NOVEMBER | AGENDA
Quote of the month:
“We can confirm the Bestival Group has had some financial
challenges of late but the process we are in allows a new
partner to come on board with the financial commitments
required to deliver Bestival 2019 in its finest form”
A statement on Bestival’s website
Going down in flames
The founder of Fyre Festival, Billy McFarland,
has been jailed for six years for fraud.
Fyre Festival took place in April 2017. It was
billed as a ‘cultural moment created from a
blend of music, art and food’ in the Bahamas. It
claimed to offer a stay in a ‘geodesic dome’ and
many other activities such as yoga and kayaking, as well as luxury villas and
gourmet meals.
In reality, attendees arrived at a small island with tents, pre-packaged
sandwiches and very little organization, having paid between $1,200 and
$100,000 for tickets.
McFarland was described a judge as a ‘serial fraudster’. US attorney for
Manhattan Geoffrey Berman said: “Today, McFarland found out the hard way
that empty promises don’t lead to jet-setting, champagne and extravagant
parties – they lead to federal prison.”
McFarland pleaded guilty in March to two counts of wire fraud related to
the festival, but then in July admitted two more counts of fraud relating to
another ticket-selling scam that he had set up while on bail.
Wireless festival to undergo review following Corbyn complaint
Wireless festival is set to undergo a review of the license awarded to its parent
company, Live Nation Entertainment.
The 49,000 capacity festival takes place in North London’s Finsbury Park, but
increasing pressure has come from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and residents
group Friends of Finsbury Park.
Corbyn wrote a 600-word letter to Haringey council complaining about noise
levels, antisocial behaviour and drug use at the festivals 2018 edition. This year’s
Wireless was headlined by Stormzy, Drake and J Cole.
Wireless is organised by Festival Republic, which is owned by Live Nation.
Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn told Live UK: “The review is a perfectly
normal procedure – the Council is
Photo: Ashley Verse
reviewing the conditions that are
imposed on the event, not our adherence
to the conditions.
“Some sensible issues have been
raised and it could lead to some positive
changes. Haringey Council is not looking
for any reduction in capacity. A reduction
is not something I will entertain.”
Brexit.
WTAF.
Deborah Armstrong,
founder of event
design company
Strong & Co, on Brexit.
Anyone else out there
worried about March
2019? Thought so.
Whether Leaver or
Remainer, one thing
unites us - we have no
idea right now what is
going to happen.
Anxiety is high.
Every industry has
been issuing risk
warnings about the
logistical impact and
we will face them too.
But I’m optimistic
about event industry
folk – we are ninjas
at problem solving,
at risk analysis, at
calculating outcomes
based on probabilities.
We manage risks, we
are resourceful, we are
resilient, we find a way,
always.
No, what I’m
concerned about is the
impact of uncertainty.
Here in the Event
Industry the impact
of uncertainty ripples
out from clients to
producers to suppliers
and artists.
In the case of
uncertainty, there
is no objective basis
for calculating the
probabilities. So ya
know. WTAF.
I remember from
the last recession that
uncertainty means
fewer hires, less spend
on creative. We all
become squirrels that
need to bury their nuts.
Even regular clients
just won’t be spending
beyond the essentials.
Unfortunately for
Strong & Co the
essentials don’t
often include lavish
experiential creative
projects.
So I’m gonna make
like one of those tiny
desert cactuses-
conserve resources and
burst into bloom when
the rain comes. And
the rain will come. It
always does.
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