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Issue 33 October 2009 £4.75 Phone line costs prove frustrating By Christina Eccles THE soaring cost of installing phone lines at events is leaving organisers frustrated and out of pocket, it has been claimed. Temporary phone lines are need- ed at major events such as The Great North Run to transfer data and results between the start and finish of the race. But the event’s organiser said an increase in BT charges has led to him paying over £2,000 more for the same service than he paid last year. Charlie Mussett, senior operations manager at Nova International, said the lines now have to be sur- veyed by BT Openreach – which means that as well as the usual line costs and connection fee, the com- pany has also been hit with a sur- vey fee of £2265. Charlie said: “BT have complete monopoly on it and seem to think they can charge what they like. No other supplier is able to ramp up their charges by such a ridiculous amount in the current economic climate. “They have us over a barrel. We need those lines because of the sheer level of people at the Great North Run.” Charlie added they have looked at ways round the problem such as putting in permanent lines rather than temporary ones. But he said although this would be a big cost saving, they do not have permanent structures on site to be able to do this. He added: “This is not a luxury item for us and we have cut lines to a bare minimum. We used three lines so the cost works out at nearly £1,000 per line. “At peak times the system does jam and rather than not be able to update results, we have to go with the costs as they are.” However, BT argued the costs are necessary for the work carried out. A BT spokesman added: “Openreach is proud to play a cru- cial role in providing temporary communications for events such as the Great North Run. “However, in a challenging eco- nomic climate, it is important that we are able to offset the costs asso- ciated with such activities, includ- ing any necessary survey work.” ‘Success is set to continue’ THIS year has been incred- ibly strong for the UK’s favourite festivals and this is set to continue in 2010, an expert has claimed. The Association of Independent Festivals rep- resents some of the biggest names in the industry including Creamfields and Bestival and co-founder Ben Turner said although some were worried 2009 would be a difficult year, it has turned out much better than expected. He said: “This year has been really positive. In tough times the people who are in it for the money walk away and those who are in it for the right reasons stay. There is no reason to think next year will be anything but better.” The association formed about a year ago and Ben said he is pleased with how it has been received. He added: “It has been amaz- ing to see these rivals sit- ting around and helping each other to progress.” For the results of AIF’s new report see this month’s festival round up. Pop princess Kylie Minogue took to the stage for her only UK performance of the year at a concert celebrating the best of ABBA. Radio Two’s Thank You For the Music took place in London’s Hyde Park and included appearances from a host of stars performing their favourite ABBA classics. In a special feature, The Main Event spoke to pro- ducer Anthony Cherry who revealed the secrets of the show’s success. Picture: BBC Full story see page 8 The Main Event is the official magazine of the National Outdoor Events Association
Transcript

Issue 33 October 2009 £4.75

Phone linecosts provefrustratingBy Christina Eccles

THE soaring cost of installingphone lines at events is leavingorganisers frustrated and out ofpocket, it has been claimed.

Temporary phone lines are need-ed at major events such as TheGreat North Run to transfer dataand results between the start andfinish of the race.

But the event’s organiser said anincrease in BT charges has led tohim paying over £2,000 more forthe same service than he paid lastyear.

Charlie Mussett, senior operationsmanager at Nova International,said the lines now have to be sur-veyed by BT Openreach – whichmeans that as well as the usual linecosts and connection fee, the com-pany has also been hit with a sur-vey fee of £2265.

Charlie said: “BT have completemonopoly on it and seem to thinkthey can charge what they like. Noother supplier is able to ramp uptheir charges by such a ridiculousamount in the current economicclimate.

“They have us over a barrel. We

need those lines because of thesheer level of people at the GreatNorth Run.”

Charlie added they have looked atways round the problem such asputting in permanent lines ratherthan temporary ones.

But he said although this wouldbe a big cost saving, they do nothave permanent structures on siteto be able to do this.

He added: “This is not a luxuryitem for us and we have cut lines toa bare minimum. We used threelines so the cost works out at nearly£1,000 per line.

“At peak times the system doesjam and rather than not be able toupdate results, we have to go withthe costs as they are.”

However, BT argued the costs arenecessary for the work carried out.

A BT spokesman added:“Openreach is proud to play a cru-cial role in providing temporarycommunications for events such asthe Great North Run.

“However, in a challenging eco-nomic climate, it is important thatwe are able to offset the costs asso-ciated with such activities, includ-ing any necessary survey work.”

‘Successis set tocontinue’THIS year has been incred-ibly strong for the UK’sfavourite festivals and thisis set to continue in 2010,an expert has claimed.

The Association ofIndependent Festivals rep-resents some of the biggestnames in the industryincluding Creamfields andBestival and co-founderBen Turner said althoughsome were worried 2009would be a difficult year, ithas turned out much betterthan expected. He said:“This year has been reallypositive. In tough times thepeople who are in it for themoney walk away andthose who are in it for theright reasons stay. There isno reason to think nextyear will be anything butbetter.”

The association formedabout a year ago and Bensaid he is pleased with howit has been received. Headded: “It has been amaz-ing to see these rivals sit-ting around and helpingeach other to progress.”� For the results of AIF’snew report see this month’sfestival round up.

Pop princess Kylie Minogue took to the stage for her onlyUK performance of the year at a concert celebrating thebest of ABBA. Radio Two’s Thank You For the Music tookplace in London’s Hyde Park and included appearancesfrom a host of stars performing their favourite ABBA classics. In a special feature, The Main Event spoke to pro-ducer Anthony Cherry who revealed the secrets of theshow’s success. Picture: BBC Full story see page 8

The Main Event is the official magazine of the National Outdoor

Events Association

3

EDITORIALGroup EditorAndrew HarrodTel: 01226 [email protected]

Reporters:

Christina Eccles ([email protected])

Mary Ferguson ([email protected])

Louise Cordell ([email protected])

ADVERTISINGGroup Sales Manager:Paul AllottTel: 01226 734484Fax: 01226 734478Mob: 07500 905717Email: [email protected] Executive:Mandy MellorTel: 01226 734702Email: [email protected]

Sales and Marketing Director:Tony Barry Email: [email protected]

CIRCULATIONKelly TarffTel: 01226 734695email: [email protected]

PRODUCTIONStudio Manager:Stewart Holt ([email protected])Tel: 01226 734414Group Deputy Editor:Judith Halkerston ([email protected])Tel: 01226 734458Graphic designer:Kyle Wilkinson ([email protected])Tel: 01226 734711

CONTACTS

www.themaineventmagazine.co.uk

16 pages of Festival Round-up featuringevents Bestival, Bingley Music Lives,Leeds and Reading festivals andManchester Pride.

Middle East Page 29Festival round-up Pages 13-28Showman’s Show Preview Pages 30-35

Local authority spotlight Pages 10&11

By Christina Eccles

THE inspiration behind a new eventin Somerset came from an unusualsource – after its organiser heardBoyzone’s hit ‘When the Going GetsTough’ and decided with all the doomand gloom about to bring a feel goodfactor back to the area.

Kevin Newton organised the Big Gigafter deciding that the song summedup how people felt at the momentand he wanted to do something tomake them smile.

And when he was putting togetherthe event, the obvious choice of head-liner was the group that inspired himto organise it in the first place.

Boyzone will headline the Saturdaynight of the event – which takes placeat Royal Bath and West Showground –with James Morrison performing onthe Friday night and opera starKatherine Jenkins closing the show onthe Sunday.

Kevin hopes to attract 7-8,000 peo-ple per night but admits in the cur-rent climate, putting an event on canbe risky business.

He said: “I am as confident as I canbe. It is a risk and we won’t know afterthe event if it is a risk worth taking.We are not at sell out so it will beinteresting to see what happens. Butthere is an opportunity there. We have

strong names on the line up and tick-et prices are reasonable.”

Kevin has previous experienceorganising events in the area and puton similar gigs in 2001 and 2002,which attracted bands including Blueand Atomic Kitten.

But he admits last time he tried todo too much, too soon and is keen todo things differently second timeround.

He added: “We went too big, tooquick. It was a big, big show and wedidn’t sell enough tickets. I said Iwouldn’t do it again unless we had astrong enough line up.”

This year’s Big Gig will raise moneyfor a local performing arts school andif successful, Kevin hopes to make itan annual event.

Song inspires Kevinto raise smiles

Katherine Jenkins

Kevin Newton

If you’ve got a story for us callour reporter Christina Eccles on01226 734463 or [email protected]. You can write to usat: The Main Event newsroom, 47Church Street, Barnsley, SouthYorkshire S70 2AS

Lighting company DBN Lighting supplied design services and equipment to illuminate thePort of Liverpool building as part of the city’s Art on the Waterfront event.LuminoCity – a 30 minute multimedia spectacular created and produced by Walk the Plank– was the culmination of the event also produced by Walk The Plank for Liverpool CityCouncil. Stephen Page of DBN designed the light show which illuminated the 50 metre tallbuilding.

Festival boostfor PridePRIDE in Brighton and Hove’sfundraising efforts have been given aboost thanks to a neighbouring festi-val.

The White Air Festival set up a Pridepromotional link on Ticketmasterwhere people could buy discountedtickets to the festival.

And for every ticket sold throughthis link, White Air made a donationto Pride in Brighton and Hove.

So far, Pride’s fundraising cam-paign has raised almost £3,000 butorganisers say they need to raise£50,000 by the end of the year toavoid next year’s event having to bescaled down.

2 4

Pocket festivalcancelled aftercouncil rowBy Christina Eccles

DONCASTER’S Pocket Festival hasbeen cancelled after a row broke outbetween organisers and the localcouncil over the site.

The festival aimed to combine allthe elements found at bigger festivalsbut on a smaller and more affordablescale and organiser Bob Worm ofEvents Collective hoped to attractabout 700 people to Town Fields forthe event.

But just weeks before it was due totake place, the local council told Bobthat he may not be able to use theland and further discussions wouldbe needed. After deciding that therisk was too high and that it wouldcost too much if they needed to mar-ket the event again at a different site,Bob said he was left with no optionbut to pull the plug.

He said: “We were left with nochoice but to cancel the event, as wewere not comfortable with the riskwe would be taking.

“This was because of complicationswith the venue plus the possible costto remarket the event and not having

the confidence in achieving our ticketsales.”

Bob said only a handful of ticketshad actually been sold and their £5price tag meant people weren’t asinterested in buying in advance andseem to prefer turning up on the day– something which he is looking totarget next year.

He told The Main Event he hopes torevive the Pocket Festivals as thecompany did have success with oneheld in Stockport, which attractedabout 1,200 festivalgoers.

