Event safety and the thrill of amusement rides

Event planners should take health & safety aspects at their events very serious. Most of them do this already. As part of the licensing requirements event planners need to create (and implement) a risk assessment. Accidents still happen though.

The following article discusses the risks of amusement rides at events. The article starts out with some gruesome examples but I guess that brings home the message. 

Kevin Moore works in risk management services in America and has written this article about event safety issues for the Kentucky Forward. 

Safety tips for festival fans

This year's festival season might be over but some of us are already getting ready for 2017. Earlier this week we were told that Glastonbury Festival 2017 sold out within one hour. Talking about getting ready for next year.... Pretty amazing!

Whichever festival you go to, make sure you plan it properly. Part of that planning process is to start talking to your friends about how to stay safe at festivals. What is your plan to look after yourself and your friends? 

The Upcoming is giving you some great safety tips when attending gigs and music festivals. You can read the article here.

My workshop Sustainable Event Management in Holland

Together with the Event Safety Institute in the Netherlands I am organising a two-day workshop about Sustainable Event Management. It will take place in Holland on the 18th and 19th of January and yes, it will be in Dutch. 

This workshop is for event planners, festival organisers, event suppliers, and event licensors. The aim of the workshop is to provide you the tools to make your organisation and your events more sustainable. 

You can find more information here. All info is in Dutch but feel free to contact me of you have any questions.

4.6 million people are live streaming music festivals: an untapped market

Over 800 music festivals take place in the USA each year. About 32 million people visit these festivals. That's a lot. But it gets even better (and bigger). 

23% of the social media buzz surrounding these events comes from people that aren't even attending these festivals. It comes from people sitting at home watching it on their computer or mobile devices. Now how can you tap into that market? Here a great article from Hypebot. 

How to make your conference appealing to millennials

The last time I went to a conference I noticed that the audience was quite "mature". The only younger visitors looked like students who were trying their luck with networking. 

But how do you attract a younger audience? How do you make sure they come back to your conference the next time? How do you make your conference appealing to millennials? You can read the article here.

What to think of when organising an Oktoberfest

It's October which means it is time for Oktoberfest! Actually the most important Oktoberfest, the one in Munich in Germany, took place in September. But you get my drift. The world's biggest Oktoberfest generates a whopping €1.3 billion for the region. Of that €189 million is spent on beer.

If you're thinking of organising an Oktoberfest than you might want to read the 6 tips that Eventbrite have put together. It gives you six handy tips for planning an amazing beer festival. And guess what, it's not just about the beer!

Licensing issues for Glasgow Oktoberfest

Glasgow Oktoberfest has been cancelled as the organisation didn't get a licence. The festival was said to take place on the 19th of October but due to an argument over the correct licences it has had to cancel the event.

There were concerns over safety issues, according to Glasgow Licensing Board. On the website of Glasgow Oktoberfest it says that they will be back next year. To be continued...

You can read the article here. 

Investment in event technology: the case of Social Tables

Event technology company Social Tables has secured another $15 million in funding. Social Tables provides innovative solutions to handle complex event problems (like check-in procedures, seating planning, etc). The company is said to use the investment for " a broader set of event industry challenges".

Here the article about Social Tables. 

Sustainable Events Summit to take place in London

The Sustainable Events Summit will take place on Monday 21 November. According to Conference News the summit will take place at 30 Euston Square in London. You can read the full article here.  

This conference will present the findings of a research study about how global brands view sustainability. 

Early bird tickets cost £130 + VAT and standard tickets go for £160 (+ VAT). You can find more info on www.sustainableeventssummit.com. 

W hotels is entering the music festival market

A hotel chain that is organising a music festival? W-Hotels gave it a try, according to this Forbes article, and did a good job.

So how does it work? Apparently it was a "100% W experience". Although I'm not 100% sure what that exactly means. But W did manage to fill the hotel on a normally quiet weekend, making the festival a marketing tool for the hotel business. Interesting.

How accessible is your event?

Attitude is Everything is an organisation that improve deaf and disabled people's access to live music. The organisation supports festival organisations in helping them to understand the needs of disabled people. On their website there are plenty of useful practical guides.  

Read here the Practical Guide about Access Information from Attitude is Everything. 

Networking at conferences: plan your time!

Ever been to a conference? How did "the networking" work out for you? Did you leave the conference with new ideas, leads, and useful contacts? Sometimes going to a conference can feel like you wasted precious time. But perhaps that is because you didn't plan it properly. You didn't look at what you wanted to get out of the the conference. How the conference can work for you.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote an article about networking at conferences.