Access All Areas March 2020 | Page 6

Sunderland to welcome inaugural Lamplight Festival This month’s catch up… Read more and keep up to date by visiting: Globe-Africa accessaa.co.uk  @access_aa twitter-square @access_aa The brand-new live event will be based in the city centre’s Mowbray Park and will see its headlining stage welcome big-name acts from a range of different musical genres. Event organisers Sunderland City Council announced UK indie giants Kaiser Chiefs as Saturday’s headliners with Sunderland’s very own Frankie and the Heartstrings confirmed as special guests. Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson, said: “It’s always great to be part of a new festival and we can’t wait to once again play alongside Frankie and the Heartstrings as well as other great acts to headline the Saturday stage in Sunderland.” Lamplight Festival will take place at Sunderland’s Mowbray Park from 8-9 August. Tickets go on sale at 9am on 14 February. StubHub could face court action The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned StubHub that it could face court action if it does not change its website. The CMA has said it is ‘concerned’ that the resale site is not warning customers that they could be turned away at some venues. The watchdog also said that StubHub could be breaking consumer law. StubHub told the regulator that it will make further changes to its website. The chief executive of the CMA, Dr Andrea Coscelli, said that the firm had previously said it would change its online booking service following another investigation. However, the CMA has since identified new issues. The concerns are that StubHub is: » Failing to warn customers that they may not be allowed into venues that don’t accept resales » Pressuring customers about ticket availability, potentially using inaccurate data » Failing to let customers know where they will seated in a venue » Failing to ensure the full addresses of business vendors are displayed 06 Arena wins E2O contract Arena Events Group has won a contract with E20 Stadium LLP, owners of London Stadium, to develop new seating systems in the north and south of the stadium. The contract will deliver two new lower-tier stands bringing 6,000 fans up to four metres closer to the pitch than the current system allows. The designs will create a traditional “kop” feel to the seating arrangement for pitch-based events, such as football, helping to enhance the match-day experience for fans. The system will also allow for faster seat moves between events to help reduce costs in the UK’s largest multi-use stadium. This comes following a period of design development to inform the brief between E20 and West Ham United. Initial designs were presented to the Club’s Official Supporters’ Board in February 2019, and Arena, E20 and West Ham United will be consulting with them again to help inform the more detailed designs with the aim of installing the seats this summer. Lyn Garner, chief executive of London Legacy Development Corporation, said: “We are delighted to have appointed Arena and look forward to working with them and West Ham United over the coming months. Our investment in the new stands will improve fans’ match day experience and deliver significant efficiencies to the running of London Stadium.”