This month’s catch up…
Arena appoints
new CEO for
UK & Europe
Arena Events Group has
announced the appointment of
Chris Morris as chief executive of
UK and Europe.
Morris has over 20 years’
experience in the sports, leisure
and hospitality sectors and joined
Arena on 19 March.
He was most recently managing
director of the Events and
Destinations Division of CH & Co, a
catering and hospitality group.
Morris also spent 9 years
working with the Rugby Football
Union as managing director of
Twickenham Experience Ltd,
responsible for the sales and
management of all match day
hospitality services and non-
match day events at Twickenham
Stadium.
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Prior to that he was managing
director of the Sports and Events
Division of Compass Group
plc, a multi-service provider of
hospitality and associated services
for many well-known sports
venues and events across the UK.
Greg Lawless, chief executive
of Arena said: “We are delighted
to welcome Chris to the Arena
team. He has held a number of
senior executive positions within
the sports, leisure and hospitality
sectors, and is very well known in
the industry.
“Chris brings a wealth of
knowledge to his new position and
I believe he will be a great asset to
the Arena Group as we continue
to grow the UK Division over the
coming years”.
Outstanding Attitude Awards
2019 celebrate accessibility
People from across the UK’s live music industry
gathered on 12 March at Islington Assembly Hall, for the
inaugural Outstanding Attitude Awards.
Attendees heard from fans and influential industry
figures on why access to live music is so important,
and celebrated the work being done across the sector
to improve the accessibility of live events for deaf and
disabled audiences.
The Customer Service Award was given to British
Summer Time, for its dedicated access line and
contact centre team, while Soundsense picked up a
Tech Innovation Award for work developing a rumble/
vibration pack used by the hearing-impaired at gigs.
The Accessible Infrastructure Award went to GigLoo,
which provides accessible portable toilets for disabled
customers. The Ticketing Without Barriers Award was
also given to British Summer Time and AEG Presents,
for its accessible booking and plans to include sign
language across all shows.
The ten winners were selected by an independent
panel of music fans, artists, journalists and industry
experts from a wide-ranging final shortlist of entries.
The judges included Alex Taylor of the BBC, James
Hanley of Music Week, Jon Chapple of IQ magazine,
Caroline Clift of Stand Out Magazine, and Sammy
Andrews of Deviate.
Jacob Adams, Attitude is Everything’s head of
research and campaigns, commented: “The Outstanding
Attitude Award shortlists sum up two key messages –
first, that access is something everyone in the industry
can and should engage with.
“Second, that breaking down barriers it is a natural
extension of qualities the industry has in spades –
creativity, teamwork and immense passion for creating,
sharing and enjoying live events with others.”