing directort: “Without a doubt, sustainability is one of the most important challenges our industry faces.

"As the recession comes to an end and businesses begin to focus on the bigger picture again, sustainability will not only start to become as important as health and safety is, but it will get to the stage where businesses will need to account for their environmental impacts in much the same way as they are required to meet their fiscal responsibilities. Above all, we as an industry have a moral obligation to reduce any damaging effects to the environment our operations may cause."

Grass Roots to produce CCD launch events

Grass Roots has been appointed to manage three separate launch events for The Convention Centre Dublin.

The first event, to take place on September 7, is a State launch including an official opening by the Irish Prime Minister, Brian Cowen. The second is a trade launch to more than 100 event association buyers and event organisers from Ireland, as well as a further 250 international congress buyers and event organisers. The third event will be to showcase The Convention Centre Dublin in action. There will be a gala dinner event on September 8, again for the trade audience.

Simon Allison, director of operations and production, together with Ben Cole, executive producer, are leading the project within Grass Roots.

Stand Out will be there to bring you all the latest news and you will be able to read about the events in the October issue.

Suzuki to recreate TV ad at Westfield

Westfield Shopping Centre is to play host to Suzuki next Tuesday. The car brand is to recreate the new Swift TV advert at the centre, which will then be streamed live to transvision screens at major railway stations around the country as well as landmark specific screens at various locations in London. The event will also feature on You Stream, recreating the advert which is currently being aired.

The artists from the advert, Josh Sutterby (aka Alfa) and Richard Henderson (aka Discoteck) will be at Westfield from 4pm recreating the illustrations that were created exclusively for Suzuki for the official launch of the new Swift on September 1, 2010.

RPM is set to launch a specialist corporate division, led by Ian Irving as director of corporate. The new division will be dedicated to providing a bespoke service for internal and B2B engagement briefs.

The launch follows an internal revamp of the agency that saw the creation of a new layer of management, the launch of two new teams and the appointment of Gyro founder Gary Brine to the board as non-executive director.

Speaking of the launch, Ian Irving, director of corporate said: “I will be building a team from the best in class in the corporate communications sector. This team will work within the RPM brand and will be integrated with the various elements of the broader experiential agency as appropriate in order to deliver the most comprehensive and effective service.”

Previously commercial director at Sledge for 11 years, where he was involved in the creation and delivery of some ground breaking experiential work, Irving brings with him a wealth of experience and will work within the existing RPM leadership team.

Hugh Robertson, chairman and founding partner of RPM added: “We view experiential as a way of thinking, and the launch of this new division is the result of seeing a gap in the market where we can continue to provide powerful experiences, regardless of the channel or industry sector. Ian is an industry heavyweight and will bring a fresh approach to the corporate and internal communications market that will be of great benefit to prospects and existing clients alike.”

The new division will also be developing a number of IP rights owned solutions such as corporate and business training as well as a number of unique technical applications

Irving concluded: “I have every belief that this Corporate Division will fit perfectly into the existing powerful RPM proposition. From my past experience I know that there is a huge market for us to tap into; the time is right for taking staff and B2B engagement to the next level.”

This announcement follows an extremely successful year that has seen RPM extend its work for Cadbury, Sky and Diageo and pick up a new brief from Hasbro.

Single Market Events love cooking

Sainsbury's, Magimix, Electrolux and Lakeland are amongst the sponsors of a brand new cooking show from Single Market Events.

Love Cooking launches on October 5 and will see Britain's best-loved chefs hit the road, demonstrating their culinary skills to food lovers everywhere.

Carlston Hall in Bristol, The Playhouse in Edinburgh, Royal Festival Hall, London, and Harrogate International Centre will host James Martin, Gary Rhodes, Ainsley Harriott, Gino D'Acampo, Rachel Allen and Rick Stein amongst others.

The chefs will cook their most popular dishes and reveal tips and trade secrets.