He added: “I think there is a futurein what we are doing with the PocketFestivals. We have got quite a lot ofthe factors right but we have to startmaking a profit.

“We like the framework of what wehave done so for next year we won’tbe redesigning the wheel. There is thepotential to bring in camping and puttogether an event where people putin an investment for the whole week-end. We are pleased with what we didin Stockport and would consider pro-ducing the event there again.”

London’s largest winter event returns next month in Hyde Park – complete with new additions for the 2009 festive season. Winter Wonderland runs until January and as well asthe traditional ice rink, 50m observation wheel and German Christmas Market, this yearvisitors can also enjoy Zippo’s Christmas Circus, which takes place in a heated big top.Over 1.5m visitors have visited the attraction to date.

2 6

By Christina Eccles

PART of London’s iconic OxfordStreet has been transformed into anevents space after the delay of aplanned development on the land.

Parklife Oxford Street covers morethan 4,200sqm and will be availablefor use up until May next year.

The space is managed byProgressive Events, on behalf ofowners Land Securities and manag-ing director Nicky Allison said therehas already been a large number ofenquiries from people wishing tostage events there.

Events already in the pipelineinclude the creation of a public iceskating rink – which will be London’slargest – for the festive season andthe launch of Fiat’s latest car.

And Nicky told The Main Eventthat the size and location of thespace – plus the fact that it is a blankcanvas – makes it a popular choice.

She said: “It is the most excitingproject – in the last 50 years therehas never been a blank space onOxford Street. The owners wanted toput a positive spin on a site that wasempty.

“Apart from the location, part of itsappeal is also that it has only got ashort life and you can hire part ofthe space or all of it for events.”

Nicky also said that the team haddiscussed the idea of putting up atemporary structure on the spacebut decided that they wanted to dosomething more creative – meaningthat the look and feel of the spacecan change dramatically dependingwhat event is being held there.

She added: “This is an amazingopportunity. The events market isquite tough at the moment and a lotof events are coming through atshort notice. If you have somethingunique to offer it creates a lot ofinterest.”

The space has the capacity for upto 4,000 people and Nicky addedthere have been enquiries aboutholding events including productlaunches, fashion shows and corpo-rate parties.

Progressive Events has beenawarded the contract until next Mayafter which the land will be used tobuild new retail and office space.

Firm bags Oxford Street space

Parklife Oxford Street covers more than 4,200sqm

A record number of visitors attended thisyear’s More BusBournemouth Air Festival– with over a million people watching theevent.Audience figures wereestimated at 1,344,000which was up 50 per centon last year.New additions to the festival’s line up includeda record breaking threedisplays by the AvroVulcan, which has neverbeen done at any one single event.Entertainment has alsobeen extended through tothe evening to encouragepeople to stay longer inthe resort.

More backing for campaignagainst scam ticketing websitePROMOTER Festival Republic hasjoined a host of music and sportsstars backing a campaign warning thepublic about scam ticketing websites.

The launch of the Office of FairTrading’s Just Tick It campaign coin-cides with new research revealing 20per cent of people know someonewho has been ripped off by bogusticketing sites. In response, FestivalRepublic – promoter of major festi-vals including Reading, Leeds andLatitide – has joined stars includingsinger Kate Nash and England rugbycaptain Steve Borthwick to back thecampaign.

According to the online survey of3,000 UK consumers:� One in five people knows someonewho has bought tickets to a music,sport or theatre event from a scamticket website� One in 12 ticket buyers admits tohaving been caught out by scam tick-et websites, with 80 per cent of thosehaving fallen victim in the last year� Victims lost an average of £80 each.

Just Tick It aims to increase con-sumer awareness of online ticketscams and also provide ticket buyerswith advice on how to avoid beingscammed.

Torquay talent turns out for festivalA BOUTIQUE one-day festival show-casing the best of local talent hastaken place in Torquay.

The Riviera Live Summer Sessions

was the climax to a programme offree music events in the area, organ-ised by the English Riviera TouristBoard.

2 8

THE Thank You For The Music con-cert took place the day after theBBC hosted another event – Promsin Park – at the same venue.

This meant that the show’s organ-isers were able to use the existingstage and infrastructure – a formulawhich worked well with the AndrewLloyd Webber concert last year.

And this year proved to be so suc-cessful that Radio Two is alreadylooking ahead to next year and howit can utilise the space even further– possibly hosting an event onFriday, Saturday and Sunday of theproms weekend.

Producer Anthony Cherry

explained: “We were able to use theinfrastructure already in place,which meant we were halving thecost of the build by using it twice.But we had to do a bit of reorganisa-tion in terms of the orchestra lay-out. This date was the obviouschoice as it had worked last yearwhen we did Andrew LloydWebber’s 60th birthday celebration.

“We are already talking aboutdoing something on the Fridaynight and could in theory havethree shows over the same week-end.

“The more shows you can put on,the more economical it becomes.”

Anthony was responsible for pro-ducing the show and dealt withtasks including choosing songs andrunning order, casting the artistsand deciding which songs they weregoing to perform and writing thecontent to go inbetween perform-ances. The planning for the concerttook about nine months, with thestage going into Hyde Park about aweek before.

He revealed to The Main Eventwhere the theme came from andhow almost 40,000 people wereencouraged to walk through thegates of Hyde Park.

He added: “Hyde Park holds

40,000 people and to have a fightingchance of getting an audience in,you need something that is going tobe a popular project.

“In discussions, one of the namesthat came up was ABBA and at thatpoint we began to think about it asa possibility. We had meetings withtwo of the group’s members Bennyand Bjorn who were very humbledand flattered that the BBC shouldwant to do it. We had nearly 200artists on stage who were just doingtheir music and it’s the biggestSunday show we have ever had.

“We were very pleased and arenow looking ahead to next year.”

Performers Kylie Minogue, Jamie Cullum and, right, V V Brown Pictures courtesy of the BBC

A star-studded concert last year celebrating Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 60th birthdayset a precedent for successful Sunday night events hosted by the BBC in HydePark. This year it was ABBA’s turn – with some of the biggest names in musicturning out to perform their favourite ABBA hits in front of thousands of fans.Christina Eccles found out more.

BBC takes a chanceon Abba popularity

Nearly 200artists took tothe stage at theevent.These included:� Original ABBAmembers BennyAndersson andBjorn Ulvaeus� The BBC concertorchestra� The full WestEnd cast ofMamma Mia!� KylieMinogue� Jamie Cullum� V V Brown� Lulu� The Feeling� Chaka Khan� Chris Evans

Kylie wows witha Super Trouperperformance ...THE night’s starattraction was KylieMinogue who performed two songsat the event.

After discussionswith her recordcompany andmanagement, Anthonymanaged to get heron board – and hetold The Main Event,she was the idealchoice to appear at theconcert.

He added: “I alwaysthought Super Trouperwas the perfect songfor Kylie.

“She is a great fan ofABBA and luckily theevent fitted into herschedule.”

Pictured: Kylie and presenter Chris Evans atthe Hyde Park concert.Picture courtesy of theBBC.

9

Festivalgoers’travel habitsare surveyedTHE environmental impact of travel-ling to and from festivals has beenstudied in a new report – whichclaims travel accounts for two thirdsof the festival sector’s CO2 emissions.

A total of 14 festivals across the UKand Ireland took part in a study, com-missioned by Julie’s Bicycle to deter-mine the travel habits of festivalgo-ers. And the results revealed thatthree quarters of those attendingevents travelled by car.

The report sets out suggested meas-ures which organisers could do toencourage people to use publictransport when attending festivals.

These included:� Offering a free or subsidised publictransport service� Car parking charges with reduc-tions for full cars� Allocating a number of festival tick-ets to be combined with public trans-port tickets.

Director of Julie’s Bicycle AlisonTickell said: “Travel is very difficult totackle because it is not in any parties’control.

“We didn’t come across one festival

which wasn’t trying to deal with it.Some have introduced incentivessuch as deals with coach operatorsand early bird tickets.

“However, most people go by car asthey see it as being convenient andcomfortable and they can pack up alltheir gear. People generally do nottravel by coach but once they havethey prefer to do that again. Coacheshave the lowest emissions profile andthere are a lot of schemes out there tomake the coach experience good.”

Alison added that cars in generalare not the problem – it is low occu-pancy rates in vehicles which couldbe improved. She added: “If you havefour people travelling in a car it’s notat all bad. We really want to see anincrease in car occupancy rates andeverything, such as liftshare schemes,count.

“Getting people out of their cars canbe really challenging so we have gotto see if we can be imaginative.”

Festivals which took part in thestudy included Download,Glastonbury, T in the Park and GlobalGathering.

The World Fireworks Championship has returned to Blackpool – with four countries com-peting to be crowned the winners. Experts from France, Ireland, China and Austria eachrepresented their homeland by staging stunning pyrotechnical displays in the skies aboveBlackpool’s North Promenade. Each competing company designed and launched a displayto impress the public and the judging panel by combining fireworks with their chosenpiece of music. Last year’s event was won by China – decided jointly by public text votingand a panel of expert judges.

THOUSANDS of extreme sports fans are expected to attend this year’s Xperience Festivalin North Tyneside.The festival is now in its second year and builds on the success of surfing championshipsheld in the area in recent years. And organisers have promised that this year’s event willbe bigger and better than ever. In addition to surfing on Longsands beach, Beaconsfield inTynemouth will play host to other sports including snowboarding, BMX and skateboard-ing. There will also be a live music stage showcasing the region’s musical talent as well asperformances by the country’s leading beatboxers.

2 10 LOCAL AUTHORITY SPOTLIGHT

EMPLOYED by Wandsworth Council,the team is responsible for a diverserange of events that run throughoutthe year.

Made up of events manager AlisonSmith, Suzz Bell and Maria Oasis,their offices are based in convertedstables in the park’s herb garden andthey are also responsible for coordi-nating filming projects.

The recent TV advert for Cadbury’sClusters – showing a picnic area insummer infiltrated by a pack of danc-ing Father Christmases – took itsinspiration form the park’s annual‘Santa run’.

The 200 hectare park is a popularvenue for sporting events – including

the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge –and was the birthplace of the PlaytexMoonwalk, which raises money forbreast cancer. The walk has nowmoved to Hyde Park, after it outgrewBattersea when its popularity rocket-ed.

Alison said: “There are some eventsI would love to host here but I knowthat will never happen because wejust are not big enough. UltimatelyI’d love to have Taste of London hereand we have had approaches frompeople who want to do similarthings.”

