AIPC
A DARQ future for events ?
GLOBAL VENUE ASSOCIATION AIPC CEO SVEN BOSSU SAYS 2025 COULD SEE ‘ TWO BECOME ONE ’
F rom the moment we wake up , technologies bridge our physical life with one that is digital . In a paper published in July 2024 , Dr Matt Frew from the School of Business and Enterprise at the University of the West of Scotland , stated that “ emerging DARQ technologies and an accelerating Metaverse are reshaping the event landscape , birthing a new era of extended reality events ( XREvents )”. But , just how ‘ DARQ ’ is the future of events ?
As we head into the new year , two types of reflection arise : what happened over the last 12 months and what will happen over the next 12 months . Looking ahead , the outlook seems uncertain on many fronts . At the same time , one thing is very clear : technology will continue to become more important for the events industry and we will need to understand the change that comes with it .
Therefore , it is important to take a step back and read papers like the one published by Dr Frew , as they provide a broader view on event trends , which allows us to focus on what is really important . While the title of his paper may seem alarming , the content is far less so . Events , indeed , reflect wide changes happening in society – including technology – and should be considered as portals of transition . The technology-driven events we see
Above : Sven Bossu
today have little to do with the informal gatherings which mark the start of our industry . At the same time , the very basis of meetings and events has not changed : it is still about bringing communities together .
What is new , however , is the acceleration of technologies , combined with the blend between physical and digital . As a result , communities now gather on a continuous basis in different environments , using different types of technology , including brain-computer interfaces .
Going forward , it is expected we ’ ll see more of these ‘ blends ’. Take the ABBA Voyage tour in London as an example , which is basically bringing together large crowds to watch a younger version of the band , in the shape of avatars , and with the event experience being extended via followers and influencers to improve reach and turn involvement of the event community into revenue . Over a 12-month period , that show completed 374 performances and attracted 1,097,597 visitors , achieving an occupancy rate of 97.8 %. Revenue was over £ 103m in ticket sales alone ($ 130m ).
So , next to the traditional live events and cloned hybrid events , we ’ ll also need to consider extended reality events going forward . The challenge for the event industry will be to fully understand the potential these evolutions can bring and to decide accordingly on the technology investment that needs to be made .
All of this will not happen overnight but , given the speed at which our physical and digital lives become intertwined , this new reality will be here sooner than later , making the debate between ‘ live events ’ and ‘ digital events ’ an obsolete one . They will not co-exist – they will become one , allowing for new models of engagement and community building . So , the future is most definitely not dark . n
ISSUE 134 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 11