Each Love Cooking show is a one-day only event featuring a series of six one-hour theatre-style cookery presentations hosted by food journalist and broadcaster Nigel Barden and wine expert and TV presenter Olly Smith.

Says Tim Etchells, managing director of Single Market Events: “We have seen a huge increase in the last 10 years in the level of interest in food and cooking in the UK, largely influenced by cookery programmes on television and the emergence of the celebrity chef.

"Love Cooking is an exciting, new style of cookery event that solely focuses on the skill and craft of cooking and the excitement of watching it performed live on stage. It aims to provide cooking enthusiasts of all levels the opportunity to get up a close and learn from some of their favourite chefs, who regularly inspire them to pick up the apron."

For visitors there will be a back to basics food kitchen, cookery lectures, a Good Food Café and Books for Cooks area.

As part of the ticket price, theatergoers will receive a limited edition "Love Cooking Recipe Book", which includes 60 recipes from the celebrity chefs on the tour. Also included in the ticket price will be a special membership password that allows access to the official "Love Cooking Festival Video" where each of the chef’s presentations from the tour can be viewed.

Icon has announced its acquisition of event production company, MEI.

UK conference and events business worth £18.8bn

Visit London has dismissed a report by The European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) claiming that the city may not see tourism benefits from staging the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012.

Visit London denied the report’s claims that if London followed the same pattern as Beijing, and other recent host cities of the Olympic Games, tourism numbers were likely to fall significantly. It said:

•Visit London’s own research puts the estimated additional tourism revenues from the London 2012 Olympic Games at £1.5bn over 10 years.

•Comparisons between Beijing and London are not relevant as they are completely different cities.

•Visitors will experience value for money when visiting the capital. London’s tourism industry is the first to introduce a Fair Pricing and Practice Charter to stop people feeling "ripped off" during the Olympic Games.

Visit London’s chief executive, Sally Chatterjee, said: “It’s impossible to compare Olympic cities directly. London is the world’s most visited destination by foreign travellers and one of the most accessible cities in the world. We believe the London 2012 Olympic Games will bring an influx of new visitors to London. Olympic year will be one of the most exciting times in our history and no-one will want to miss out. We’re expecting the London 2012 Olympic Games to deliver nearly £1.5 billion in economic benefit to the city from increased tourism revenues over ten years.”

Eventia's 2010 UK Events Market Trends Survey (UKEMTS) reveal the estimated the overall value of the conference and business events market, and not simply the direct revenue to event venues, is worth £18.8 billion to the UK economy.

The annual survey (previously known as the British Conference Venues Survey) is based on data supplied by a representative sample of 403 venues from across the UK, 11.5 per cent of the universe of 3,500 venues used as the basis for research analysis.

Other key findings include:

•There were an estimated 94 million attendances at events in 2009 (an estimated 1.32 million events with an average attendance of 71 people);

•There was an average of 379 events per venue in 2009, down slightly on 2008 (an average of 391 events per venue). Hotels and conference/training centres typically hosted more events than other types of venue, with hotels accounting for 61 per cent of all business events;

•A further tightening of budgets and a highly price-sensitive market manifested in: more negotiation on rates; shopping around by event organisers seeking better value for money; reduced spend on catering; organisers opting for room-only rather than day delegate packages; and increased use of in-house facilities;

•Shorter lead times for bookings. Events are most commonly booked two to eight weeks in advance (36 per cent);

•The average duration of events (1.6 days) remained similar to previous years, although two in three events lasted for only one day or less; and

•Venues are more optimistic about business prospects than a year ago. Sixty-five per cent of respondents are planning to invest in their property in 2010, nine per cent spending in excess of £1 million. Even so, 35 per cent of venues are not planning any investment in 2010.

Izania Downie, Eventia CEO, commented: “UKEMTS is a crucial barometer of what’s happening in the events sector and should be required reading for anyone who needs an informed view of the trends and changes in our sector. Eventia has now been able to provide a robust estimate for the value of our sector, something the industry has long needed.”