The team has had some strangerequests for the park – including anaked running event – and during

The Main Event’s visit they took aphone call from a Greek princesswanting to hire the space and fair-ground rides for a children’s birthdayparty.

“Of all the London boroughs we arethe smallest events team but have thelargest income target and I onlyrealised that when the LondonEvents Forum was formed and we allgot together.”

Alison said they try not to ever havemore than two events in the parkrunning at the same time and that sofar in 2009 her favourite has been theBastille Day Garden Party, a Frenchinspired festival.

“It was a challenge because it was

much bigger than expected – withover 3,000 people there it was totallyheaving.

“It was a boiling hot day and wasfun and just so sweet, like a littlepiece of Paris in London. Events inBattersea Park always depend on theweather, especially if they are free.”

This year, August was left clear ofevents because there were plans toinstall a new electricity sub station inthe park, but that’s now been post-poned until next year.

Alison added: “When work like thisgoes on we will still have to put onmost events, so we will install a biggenerator onsite instead. The showmust go on.”

As one of London’s favourite spaces, Battersea Park has a dedicated team organising some of the capital’s mostfamous events. Mary Ferguson reports.

The annual Santa run

Little team with big ideas

THE annual November fireworks dis-play is a big challenge for the team atBattersea Park, but one of the mostpopular events of the year.

And Alison said this year’s tenderingprocess was one of the hardest parts.“As the events manager this was thefirst year I’ve done the tendersmyself, so it was a very big learningcurve. It was interesting that weended up going back to some of theoriginal contractors, as it showed wealready had the best.”

The pyrotechnics tender was wonby Paynes Fireworks and EventsManagement Group gained the tick-eting contract.

The companies were signed up onthree year contracts, with a two yearextension at the council’s discretion,and the tender for the pyro wasadvertised in The Main Event.

Tickets for the show are charged at£6 and although the closest borough,Lambeth, offers them for free, Alisonclaims they lack the toilets, infra-structure and quality of the pyrotech-nics. The music and fireworks aredigitally set and the music is a bigpart of the show.

”In previous years we have had

radio stations come down, bringingcelebrities with them, but live musicmeans it turns into a licensed event,meaning the ticket prices rocket.

“When your audience has had anamazing event they expect it to beeven better the year after so that doesput a certain amount of pressure on.”

On the day of the display, the parkis cleared of people at 5pm, a largefallout area is put into place, andgates reopen an hour later. The VIParea doubles up as main control andis located on the other side of the PAsystem. One of the biggest chal-lenges the team faced was with the

regress, and to make sure she got theplan right, Alison attended a courseat The Emergency Planning Collegein North Yorkshire.

“I wanted the confidence to knowthat what I designed would work andbecause there were so many otherevent organisers there, it was reallyuseful to work on it together.”

One of the main problems with get-ting people out of the park after theshow was with areas becoming bot-tlenecked, but now they have beenopened up, the display area is clearjust nine minutes after the last fire-work.

Visitors are banned from bringing their own fireworks butbecause it’s not possible to searchevery single bag, some people dosneak in sparklers. In 2007 four adultswere treated for burns and all ofthem were from sparklers.

And some residents complain about the noise, especially as the display ends with a ‘ground shaker’.

Alison added: “I try to explain tothem that it happens just once a year,and you can’t turn down the soundon a firework.”

How Alison ensures a sparkling evening

LOCAL AUTHORITY SPOTLIGHT 11

THE Evolution structure sits in thepark for ten months of the year andhouses events from sparkling din-ners to trade exhibitions and star-studded awards ceremonies.

Formally known as ‘Battersea ParkEvents Arena’, it is situated in thecentre of a 15,000sqm hard-standingarea and at its largest, consists of a95 metre long by 50 metre wideclear-span main hall.

Up to 2,500 guests can be comfort-ably seated for a dinner dance –making it the largest central diningarea in London – and it is regularlyenlarged or reduced in size to suitdifferent events.

Alison said: “It’s a very technicallyadvanced structure – not a marquee– and is triple skinned and foamfilled with an air filled roof. Youwould never think it was a tempo-rary structure.

“I have to apply for planning per-mission for it every two years andwe have had a couple of objectionsin the past so it’s so nerve-rackingwaiting for the applications to beapproved.”

Evolution takes two weeks to bebuilt and one week to be takendown and its flexibility allows it tohouse a variety of events, including

performances by Elton John,Christmas parties and trade exhibi-tion The Designer Wedding Show.

“The hard area is ideal to put thetemporary structure on as it has adrain running down the middle andlines drawn on the tarmac to showwhere things like electricity pointsare. There is also CCTV set uparound the site. It also helps that the

site is accessed from the road by tar-mac tracks, so the ground doesn’tget ruined during the build if theweather is bad.”

The area around the site had to beplanted up to shield it from the restof the park, and as soon as thestructure comes down, the space isused for other events over the sum-mer.A past event held in Evolution

Battersea’s Evolutionis venue to thousands

2 12

About 2,000 people took to the streets to celebrate Barnsley’s first everGay Pride festival, which kicked off a week of diversity events in thetown. It marked the start of the seventh diversity festival which celebrates communities and individual cultures in Barnsley. The eventincluded music and on stage entertainment, fairground rides and foodand drink.

Litter crackdown keepsEdinburgh streets cleanerBy Christina Eccles

A CRACKDOWN on litter at events inEdinburgh ensured that the city’s streetsstayed cleaner than ever during this year’s fes-tival season.

Throughout the festival period, Edinburgh Council provided a 24-hour operation for street cleaning and litter binemptying and extra bins were installed in key locations to tackle an increase in litter generated by thousands of visitors to thecity.

A new scheme, which provided legal adver-tising sites to festival venues, has also been

instrumental in ridding the city of posters.This resulted in a cleaner city and alsoallowed promoters to advertise their shows inhighly visible locations.

Director of Festivals Edinburgh Faith Liddell said: “It's not only the artists and performers, but Edinburgh itself that is thecentre of attention in August.

“We sincerely appreciate the commitmentof the Environment Team, who put in a five star performance to make sure thatEdinburgh looked deserving of its reputationas the world's Festival city during one of ourbusiest years ever.”

Organisers bidding to makeevent a Hole lot better ...By Andrew Harrod

THE organisers of the Hole inthe Wall concert are lookinginto suggestions on how nextyear’s event could beimproved.

Chris Woodward invited theaudience’s feedback on the2009 concert and has vowedto act on the recommenda-tions.

Key suggestions were:

� Speeding up the queues at

the admission gates. For nextyear, the gates will open ear-lier, with a DJ opening theproceedings half an hourlater. There will also be twoentrances,

� More toilets – cleanedmore often.

Chris said: “My aim is toprovide the maximum quali-ty entertainment at anaffordable price.

“The tickets this year were

£23 online right up until 3pmon the day of the concert.

“For that there is five-and-a-half hours of live entertain-ment, which by anybody’sreckoning must be goodvalue for money.

“I wish I could charge lessbut the fact is that the cost of running events likethis keeps going up and upand people require morefacilities which all have an on cost.”

LEADING temporary structure com-pany GL Events Owen Brown hasrecently installed a 15m X 25m struc-ture, quite literally on Hyde Park’sSerpentine Lake.

The structure, from the newAbsolute range, was constructed on agiant floating pontoon over the lakeitself and featured Absolute’s distinc-tive curved roof profile, making theperfect venue for the official unveil-ing of the new Isis sculpture on thelake’s shore.

The site chosen for the unveilingceremony did not have sufficientspace for a temporary venue to beerected on the shore of the lake, so aprecision weighted, floating pontoonwas constructed for it to be builtupon.

As access to the proposed site forOwen Brown’s vehicles and heavyplant was impossible, the pontoonwas built on the far side of the lake,where the structure was carefullyconstructed on top of it. Both struc-

ture and pontoon were then floatedacross the lake into position.

Thanks to the skill of the eightstrong crew, the structure stayedfirmly in place and formed a stun-ning temporary venue for both apress launch and an evening func-tion. Absolute was launched earlierthis year as part of a £4.5m invest-ment in new equipment, includingAbsolute and the new pagoda styleUltimate range.

Floating structure on the lake

THE results of the survey revealed: � 60 per cent said the generalatmosphere and overall vibe of thefestival is the single most importantreason for choosing which toattend.� 42 per cent of festivalgoers spend50 per cent or less of their time at afestival watching music.� Camp Bestival and Secret GardenParty audiences spend least timewatching music.

� Creamfields and Underage aremost popular for music.� 60 per cent spend three to fourdays in the local area of the festival.Glade visitors spend most time atthe festival with an average threedays,16 hours.� Respondents spent an average of£408 each per festival, whichincludes ticket, travel and subsis-tence.� On average, festival goers spent

£48 in the local area surroundingthe festival. Big Session andBelladrum attendees spend most inthe local area with £62 and £63respectively.� 60 per cent of the audience travelto festivals by car. � Field Day had by far the largestresponse for people travelling bypublic transport, with just under 80per cent taking the tube or bus toVictoria Park.

� Outside London, SummerSundae Weekender and Big Sessionfestivals scored highest with morethan 50 per cent of their audiencesusing public transport or walking.� 79 per cent of festivalgoers campon-site overall. � The official festival website is themost common place for audiencesto find out about the festival, with65 per cent of respondents usingthat.

Festivals generate £135m THE UK’s independent festivals generateover £135m for the country’s economy,according to a new survey.

The Association of Independent Festivalssurveyed over 3,000 festivalgoers at itsmembers’ events – which include SecretGarden Party, WOMAD and Glade – to dis-cover their behaviour and spending habitsat festivals.

And the results showed that the 19 AIFmember festivals alone attracted about340,000 people this summer.

AIF co-founder Ben Turner said: “Overallit has been an incredibly strong year for thefestival industry. A year where people whomay have travelled abroad before stayed athome. We had the year we all needed.”

The association launched last year andBen told The Main Event one of the reasonswhy it conducted the survey was to high-light the value which festivals bring to thecountry.

He added: “We wanted to show the valueof what we do and it helps the industry as awhole by making people understand howvital festivals are to the economy and toconsumers. The interest in what we repre-sent has been fantastic and we have madegreat progress in our first year. We are nowready to move up to the next level.”

Respondents spent an average of £408 each per festivalBestival is a member of AIF

2 BESTIVAL

‘What a fantastic year for Bestival’PEPPERMINT Barsworked alongsideBestival for the 6th yearto deliver a total of 15bars on site – includingthe popular flagshipcocktail bars, The BlackDahlia and PinkFlamingo.

