News

Ocean Media

04 Feb 2011

Event Production Show finale sees positive feedback and figures

Wayne Hemingway rounds off 2011 show by revealing secret of Vintage success

2011’s Event Production show concluded yesterday, Thursday 3rd February, with exhibitor numbers 15% up on last year.

The highly targeted show drew together the gamut of organisations involved in planning and staging festivals, exhibitions and live events. From staging and AV to progressive ticketing technology and catering companies, organisations from across the UK showcased the latest innovations for the live events sector.

Wayne Hemingway, the noted fashion designer and visionary festival promoter, drew an audience of the festival industry’s major players including representatives of Bestival, as he brought the noted Access Sessions to a close. Hemingway discussed his plans for 2011’s Vintage in London and also revealed the success of last year’s Vintage at Goodwood.

Wayne Hemingway said of Vintage at Goodwood: “Eight weeks out we’d only sold 4,000 tickets so it wasn’t about the artists. I whored myself out on daytime TV and we got 52,000. This year we could sell out on concept alone.”

Attendees at host venue, Olympia had a collective buying power exceeding £2BN and included representatives from Ibiza Rocks, Womad, LOCOG and IMG.

Chris Green, Managing Director at Etherlive said: “We have had some very good conversations with some people who are serious buyers, they are not just casual lookers. We value conversations where you can really get into the detail of what people are trying to do, what they need, and come up with a solution for them.”

International companies featured prominently among the exhibitors present, and included China-based Liri Tent Technology and the USA’s Brown Paper Tickets.

Steve Parker, CEO of Brown Paper Tickets said: “We have met folks from a wide variety of areas from people doing historical recreations to music concerts. Finding an audience that can provide that kind of variety is unusual and really helpful to us. We definitely intend to rebook for next year.”

Andy Gibb, Event Director of the Event Production Show said: “The 2011 show has topped our expectations with some of the best quality buyers visiting the show. We are delighted with the uptake for next year already and are looking forward to hearing some of the success stories from this year’s exhibitors.”