app to make it easier for event-goers to access tickets offline from mobile devices – in order to speed up entry , reduce overcrowding at gates and improve audience flow .
Among its thousands of events each year , Festicket ’ s main partners include Tomorrowland ( 70,000 ), Time Warp ( 20,000 ), and British Summer Time ( BST ) Hyde Park ( 65,000 ). It is also the exclusive UK and European ticket partner for Coachella ( 125,000 ), the exclusive travel package and payment-plan partner for All Points East ( 40,000 ) and it has an exclusive ticketing deal with the Wales Rally GB .
The uncertainty of the past year has in fact led to some significant developments for Festicket , which according to Sabban did not suffer as much as some of its competitors with a 10-12 % decrease in sales .
“ We made a concerted effort to use any downtime the past year has created to focus our
Andrew Parsons , Ticketmaster UK
resources on evolving our offering . We wanted to make sure we were still able to offer our partners the most complete end-to-end event offering despite the added challenges presented by Covid 19 ,” he says . Festicket ’ s Event Genius introduced its cashless service egPay , which offers a radiofrequency identification ( RFID ) cashless solution , accepting payments via card , Apple and
Ben Bray , TicketPlan
Google Pay . It also launched its contactless , unmanned top-up stations for event-goers using RFID wristbands , in order to make the process even more Covid-secure .
“ We also adapted our ticketing functionality and access control to allow promoters to be fully track and trace-compliant , while further limiting contact between staff and event-goers via contactless ticket-scanning terminals ,” says Sabban .
Shifting away from the physical side , the company recently announced a partnership with music and lifestyle channel Clubbing TV – an end-to-end live streaming service that Sabban says is available for everything from a conference panel to a DJ set or festival-style production .
A SPORTING CHANCE
A company with strong links to the sporting sector is The Ticket Factory , official ticketing partner for British Athletics and
Paul Newman , AXS
“ The advantages of digital will really come into their own in a post-Covid world .”
Andrew Parsons , Ticketmaster UK
the Lawn Tennis Association ( LTA ), along with the Royal Horticultural Society flower shows and major festivals including BST Hyde Park , Leeds Festival and Latitude ( 35,000 ).
The Ticket Factory , which launched in 2017 and is based at Birmingham ’ s National Exhibition Centre , is working with the LTA to deliver mobile ticketing for the first time at socially distanced June events including the Birmingham Classic , cinch Championships at The Queen ’ s Club , Eastbourne International and Nottingham Open .
“ The pandemic has seen a move towards digital ticketing , with a decline in more traditional hard ticketing , though the wheels have very much been in motion on this for some time ,” says The Ticket Factory director of ticketing Richard Howle .
“ Most of our conversations with clients at the moment revolve around e-ticketing and delivering the best product on mobile platforms . By no
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