Other bars included theWonderland Inn withhuge furry animals sit-ting on the bar, theVillage Pub servingBestiv-Ale, space-agedbars for Red Bull and JimBeam and 80 metres of

bar for the newly-locatedmain stage.

Alex Brooke fromPeppermint said: “Whata fantastic year forBestival. It was so goodto see such a greatturnout and peopleenjoying themselves inthe good weather despitethe current climate. Ithink being on an islandhelps people to reallyescape – we certainlydidn’t see people holdingthemselves back at thebars.”

New measures to ensuregood interaction with policeNEW measures were introduced toreduce crime at this year’s Bestival and to ensure good interaction between festivalgoers andpolice.

Dog Sgt Dave Steele of HampshireConstabulary explained: “A key initiative this year was to establishgood early relations with the public.

“We made sure our first interactionwith them was a positive one, whichwe achieved by distributing 10,000clip on lanyards that people attachedtheir phones or wallets to their belts.

“This not only helped prevent theft,it also reduces the lost phone (at 3am mid party mode) being reportedas theft and distorting the crime fig-ures.

“We have our statutory responsibili-ties that include disrupting organisedcriminality, particularly drug supply(and possession), tent thefts andcounterfeit ticketing, with the need tomaintain the safety of everyone onsite.

“We have mounted a very successfuloperation using around 80 officersper day, with around 35 support offi-cers off site, which keeps costs downfor the organisers.”

BESTIVAL

JIM has been responsible for the siteinfrastructure at every Bestival andhe has seen the event develop yearon year.

This year, the event – which takesplace at Robin Hill Country Park onthe Isle of Wight – sold out threemonths in advance and its capacitygrew by about 25 per cent – creatingan interesting challenge for organis-ers who had to introduce a new sitelayout to cope with extra festivalgo-ers.

Jim explained: “The park is a veryintricate event site with different landaround the contoured site, but thechallenges it presents are worth it forthe beauty of the show.

“The main stage position haschanged radically (from the 10,000crowd days) and we have moved itthis year in to the main arena.

“This show is logistically the hardestshow we manage. Being on anisland, all the event infrastructure hasto come in via ferries, which is anadditional logistical operation initself.

“There has been a huge increase incamping facilities and we have laidon some additional entertainmentfor the considerable number of peo-ple who now travel out on theThursday. With the island’s limitedaccessibility via ferries it makes a

huge difference to get those 20,000on site a day earlier.”

Jim also revealed what sets Bestivalapart in a crowded market placewhich is full of rival events.

He added: “I think this festival isone of the best in the world becauseit has maintained its relationshipwith the public throughout its sub-stantial growth. There’s so much tosee and do with the line-up andinstallations that you can never see itall in one year, so everyone wants tocome back.”

Good relationships between organ-isers, suppliers and key personnelsuch as the local council and policeare also vital to ensure the smoothand safe running of the event.

Jim said: “We work with a core oftrusted suppliers, such as EveTrackway, APL site and Star Events.Showsec has been with us since yearone and Steve Reynolds has becomepart of our senior management team,creating and working a crowd man-agement plan. On the other handwe’ve introduced some new suppli-ers, such as Eat To The Beat who havealso done a great job in their firstyear with us and have been very pop-ular with the crew.

“Through the years of continuedgrowth Loudsound has had toaccommodate, we have also main-tained the ‘Bestival brand’ and festi-val experience while integrating itwith a stringent health and safetyculture.

“We’ve built good relations with thelocal council and police, who haveboth trusted and enabled us toimplement our plans. We’ve intro-duced some focused initiatives thisyear to reduce crime on-site andmake the festival as safe as possible;it’s our role to give people a goodtime and so protecting them andtheir property is part of that.”

According to festival director Jim King, Bestival is the hardest show he manages –but also one of the best. The Main Event caught up with him on site to discover whatmakes it so special.

Why Jim thinks it’s oneof the best in the world

Jim King

Strategysees drugsworth £150kseizedDRUGS to the value of over £150,000were seized at this year’s Bestivalafter police launched a strategy toclamp down on drug related crime atthe event.

This year, officers operated a largerteam of searchers as part the festi-val’s drugs denial strategy, with atotal of 944 searches conducted onthose entering site gates at Robin HillCountry Park.

The number of positive searchesthis year was 323 and a total of 26people were arrested for possessionwith intent to supply.

Tactics used by police includedsearching individuals and puttingpassive drugs dogs at the entrancegates.

Chief superintendent Dave Thomassaid: “The increase in drugs seizedand arrests represent an increase inthe size of the drugs operation anddemonstrates our determination torid the event of illegal drug use andthose that come to Bestival to deal.

“By working closely with the pro-moters, our partner agencies andexperienced qualified security staff,the event passed as peacefully aspossible, and we are very pleasedwith the results.”

Five nominationsBESTIVAL has been nominated forfive awards at this year’s UK FestivalAwards – including the prestigiousBest Medium Sized Festival.

The event has also been nominatedfor Best Dance Event, Best Toilets,Best Headline Performance – for allthree of the festival’s headliners – andVirtual Festivals Critics' ChoiceAward.

Festivalgoers can vote using thededicated awards website and as anextra incentive, one voter will win apair of tickets to every winning festi-val next year.

The awards will be announced at aspecial event taking place next monthat the O2 in London.

Star Events supplied staging at the festival this year. Spokesman PhilAddyman said: “We supplied a 20mMorbit stage with a front of housetower and camera tower in the mainOuter Space arena and the stage platform in the Big Top stage. The position of the main stage has movedinto the main part of the site, so itfeels more condensed in the mainOuter Space Arena. In all we’ve supplied 13 crew on site for fourdays.”

2 BESTIVAL

Showsec – crowd managementNu Kleen – litter clearanceStar Events – stagingMRL Limited – healthand safetyEat To The Beat – artisteand crew cateringRock City – crewMedroc – medicalTower Event Power –powerTempsite – plumbingNRB – radiosPeppermint – bars

Contractors’ list

FOR the first time this year, Eat to theBeat worked on Bestival – providingproduction team and artist catering.

Team leader Anne Crawford, pic-tured above, said the Isle of Wightbased festival was the perfect placeto source local produce but thebiggest challenge for the team wasgetting all equipment and staff to thesite.

She said: “Precise planning andlogistics were the order of the day aswe needed to get our kitchen equip-ment and 11 staff on to the island.Our vast experience of providingevent catering on this scale wasinvaluable in ensuring this hap-pened.”

Order of the daywas precision

The welfare of the Bestival crowdwas important to MRL which had thechallenge of dealing with anenlarged site this year. The companyhad to think carefully about where toposition concessions and waterpoints to suit the thousands of festivalgoers on site.Other key areas MRL focused onincluded the emergency liaison,which is the hub of communicationsfor the site, and traffic management.Pictured: Nigel Haley

Partnership brings cut-pricefestivals for Euro visitorsA PARTNERSHIP betweenVisitBritain and theAssociation of IndependentFestivals allowed Europeanvisitors to enjoy some of thissummer’s best festivals at aknock down price.

The European ValueCampaign offered visitorsfrom 18 countries a 20 percent discount to AIF mem-

ber festivals – which includeCreamfields, Bestival and BigChill – when tickets werepurchased through theVisitBritain website.

Festival fans in countriesincluding France, Germanyand Spain were able to takeadvantage of the offer.

AIF co-founder Ben Turnersaid: “This was the first year

of what we hope will be anannual collaboration. Itworked well enough for us towant to do it again and gaveus the chance to dip our toein the water.

“Next year we will be doingsomething with more cohe-sion and we believe theuptake will grow.”

TOWER Event Power has been sup-plying the industry with temporarypower solutions for over 14 years andin this time has built a comprehen-sive stock of cabling and distribution

equipment to handle the mostdemanding of projects. Tower hasbeen involved with a diverse range ofinstallations across the globe includ-ing distribution systems around the

canals of Venice and temporary sys-tems atop the mountains of Klosters,putting Tower in the ideal position todeal with power requirements over awide range of events.

Providing power solutions across the globe

REWIND

Power – Vital Spark Ltd.Dressing Rooms – MovieMakersMarquees – Piggotts, JustRight MarqueesBig Tops – RoustaboutToilets – A1, Comfy Crappers Showers – Posh WashShowersWaste – Estate CleanersFencing – Wight FencingMedical – Location MedicalFire – Cannon FireRoad Signage – AATraffic Management – C.T.MSecurity – S.P.A.Trucking – Conference HaulInternationalStaging – Serious StagesSound – Capital SoundLighting – P.R.G.Trackway – TracSite Signage – VolairePlant/Cabins – A PlantCranes – King Lifting

Stage Crew – C.C.C.P.Crew Catering – Eat to theBeatVideo – XL VideoFurniture – SpaceworksTower Lights – BrightlightsSilent Disco – Silent ArenaComedy – Comedy StoreKidzone – Big Top ManiaArena Musicians – Friday StMusicFireworks – FantasticFireworksMerchandising – Front ofHouse OrganisationAdvertising –TCS MediaPublic Relations – LisaDenning AssociatesDesign – T.M.A.Insurance – Sebastian McLeanInternationalGlamping – Tangerine FieldsSite Transport – The QuadCentre

Contractors’ listPromotion proves a Re-winnerTHE promotion of a new music fes-tival proved so successful thatorganisers increased its capacity by10,000 people.

The 1980’s themed RewindFestival in Henley on Thames origi-nally hoped to attract 20,000 peoplebut interest was so high that organ-isers decided to allow crowds of upto 30,000.

Promoter David Heartfield toldThe Main Event teaming up withpartners such as radio stations andnewspapers helped to generateinterest in the event. As did a dedi-cated festival website. He said: “The

promotion was very heavily inter-net driven and we also had tie upswith lots of promotional partiessuch as Heart FM and local news-papers. It is very difficult when youare selling a festival because it isnot just about the artists. We alsohad other features and were tryingto sell an entire package so it wasabout driving people onto the web-site to see for themselves.”

David also said that previousexperience promoting concerts andpicnic shows at stately homesrevealed a growing interest in1980s’ revivals, which had the

potential to be turned into a dedi-cated festival, celebrating the bestof that era. Artists performingincluded Gloria Gaynor, SisterSledge and Kim Wilde and theevent even had its own restaurantand cocktail bar. He added: “Wehad about 30,000 people over theweekend which is a fantastic result.We attracted a lot of people whoare not catered for in the festivalmarket.

“There are many festivals aboutbut a lot are going for the youthmarket. We are offering a slightlymore civilised event.”

