Richard Mann
Roxy Robinson
used city park , we must maintain some access during the build , and negotiate with local businesses to reduce any negative impact . As Bute Park is not a rural stately home and gardens , like the site of many other light trails , we also have a bigger task around security , but the efforts are all worth it .”
Building momentum Two other event brands that launched during Covid-hit Christmases are back for 2022 ; Winter Funland at Birmingham ’ s NEC and Kilimanjaro Live ’ s festive light trail series . In 2020 , Kilimanjaro launched its first trail at the height of the pandemic in Wollaton Park , Nottingham , and this year it
Stuart Galbraith
Penny Dougherty
will also once again hold trails at Trentham Gardens in Stoke on Trent and Kenwood House in London . Kilimanjaro CEO Stuart Galbraith says he expects the Christmas light trail market to continue to expand , and the company is planning to roll out its festive event series to further sites in 2023 .
“ We took the learnings from [ German parent company DEAG ] and the experience they had and applied it to the UK ,” says Galbraith . “ The beauty of having three sites , plus the activity in Europe with DEAG , is the ability to move some of the installations around so that we ’ re keeping each site fresh from a customer perspective each year .”
He says the fact that the promoter
was able to sell 107,000 tickets for the Nottingham event when the city was in lockdown gave his team increased confidence that the event format would be a huge success when the pandemic subsided .
For the promoter , which handles major concert tours and summer outdoor concert series and festivals , the winter shows enable it to provide some of its suppliers with year-around work . Among them is Manchester-based lighting , sound , rigging specialist DBN Audile .
Birmingham ’ s NEC is hosting three festive events this year , including the UK ’ s biggest indoor funfair , Winter Funland , which will take place in a 25,000sqm , hall .
NEC Group new business director Richard Mann says Winter Funland , which involves funfair rides , circus acts and ice skating , is a key project in the venue operator ’ s strategy to increase the number of events it hosts outside of its core exhibition business . Winter Funland follows Festival Republic ’ s Wireless festival and several Birmingham 2022 events that took place at the NEC during the summer .
The NEC will also be hosting Vivid Experience ’ s Christmas Party World , and the Luna Drive In Cinema this winter . Held on a 440-acre outside space owned by the NEC , Luna has been one of only a few events of its kind to find success well beyond the Covid lockdowns , when demand for drive-ins peaked .
Mann says , “ We ’ ve got a huge resource that is used by various core exhibitions , but historically not a lot of people outside of this industry are aware of how flexible the site is .”
Despite concerns around costs and consumer spending power , there is widespread industry confidence that the public will be out in force this season to celebrate the first unrestricted Christmas since Covid struck .
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