A CHALLENGING year for all in theevents industry saw Cash and TrafficManagement (CTM) continue togrow and develop services with newand existing clients.

The company has risen to the chal-lenges of the recession by offeringadditional services to existing clientsand providing quality services to newclients, to maintain positive growthin difficult times.

CTM provide traffic systems, park-ing operations, ticketing sales andtransport plans to a number ofclients across the industry and haveadded production traffic operationsto its list of services.

A team of supervisors and staff tookon active management of onsite traf-fic at Glastonbury, Leeds and ReadingFestivals with great success and arelooking forward to offering this serv-

ice to a number of other clients nextyear.

In addition, we were able to assistnew clients applying for festivallicenses and were able to successfullyargue the case for an increase in thelicense numbers for the Hop farmand a new license for the Rewind fes-tival in Henley. We are also lookingforward to helping Donington ParkRace Circuit as they develop the cir-cuit and strive to bring F1 to thevenue.

Cash and Traffic Management’soperational team has worked hard tocontinue supplying top quality serv-ices and to work with organisersthroughout this year, as pressure tocut costs without impacting on serv-ices increase. We look forward to nextyear and developing our services tomeet new and existing clients’ needs.

Picture courtesy of Western Counties Police Air ops Unit

CTM continues to grow

2 BINGLEY MUSIC LIVE

FOR three days last month,Myrtle Park in Bingley hostedsome of the biggest names inmusic as part of Bingley MusicLive.

The event was organised byBradford District Council andthis year attracted record audi-ence figures – about 40,000 peo-ple over the three days.

This year’s event was also big-ger than ever after organisersdecided to add an extra day tomake it a three-day event.

Traditionally the event hasbeen held over two – with oneday being free and the other,involving a more high-profileline-up, being ticketed.

After an increase in demandfor this year’s event, it wasdecided to have Friday as a freeday and Saturday and Sunday aspaid-for concerts.

And although day tickets couldbe bought for £15, organisersdecided to incentivise festival-

goers to stay for the wholeevent, by making weekend tick-ets just £10 more.

Festival manager AndrewWood told The Main Event thatalthough the event faced com-petition from the many festivalstaking place over the summer,what set it apart was its afford-ability.

He said: “The main appeal wasthe low prices, as the event wassubsidised by Bradford Council,plus a very appealing line-up.

“This year we said let’s take arisk and put on a weekend tick-eted event. Previously, we haveput quite a bit of funding intothe free day but we limited theprogramme on that night andmade it more of a family eventwhich worked very well.

“Then we introduced the tick-eted weekend which gave us agood, balanced programme ofbands.”

Although the festival takes

place in a residential area, itsorganisers work hard to ensurethat those living near to the siteare not affected by the eventbeing staged there.

Letters are sent out to localresidents with a number forthem to call if they have anyqueries – though Andrew sayscompliments about the eventoutweigh the complaints.

He added that this year’s for-mat worked well and the planfor next year is to build on that.

“It would seem silly to changethe format as it can be success-ful again. The ticket price will bereviewed but we aim to keeptickets at a low price.

“We may go up to £30 but £40would be the maximum and wewould be reluctant to go up thatmuch.

“It’s all a learning curve. We arenow pulling the event apart anddeciding how we can improve itfor next year.”

The last three years have seen Bingley Music Live grow rapidly and this year organisers celebrated their biggest,most successful event to date. Christina Eccles found out the secrets of its success.

Calvin Harris who performed at the event.Picture: David Ward

Bigger and betterpays off at Bingley

BINGLEY MUSIC LIVE

Audio – Coast to Coast ConcertProduction Lights – Zig Zag Stage – Orbit Roofs and Staging Electrical and generator power – TMNewburnVideo Screens – Light MediaMarquees – Event Equipment HirePortable Roadway – TPA Hoarding – Eve Trakway Fencing and Barriers – Event Plus Clearance – Leisure Services Parks Toilets – William G Search and GJToilet Hire Road Signage – TMS Tour Catering – Popcorn Bars – G&P Events and Mobile BarsCatering concessions – Marshall'sAmusements

Contractors’ list

IMPROVING how the event is market-ed was a priority for organisers thisyear who brought an expert on boardto maximise ticket sales.

Rachel Hill’s role was to increasesales by tapping into potential targetmarkets and developing awareness ofthe event.

To do this she attended many otherevents taking place over the summer,leafleting and speaking to people whowere there.

She also took over the festival’sFacebook page and used that andother social networking sites such asTwitter to ensure the word spread.

But Rachel revealed that althoughthe internet marketing was useful,she actually found that the face toface approach was more successful.

She said: “Social networking isanother way forward and usingFacebook and Twitter did undoubted-ly help.

“But most of the feedback I got wasfrom word of mouth and from meet-ing people so they could find outmore.”

She added that she would like to beinvolved in the event next year andalready has some ideas on how toraise the profile of the event even fur-ther and increase media coverage.

Despite being up against competition from bigger festivals such as Leeds and Reading and V, theevent still managed to secure its strongest ever line up. Performers over the weekend includedCalvin Harris, Editors, VV Brown, Reverend and The Makers (pictured) and The Zutons.

Andrew also said that thevenue – Myrtle Park – provides the perfect backdropfor the event because of itslocation and good transportlinks.He added: “Myrtle Park hasbeen used as a music venuefor the last 18 years and hasalways been a suitable venuefor music events. It has a wonderful backdrop and nearby rail network withgreat links to Leeds andBradford. Public transport issomething we want to workon for next year, to get moretrains put on during theevent. It would be nice toincrease the capacity of theevent to 20,000 – as long aswe can then get 20,000 peopleout of Bingley when it isover.”Picture: West Yorkshire Police.

How Rachelraised profileof event

LARRY and the Creative Bars teamhave become regular features atmany of the UK’s outdoor and indoorevents – ranging from music festivals,concerts, sporting events and indoorvenues.

According to Larry, each one pro-vides a different set of challenges forthem to work with.

He explained: “Each event has itsown needs and requirements so spe-cial attention needs to be paid to thisor else you can become complacent.Gone are the days when you couldtake things for granted, which cer-tainly keeps you on your toes, espe-cially in the current environment. Youalso have to consider the Britishweather as this demands respect –too hot and you’re constantly clean-ing dust off your bars, providing morewater for the staff, and can even havea detrimental effect on sales as wasthe case in the hottest summer onrecord in 2003, too wet and you canbe in mud up to your knees, layingdown tonnes of wood chippings andagain considering the impact on salesas no one enjoys drinking in the rain!.From this experience we work so hardto cover all eventualities and plan-ning is crucial.”

Organisers are becoming moredemanding with how they want their

food and drink to look attheir events, with the qual-ity of product and servicebecoming more than everan integral part of the festi-val experience. Larry adds:“Consumer tastes and con-sumption patterns vary alot and you need to caterfor these. At the same timeorganisers are increasinglyexpecting to see more pro-duction elements anddesign integrated not onlyinto the stage and mer-chandising but also toinclude the food and drinkbars”.

“We spend a largeamount of time designingsignage and dressingwhich is tailored to theevents to ensure that thebars that we build sit inharmony with their temporary sur-roundings. This year we have also cre-ated indoor areas with a feel of theirown to offer customers somewhere tosit down and relax, away from theother high energy areas of the festivalexperience.”

With consumers feeling the effectsof the recession, the public havebecome more choosy about the

events they go to. “As the public arebecoming more discerning about theamount of events they visit so toohave their demands on the quality ofthe services they receive. There isnothing worse than in the old dayswhen you could expect to go to a fes-tival and have to queue for ages for adrink only then to be served a warmflat pint for all your hard work. We

have invested heavily into the equip-ment we use as well as focussing hardon reducing queuing times by intro-ducing better systems of service.Better technical equipment such asmulti dispense units, better staff anddeveloping queuing systems has real-ly drastically reduced serving times socustomer satisfaction is certainly onthe rise.”

2 20 ADVERTISER’S ANNOUNCEMENTCreative Bars (a Creativevents company) has had a busy summer season working on events including Cornbury, T4 on the

Beach, The Big Chill & Sonsisphere. The Main Event caught up with the company’s Larry Keep who revealed trends in barsand consumers’ drinking habits and what organisers should consider when choosing bar companies for their events.

Introducing Creativevents ...

LARRY also revealed what organisersneed to be aware of when choosing abar supplier for their events and howto make sure the company has thenecessary qualifications and under-standing required to make their eventsucceed; he added: “The organisershould choose a company who has agreat deal of experience with Healthand Safety legislation as it is essentialfor the company to demonstrate duediligence and undertake event specif-ic risk assessments. Companies needto provide a safe working environ-ment for all their employees and cus-tomers. Pre-event build-up and breakdown experience is key to working onevent sites as they can be congestedwith other companies all workingtowards delivering their productionor services on time. This means theycan easily become potentially haz-ardous places so once again planningis essential. Have regular meetingsand demand proof of specific trainingqualifications. Also ask for personallicence holders certification andmake sure the company has sufficientproduct, public and employers liabili-ty. Most local authorities now requireliability insurance of around£10,000,000 to cover any potentialclaims for whatever reason.”

“Recommendation is everythingand it is always worthwhile askingother event organisers advice or opin-ions as if they have had a bad experi-ence they won’t hesitate to voice theiropinion and similarly if they have hada good working relationship then theywill not hesitate to recommend acompany. This can also confirm

whether ornot the barcompany hasvalid experi-ence in thefield and aproven trackrecord fordeliveringwhat theypromise. Alsoask about thebar compa-ny’s financialcredibilityand what rec-onciliationsystems theyhave in placeas organiserswill wantpeace of mind especially where finan-cial accountability is concerned!”

There are more sponsored brandsinvesting into events than ever before“There has been an explosion ofbrands gaining access to festivals andconcerts and you really have to gothat extra bit further where they areconcerned as in many ways they aresignificantly contributing to the suc-cess of the event, especially in thesetrying times.

“Never compromise the brand’svalue as they have worked hard inbuilding up their reputation and theyare very particular in the way theirbrand is delivered to the customer. Itis all about the experiential deliveryand the perfect serve is essential!Creativebars works very closely withmany of the UK’s universities and col-

leges and invests heavily into stafftraining throughout the year. As aresult when it comes to the summerseason we have a large number ofexperienced staff members who gothat bit further in adding to the cus-tomers’ overall experience.

“Overall I would say that the organ-iser should use a reputable bar com-pany who has a good reputation forworking closely with the event before,during and after. A company who willgo that extra mile and one that is pre-pared to work hard at integratingtheir services with that of the overallevent experience. The best part of thisbusiness, in my mind, is when you getcustomers saying that they reallyenjoyed the event from start to finishand it is then that we know we con-tributed to this and have done a goodjob.”

ADVERTISER’S ANNOUNCEMENT 21

Choosing the right bar supplier CornburyMusicFestival“We finallysaw sensein the 5thyear of ourfestival and employed a professionalbar company. Creative joined ourteam and quickly liaised well with allour production people, were alwaysflexible and patient with our some-times unusual demands, and overallmade a major contribution towardsmaking this year’s festival easily thebest so far. We’re very pleased thatCreative have joined the Cornburyfamily and we’re looking forward to along and successful relationship.”

Hugh Phillimore – Cornbury Music Festival

The Big ChillFestival“From ourearliestmeetings wewere imme-diatelyimpressedwith the team at Creative Events, theirreassuring knowedge and experiencegiving them justifiable confidence.Bearing in mind The Big Chill Festivalis a sizeable event of 40,000 peopleeach day over 3 and a half days in anew site for them – a valley inHerefordshire – we think they did anexceptional job. There was thoroughcalm professionalism in everythingthey did, and we look forward to anongoing relationship with Creativeover the next few years.”

Richard Bigg – Cantaloupe Group

2 LEEDS AND READING FESTIVALS

Q-SYSTEMS have moved into the fes-tival market this year, operating theirunique Q-Bar EPOS system at all thebars at Glastonbury, Reading, Leedsand Latitude, to name a few.

We spotted a gap in the market anddecided our product was the rightone for it. The fact that our systemcan operate in the conditions associ-ated with any outdoors environmentmeans it is the ideal choice.

Operators can have a full systeminstalled giving real-time data to a‘back office’ PC, or have a totallywireless set-up and retrieve all data

once the bar is shut. We found the

most common feed-back commentswere, the speed ofservice and ease ofuse. Also becausethe system canoperate totallystand alone andwireless, power out-ages were of no concern as Q-Bar car-ried on working. The staff loved it asit is so simple, very quick and easy touse.

WHILE other organisers have strug-gled with their events this year,Melvin Benn claims that 2009 could-n’t have gone better for him.

He achieved sell out crowds at allhis events and says this is quite sim-ply because his are the best festivalsin the world.

He added: “All our festivals in the

UK and Ireland have sold out thisyear and I couldn’t be happier. Wehave the best festivals in the world. Ihave witnessed the excitement atother festivals and the excitement atReading and Leeds is dramaticallystronger.

“I couldn’t have asked for a betteryear.”

It’s been a big year for Benn ...

Police praise for Leeds visitorsLEEDS festivalgoers have beenpraised by West Yorkshire Police fortheir good behaviour over the festivalweekend.

Although by the end of the event,recorded crime was higher than lastyear’s figures – 102 crimes recordedcompared with 76 in 2008 – the policeput this down to increased pro-activi-ty in confronting drugs offences. 39arrests were made for drugs and min-or offences compared with 17 lastyear.

Chief superintendent Andy Battle,commander of the police operationsaid: “This was a very successfulevent and will be remembered for allthe right reasons. This year saw theintroduction of a new traffic planwhich made a huge difference to peo-ple’s enjoyment of the event. We havealso worked closely with the eventorganisers to tackle drugs and thishas resulted in a significant increasein the number of arrests we havemade, making the event safer.”

Firm moves into festival market

LEEDS AND READING FESTIVALS

CHANGES were made to both theLeeds and Reading festivals this yearto improve the experience for visi-tors.

At Reading, improvements weremade to the site which involved mov-ing and rotating the second stage toopen up the site more and at Leeds, anew traffic management plan wasput in place.

This year traffic for the LeedsFestival was brought straight off themotorway to the site, meaning carswere no longer diverted into the cityand back out again as in previousyears.

This helped both visitors – whobenefited from reduced travel time –and local residents who didn’t have to

cope with a large volume of traffic.And promoter Melvin Benn from

Festival Republic, said he was reallypleased with how the changesworked and what they added to thefestivals.

He said: “I am delighted with bothevents. We made quite a lot ofchanges – to the actual site atReading and to the traffic manage-ment at Leeds.

“The new plan worked so well andcertainly reduced the queuing times.There was also a reduction on theimpact on Leeds city centre and ringroad – there was no traffic there thisyear. We shall be sticking to it.”

Melvin also said that the festivals’popularity this year was partly due to

the strength of the headline acts –which included Arctic Monkeys,Radiohead and Kings of Leon.

He added: “The bands worked fan-tastically well. The headliners couldnot have been better.”

Melvin’s predictions for next yearare that things will get tougher for theevent industry but he is confidentthat his festivals will continue to dowell.

“The market is overcrowded andthat’s why festivals are failing. I thinknext year will be harder than this year– there is more unemployment andthat is going to have an impact.

“We have already started planningand will be trying to put on the bestline up that exists.”

Changes improve festivalexperience for visitors

Little Boots was one of the acts performingat Leeds and Reading.

LEEDS AND READING FESTIVALS

THE promoter behind Reading andLeeds has also taken on a new ven-ture – majority ownership of The BigChill Festival.

The festival will now be co-pro-duced by the company and the exist-ing Big Chill team from the FestivalRepublic offices, with Katrina Larkinand her team re-locating there.

Katrina will remain creative director

of the festival. Managing director Melvin Benn

said: “This marks an exciting time forThe Big Chill and I am thrilled to welcome Katrina and her team intothe Festival Republic family and even more thrilled to have the oppor-tunity to develop this fantastic festi-val, both here in the UK and interna-tionally.”

New venture for promoter

Contractors’ listMojo Barriers – BarriersMobile Stadiums Ltd – Big TopsBunk-a-Bin Ltd – Bunk a BinsSearch – CabinsArtist Liaison – CarlingPictureworks – Carling Stage ScreenCash on the Move – Cash MachinesCentral Catering – CateringEat To The Beat – CateringCrime Secure – CCTVClean Event – CleaningBeau Nosh – Crew and Artist CateringAbsolute Events – Crew CateringAd Lib Audio – Dance soundGLD Productions – DécorAttitude is Everything – Disabled AccessCover It Up – DrapesMidland Fire – Fire ProtectionGore and de Koning Fun Fairs – Funfair BE Event Hire – FurnitureAlex Cook –Guest AreaA&A Weatherhead – GullysuckersArtist Liaison – Lock up / danceA1 Mobile – LockersNeg Earth – Main Stage LightsCreative Technologies (screenco) – MainStage ScreensConcept Products – Man that CanInstant Marquees – MarqueesW A A P – MarqueesEvents Medical Services – Medics

Firebrand – MerchandiseCTM – Offsite ManagerHunts Contractors – PlumbersTempline – Power2CL Communications – RadiosOutback Rigging – RiggingAA Signs – Road signsAmazing Tent Company – SaddlespanEvent Safety Shop – SafetyBeaver 84 – Scaffold and FencingAcre Jean – ScrimsImaginators – Scrims and BannersAP Security – SecurityGainsborough Security – SecuritySpecial Events – SecuritySpecialized Security – SecurityA1 Mobile – ShowersSSE – SoundESS – SoundCBA – Sound and telephonesMotley Crew – Stage CrewStar Hire – StagesSerious Stages – StagesAli Stage – StagingSteelshield – Steelshield FencingSee Tickets – TicketsA1 Loo Hire – ToiletsEve Trakway – TrackwayTPA – TrackwayArte Viva – UrinalQ-Bar – Wireless till systems

2 26

MANCHESTER PRIDE

Manchester Pride saw 42,000 people celebrate LGBT life over the August bank holiday weekend, creatingchallenges with road closures and logistics. Mary Ferguson reports.

FOR the eighth year running, Ear ToThe Ground teamed up with NineLives Productions to produce the citycentre event, which has been runningsince 1980.

Jon Drape, co-director of Ear To TheGround said: “When we were firstapproached about doing Pride in2002 it was quite last minute and itwas the Commonwealth Games year.We were very busy so a jointapproach worked well – and has doneever since.”

Jon said Pride is one of the biggestevents on their calendar, and claimsthat every year they learn somethingnew.

“In some ways the event does geteasier to deal with year on year, butwe do always have the same con-straints, particularly with time androad closures

“We can’t close the roads for anylonger than we do and although wepick up different bits of land duringthe lead-up, for example for the stageand parking, we only have a shortamount of time to get all the perime-ter fencing up along the roads. Timeis always a big challenge for us.”

The event finishes at midnight onthe Monday night and the team thenhas six hours to return all the carparks and open all the road closuresto get everything back to normal forTuesday morning traffic.

This year was the largest parade todate, and Jon admitted it threw up afew problems.

“We will be looking at some changesfor next year. The assembly point forthe floats is a three quarter milelength of Liverpool Road and wecouldn’t ask for better, but where theparade ends it’s only a quarter of thatsize. We have to get the floats to makethemselves safe as quickly as possiblebefore joining the main traffic.”

Another problem can be keepingthe parade together and some gapsdid form this year.

“It doesn’t help that it has to cross atram line, and the overhead cablesmean that any floats above 14ft haveto stop and get under safely, so thatcan create a space.

“And this year we had a casualty at

the side of the road so we had tobreak up the parade while the ambu-lance came, creating a large gap.”

However, this year saw the lowestnumber of casualties over the week-end and a big priority for Ear To TheGround was limiting the risk ofhomophobic crime – which has beena problem in the past.

Jon added: “Prior to us taking over,the event was renowned for this. Sofencing off the gay village creates asafe area for the LGBT communityand although maintaining 24-hoursecurity costs a lot, it means we havecomplete control.”

Pride team still learning

EAR To The Ground handle the pro-curement, production managementand site logistics and Nine Lives takecontrol of accreditation, staffing andcleansing.

Nine Live’s Sarah Rowland said: “Iwork with Jon and his team on otherevents, but Pride is the only one wedo as a partnership. You can’t put onan event like this without odd prob-lems popping up but we have such agood group of contractors that wehave been with so long – and whoknow the environment so well – thatwe all know what to expect.”

This year, 42,000 tickets were soldand Sarah said they were verypleased. “We always sell some daytickets over the weekend and how

many tends to depends on theweather, but we sold quite a few this time, despite there being a bit ofrain. And the budget compared withother events is very tight because weknow that any extra we make goesstraight to the charities.”

Sarah added that working with busi-nesses and a large residential areainside the site is a challenge everyyear, so a sophisticated accreditationprocess is put into place.

“You don’t have those considera-tions with a green field site. AlthoughPride provides a good income streamfor the businesses, it’s not ideal forthe residents, as we are basically put-ting ourselves on their doorsteps for72 hours.”

‘It’s not ideal for the residents’

Scenes from Manchester Pride and, right, Jon Drape. co-director of Ear to the Ground

Main Stage – Star Events Group LtdAdditional Staging and structures –Manchester Light and Stage, OrbitRoofs and Staging, Fox StagingPA – AudileStage Lighting – AudileExhibition Lighting – DBNPower – Collinge EngineeringPerimeter fencing – Steelshield

Toilets – Elliot Loo HireMarquees – Smiths MarqueesCabins / Box offices – SearchSite Crew – HandballSecurity – G4SFirst Aid – Manchester MedicalServicesCrew catering – Bread & ButterBars – International Promotions

Contractors’ list

2 CREAMFIELDS

THIS year organisers decided to rew-ard Creamfields’ loyal festivalgoers byputting weekend tickets on sale for£100 – a decision which attracted30,000 people on site per day.

The site was also changed this year,with a move for both the main stageand the camping area which reducedthe amount of walking for festivalgo-ers between the festival site and thecampsite.

Event manager Jim King told TheMain Event that introducing changessuch as these ensures that the showstays fresh and is able to stand out inwhat has become a competitive mar-ket for festival organisers.

He said: “This year we reconfigured

the whole arena space which openedup a new field, allowing the mainstage to sit in its own environment.

“Cream has also invested more inadding value and decoration, whichmeant the whole site looked a lot bet-ter. It’s a very competitive market andacts are touring more than ever. Youcan’t rely on just your line up to dif-ferentiate from competitors.

“Instead of going to Ibiza for threeor four days, you want people tocome to your festival. It has to offer awhole weekend experience.”

Camping was introduced for thefirst time at last year’s event after 10years as a one-day show and Jim saidthis has also created a new dimen-

sion to the event.He added: “This was the second

year of camping and since it wasintroduced the audience profile haschanged. More people come from allover the country as coming for twodays makes it more attractive forthem and also for European visitors.

“Creamfields is an internationalbrand and the show’s close proximityto Manchester and Liverpool airportsalso definitely helps. The event offersa compelling case for European visi-tors to come to the UK.

“We are extremely happy. We had asold-out show which was an impor-tant milestone for everyone involvedin the event.”

A recession busting offer on weekend tickets saw a sell out crowd flock to this year’s Creamfields to watch a line upincluding Dizzee Rascal, Calvin Harris and Basement Jaxx. Christina Eccles found out more.

Picture: Melmif Photography

Picture:Dominic

Pascal

Picture: Dominic Pascal

Creamfields celebrates a sell-out

INTERNATIONAL/MIDDLE EAST 29

TAO Productions overcame chal-lenges including language barriersand intense heat to complete workon the spectacular opening cere-monies for the Deaflympics inTaiwan.

NewSubstance Creative Agencyemployed the TAO Group to provideservices including logistics support,production management, health andsafety and event consultancy for fourshows in Hsinchu and Taipei.

The company also provided eventconsultancy services for the ItalianExtreme Theatre Company KitonBand its performance of Carillion –which involved six aerialists perform-ing from a crane 80 metres above thestage, a vocalist and 12 dancers.

Head of TAO Andy Cotton said: “Itwas an interesting set of events withlanguage barriers between Chinese,Italian and English providing chal-lenges; particularly at one point

when specifying the PA equipment.Quite frankly I could have beenordering a Big Mac and chips.”

The performances in Hsinchuplayed to a packed crowd of in excessof 15,000 people with the Taipeishows topping 40,000 over the threenights. On one of these nights Taipeiwas one of the hottest places on theplanet at well over 40 degrees.

TAO’s Ben Price and Andy Cotton

Firm faces language barriersand intense heat in Taiwan

THE organisers of Liverpool’s SoundCity have created a similar event tobe held next month in Dubai.

It is hoped that over 50 artists and50 keynote speakers will come toDubai Sound City to take part in theevent, which combines conferenceswith live music events.

Acts already announced include theHuman League, Happy Mondays andSuper Furry Animals.

Liverpool Sound City festival direc-

tor Dave Pichilingi said: “The aim isto draw in business from countriessuch as South Africa, Australia, Japanand other areas within three or fourhours’ flying time of Dubai.

“The city is a hub for the rest of theworld. It'll be similar to the way we’vedone it in Liverpool.

“By day, we’ll discuss the issuesaffecting the industry, and by nightwe’ll put on amazing parties andevents.”

The HumanLeague

Liverpool idea heads for Dubai

SHOWMAN’S SHOW PREVIEW 31

THIS year’s Showman’s Show willinclude the traditional stand awards,which will be judged by three indus-try experts.

This year the judges will be Trevor Barratt, chief executive of The Ocean Media Group, organisersof the Event Production Show, who will be judging the externalstands and Duncan Reid, portfoliodirector of Confex, who will be judging the stands within the

exhibition hall.

Many of the structures also haveelaborate interiors, which is why this year a third judge has beenappointed who is an expert in thisfield.

Marion Falchi-Pereira of Falchi Interiors will be focusingspecifically on the interior design ofthe stands and awarding prizes forthe top three stand interiors on theshowground.

Industry experts to judge stand awards

2 32 SHOWMAN’S SHOW PREVIEW

EVENT Security Solutions Ltd wasformed in 2007 by a group of securi-ty and crowd management profes-sionals with the aim of providingclients with a bespoke service thatoffers high quality with good valuefor money.

Although the company is relativelyyoung, our collective experiencewithin the company at all levels isvast, encompassing all types ofevents from high profile internation-al events such as the EuropeanJumping and DressageChampionships and Leeds Festivalto smaller local shows such asCleethorpes Rocks.

Our philosophy is to provide ourclients with trained, quality person-nel that are handpicked to suit theirevent or venue. We recognise that asteward or security person who doesa very good job at a music concert isnot necessarily suited to an eventsuch as a trade exhibition. This is

achieved by working closely with theclient, listening to what they want,our experience and not overstretch-ing the company resources.

All our personnel are vetted usingBritish Standard 7858:2006 as thebench mark. This ensures we have a10 year history, giving peace of mindto our clients. Additionally they willbe qualified in or working towardsan NVQ level two in SpectatorSafety, this includes personnel whohold licences in accordance with thePrivate Security Industry Act 2001.

This is the base level – we thenhave a number of continuationcourses, such as customer care andfirst aid to name but a few.

As a company we have no desire to`rule the world’. Our aim is tobecome renowned as a supplier ofhigh quality services that retains thepersonal touch. To paraphrase anold adage, `size doesn’t matter it`sthe quality that counts.`

Providing a bespoke service

SHOWMAN’S SHOW PREVIEW 33

ORGANISERS and suppliers are once againpreparing for theShowman’s Show – whichtakes place in Newburyon October 21 and 22.

This year’s show is the24th and organisers –Lance Show andPublications – are alreadygearing up for its 25thbirthday celebrations in2010.

The show attracts over350 exhibitors and 4,500visitors over two daysand exhibitors are look-ing forward to its start.

Chris Wilkey of ID&Csaid: “The show is anideal venue for us as itprovides a wide portfolioof clients from the eventindustry, both at homeand abroad.

“Also, the timing of theshow is just right as wehave found that theEuropeans who visit theshow place their ordersby January well inadvance of the event sea-son, with UK orders tend-ing to arrive later inMarch.”

Plans well underway for 24th show

2 34

SUNBABA’S stand at this year’sShowman’s Show will offer organisersideas on how to maximise branding opportunities at outdoorevents.

The company will be creating amini festival area at the show –exhibiting products including

perimeter branding and DigiSound –PA scrims with a special weave toallow sound to pass through withminimum distortion.

Visitors to the stand will also havethe chance to win one of Sunbaba’snew branded deckchairs to jazz uptheir office meeting area.

Mini festival area will offer ideas

LAMATA Contract Furniture willagain be hosting a stand at this year’sShowman’s Show – displaying bothnew and well established products.

The company is a manufacturer andsupplier of a wide range of contractand hospitality furniture and theproduct range includes everythingfrom folding trestle tables to outdoorevent furniture and hotel banquetingproducts. A large exhibition stand

will be used to display all of the prod-ucts which has kept this UK companyalive for the past 40 years and also anew innovative range of productswhich are getting a lot of attention inthe UK.

Products on show will include mod-ular lounge furniture, illuminatingtables and lightweight folding screensas well as the extended range of fold-ing and stackable furniture.

Company to display newand established products

35

2 36 NOEA

EVENT UK NEC BIRMINGHAM SEPTEMBER 22 - 23This was a successful participation byNOEA as a first time event. Richard Limb,NOEA president, pictured above, and JohnBarton, NOEA general secretary manned aninformation stand. We met many new out-door event contacts and also many NOEA

members past and present. It was a verybusy time for us and included some impor-tant meetings onsite. There were manyquality exhibits and visitors and no doubtthe organisers will be sending us a postshow press release. We will be making ourrecommendations to the next NOEACouncil meeting.

RICHARD Limb, NOEA president ispleased to announce that the follow-ing have applied for membershipover the last few weeks (visit our web-site www.noea.org.uk for full details)

� FMX Ltd

� Coach House Entertainment

� Shopsafe Ltd

� The Sealed Knot Ltd,

� Chaos Management (UK) Ltd

� Max WiFi (UK) Ltd

� Up Front Security

� Bournemouth University (Affiliate)

� Meridian Park

� Musicians Insurance Services

� Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers

� Securion Services Ltd.

If you require any further informationplease email: [email protected]

NEW MEMBERS ...

How show grew tobe what it is todayTHE SHOWMAN’S SHOW, NEWBURY,BERKSHIRE OCTOBER 21-22

THE show is the only outdoor showof its kind in the UK. The firstShowman's Show was held in 1984 atthe Newark Showground, with only80 or so exhibitors. Until 1989 theshow was held every two years butdue to demand, from exhibitors andshow visitors alike, the then LancePublications made the decision tohold the event annually. Initially itmoved around the country but even-tually settled at the NewburyShowground, which has been itshome for the last 14 years. Today theshow attracts nearly 5,000 visitorsover two days and has in excess of350 exhibitors, who show the mostsophisticated structures, equipmentand entertainment demanded by theevent industry at large.

NOEA has manned an informationstand there since 1991 when JohnBarton was invited to be their con-sultant and of course once againNOEA will fly the flag for its mem-bers.

Take time out to visit the NOEAStand in the Marquee Exhibit Areawhere you will be assured of a warmwelcome.

NOEA ANNUAL CONVENTION AND TRIBUTECELEBRATION EVENING, DERBY CONFERENCE CENTRE FEBRUARY 24-26 2010BEHIND the scenes the Conventionteam has been working very hard inrecent weeks to bring you a new pro-gramme concept – after the 30thAnniversary Convention in February2009 it was felt that something com-pletely different had to be brought tothe table, bearing in mind the effectof the current recession for many ofus and listening carefully to whatmembers wanted from this next con-vention.

Further information will be avail-able very shortly – If you wish to be adelegate, exhibitor, awards eveningdinner guest and/or a sponsor, sendan email to [email protected] orphone the secretary’s office on 01237473113.

The NOEA annual Industry TributeAwards are being completely re-organised by a special sub committeeand once again if you are interestedas a potential nomination or sponsorplease contact the secretary’s office.

NOEA CALENDAR OF EVENTSOctober 21 – 22 Showman’s Show,Newbury - NOEA StandNovember 10 Falkirk Conference (tbc)November 23-25 Leeds Conference &Annual General Meeting (main day24th)2010February 2- 3 Event Production Show,London – NOEA standFebruary 3 Spotlight on LocalAuthorities (Event Production Show)February 24 - 26 NOEAConvention/Tribute CelebrationEvening – Derby Conference CentreMarch 11th The Main EventExhibition, Glasgow - NOEA Stand April Exeter Conference (tbc)Other Conferences to includeTeesside, Bath, Northern Ireland,Wales, Scotland, Channel Islands andCornwall, (tbc) = all to be confirmed

Event and tourism groupsmeet for discussionsEVENT INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION SUMMITTHIS was arranged by UBM,organisers of EVENT UK, LeisureWeek, Confex etc to bring togetherevent and tourism associations todiscuss matters of common inter-est.

This took place at the EVENT UKExhibition on September 21.

NOEA was represented byRichard Limb, president and JohnBarton, general secretary together

with 27 other associations andgroups.

Subjects included governmentlegislation/regulation, education,continuous professional development, industry researchand measurement, marketing ofthe industry externally and sharedcalendar of networking/educationevents.

A report will appear in the nextedition.

NOEA SCOTLAND ANNUAL CONFERENCEAND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGFalkirk Community Stadium,Westfield, Falkirk, FK2 9DX, November10 2009 (TBC)

Survival Guide for the ScottishEvents Industry?

9.30 - 10.00 Registration, refresh-ments and exhibit viewing

10.00 - 10.10 Welcome – RichardLimb, NOEA president and TomClements, acting chairman, NOEAScotland

10.10 - 10.30 Introduction - PeterEadie, Falkirk Community Stadium

10.30 - 11.00 Event Scotland

11.00 - 11.30 Homecoming Scotlandlive debrief

11.30 - 12.45 Scottish events and ven-ues

Main Event Exhibition GlasgowMarch 2010

T in the Park

Murrayfield outdoor events

12.45 - 1.45 Buffet lunch and exhibit

viewing

1.45 - 2.45 International events

Commonwealth Games 2014

Ryder Cup, Gleneagles 2014

2.45 - 3.30 HSE Event Safety Guide –what is the position

3.30 - 3.45 Refreshments and exhibitviewing

3.45 - 4.15 Annual General Meeting

- to elect a Chairman and Committee

- to report on current activities

- any other business

4.15 - 4.30 Final comments and close

Informal Reception after Conference– networking to meet

NOEA Council Members and NOEAScotland Committee

Speakers to be announced shortly –Programme subject to change.Delegate places and exhibit displayspaces are available upon applicationto NOEA Scotland by email:

[email protected]

NOEA Scotlandconference heads for Falkirk

TRAINING, RECRUITMENT AND BUSINESS 37

FOUR members of G4S Events’ staffhave graduated from Bucks NewUniversity after completing founda-tion degrees in crowd safety manage-ment.

The qualification is a part-time dis-tance learning course and is open toall those working within the differentsectors of the events industry.

The study is a mix of work-based

learning, specialist skills develop-ment, tutoring and project basedstudies.

The four employees from G4SEvents were Chris Burr, NyreeCooper, Andrew Kelly and KarenFerry. The company’s managingdirector Mark Hamilton also receivedan MA in Leadership andManagement from the university.

The G4S Events team: Chris Burr, Nyree Cooper, Mark Hamilton, Karen Ferry, Andrew Kelly

Four team members gaincrowd safety degrees

New chair at AssociationTHE Association of Event Organisershas a new chair and deputy chair –Douglas Emslie and Paul Byrom.

Douglas is the group managingdirector of Tarsus Group and PaulByrom is managing director of UpperStreet Events.

Douglas said: “I am very pleased tobe part of the new leadership team atthe AEO at this interesting time forour industry. There will be excitinggrowth opportunities for our mem-bers as we come out of recession. Thelaunch of the new industry promo-tion campaign is a key step in theassociation’s drive to grow our indus-try for the benefit of all members.” Douglas Emslie

Company becomes latestto join safety schemeBy Christina Eccles

THORNS Group has become the latest company to join a scheme designed to recognise high standards of health and safety.

The group has receivedSAFEcontractor accreditation, whichcertifies the health and safety com-petency of contractors and serviceproviders by auditing their systemsand checking their health and safetyarrangements.

Director Joe Frazer said: “Thisaccreditation aims to reduce health

and safety risks to our clients andhelp them fulfil their legal obliga-tions by ensuring our staff workingon their premises operate in a safeway.

“Health and safety has always been a key focus for Thorns Group.Joining the SAFEcontractor scheme has allowed us to independ-ently prove this commitment andincrease the confidence of ourclients.”

SAFEcontractor has a membershipof more than 16,500 contractors andservice providers and is used bymajor clients including Sainsbury’sand HSBC.

2 38 365 - SUPPLIER DIRECTORY

Audio VisualFMXFenwick By-passAyrshireKA3 6AWT: 01560 [email protected]

SRD Group LimitedThe StudioShipbourne RoadTonbridgeTN10 3DJT: 01732 [email protected]

BarsCreativeventsEarls Court Exhibition CentreLondonSW5 9TAT: 0207 370 [email protected]

Peppermint Bars7 College Fields Business Centre19 Prince George’s RoadLondon,SW19 2PTT: 0845 226 [email protected]

CCTVEtherliveBrinkworth HouseChippenhamWiltshireSN15 5DFT: 01666 [email protected]

In FocusCommunications & Vision LtdUnit PPart LHadrian's Enterprise Park,HaltwhistleNorthumberlandNE49 0EXT: 01434 [email protected]

CommunicationsMidland Radio LinksUnit 4,181-187 Moseley StreetBirminghamB12 0RTT: 0121 [email protected]

Murphy Comhire LtdCommunications HouseSheffieldS9 1LDT: 0114 243 [email protected]

Smye-Rumsby Limited123-125 Snargate StreetDoverKentCT17 9APT: 01304 [email protected]

CrowdManagementA.P. Security (North) Ltd.33 Metro CentreDwight RoadWatfordHertsWD189SBT: 0870 412 [email protected] www.apsecurity.co.uk

G4S EventsSutton Park House15 Carshalton RoadSuttonSurreySM1 4LDT: 0800 085 [email protected]/uk-events

Specialized Security4 Fairways Business Park Deer ParkLivingstonEH54 8AF tel: 01506 [email protected]

EmergencyHeating & CoolingCool Services Building 26Bay 4The Pensnett EstateKingswinfordDY6 7TBT: 0800 [email protected]

Carrier Rental SystemsWigan Road LeylandPrestonPR25 5XWT: 0800 026 [email protected]

Event BrandingPiggotts Branding43 London RoadStanford RiversOngarEssexCM5 9PJT: 01277 [email protected]

Event ProductionSledgeThe Mill HouseMillers WayLondonW6 7NHT: 020 8743 [email protected]

Health & SafetyEvent Safety12 Vale AvenueBuryBL9 9LWM: 07812 159 339T: 0161 763 [email protected]

InsuranceServicesEvent Insurance Services LimitedEvent House20A Headlands Business ParkRingwoodBH24 3PBT: 01425 [email protected]

Robertson Taylor33 Harbour Exchange SquareLondonE14 9GGT: 020 7510 [email protected]

MarqueesPiggotts Marquees43 London RoadStanford RiversOngarEssexCM5 9PJT: 01277 [email protected]

MarqueeAccessoriesAnsell Hand Tools72 Catley RoadDarnallSheffieldS9 5JFT: 0114 244 [email protected]

MedicalManagementSP Services (UK) LtdUnit D4, Hortonpark EstateHortonwood 7 Telford Shropshire TF1 7GXT: 01952 288 999F: 01952 606 [email protected]

Venture Event Medical ManagementCopperfield House47 Leeds RoadGawthorpeOssett West Yorkshire WF5 9QWT: 07988 [email protected]

RevolvingStagesMovetech UK A division of BritishTurntable Co LtdEmblem StreetBoltonBL3 5BWT: 01204 [email protected]/rental

Screen HireXL Video2 Eastman WayHemel HempsteadHertsHP27DUT: 01442 [email protected]

StagingCentre Stage EventsUnit 108a Leyland Trading EstateIrthlingborough RoadWellingboroughT: 01234 [email protected]

CPS Seating & Staging CoBrunel House Brunel CloseHarworth DoncasterDN11 8QAT: 01302 741888 [email protected]

Steeldeck Rentals LtdUnit 58T.Marchant Estate42-72 Verney RoadLondonSE16 3DHT: 020 7833 [email protected]

The Outdoor Staging Company Ltd1 Langley DriveCastle Bromwich B35 7ADT: +44(0)7866 470 [email protected]

TemporaryFencingBeaver 84Beaver HouseCrompton CloseBasildonSS14 3AYT: 01708 [email protected]

TicketingPerformance Ticket Printers LtdThe SmithyBrownlow HeathCongletonCW12 4TJT: 01260 [email protected]. ticketprinters.co.uk

Tungate GroupBrookhouse WayCheadleStaffordshireST10 1SRT: 01538 755755F: 01538 [email protected]

VenuesFabric LondonLevel 2 Greenhill House Cowcross Street LondonEC1M 6BT: 020 7549 [email protected]

Morris Holdings (UK) Limited17B Mile Oak Industrial Estate,Maesbury Road OswestryShropshire SY10 8GAT: 01691 [email protected]

Waste Management

To advertise here call 01226 734 456

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Unit D, Central Estate,Albert Road, Aldershot,Hampshire GU11 1SZ

Tel: 01252 313005

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Email: [email protected]

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