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Touring Entertainment Report 2024 out now

The Touring Entertainment Report (TER) 2024, a resource that puts the global business of touring theatre, shows and exhibitions in focus, is out now.

From Cirque du Soleil to Jurassic World, the second edition delves into this multi-billion dollar sector of the live entertainment industry.

The report follows the launch of Touring Entertainment LIVE, a new one-day event at ILMC that brought together the world’s top show and exhibition producers, rights holders, venue operators, and promoters.

The second annual Touring Entertainment Report, available to subscribers of IQ, includes:

“It’s a fascinating time in the touring entertainment business,” says TER editor James Drury. “With increasing demand for content, growing numbers of productions, and imaginative new experiences hitting the road every year, it’s a dynamic and fast-moving business. But growth brings challenges, as we explore in this edition. From the lack of venue availability in Europe to creating more sustainable productions, we reveal top tips from experts on how to navigate some of the questions facing many companies.”

The Touring Entertainment Report 2024 is available exclusively to IQ subscribers in print or as a digital magazine. Subscribe now and view the full report.

A preview version of the Touring Entertainment Report 2024 is below.

 

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FKP Scorpio Ent announces major expansion plans

FKP Scorpio is expanding its exhibition, family entertainment, comedy, spoken word and special projects business under the newly upgraded FKP Scorpio Entertainment (FKPE) umbrella.

The company structure includes a rebranding of its German FKP Scorpio Show Creations company, which will become part of the new wider FKPE business model moving forward. It has also announced the acquisition of Sweden’s Nordic Exhibitions.

Headquartered in London, the international operation will be led by president James Cassidy and senior promoter Barry Campbell, who launched FKP Scorpio UK in 2018 with the BBC Studios Blue Planet II Live in Concert arena tour.

“Under James and Barry’s fantastic leadership, our FKP Entertainment company has had an amazing start in this exciting new growth sector,” says FKP owner and CEO Folkert Koopmans. “We are not only acquiring great partners and content but are delivering results which we aim to emulate in all our key European markets. We will be investing heavily into this space and have also just acquired experienced events promoter Nordic Exhibitions & Events AB to add to our growing portfolio”

Formed in 2022, FKPE’s first project, in partnership with the Luna Entertainment Group, was the 2023 Jurassic World: The Exhibition at London ExCeL Centre, which sold 314,000 tickets in just over four months. Working in partnership with the ExCeL team, FKPE have secured an exclusive tenancy deal to 2027.

“We hope that FKPE will become the first call for any global IP or event producers”

FKPE is currently promoting Semmel Exhibition Disney 100: The Exhibition, which has shifted more than 240,000 tickets to dates and will run until 23 June. It will follow D100 with both London and multi-territory European presentations of Formula 1: The Exhibition, as well as investing in and promoting a new experiential exhibition with a major global gaming IP, with details to be announced later this year.

“Barry and I love what we do, if it’s a quality exhibition, family event or special project, then we are prepared to put our necks on the line to deliver results,” says Cassidy. “We hope that FKPE will become the first call for any global IP or event producers. Our FKP European teams have a wonderful network of offices and talented staff, so we hold no fear in presenting FKPE as the ultimate one stop UK and European solution for quality projects”

Also joining the FKPE London team are Nathan Birch as head of ticketing, Daisy Parry as special events co-ordinator, Suzy Bryant as marketing consultant and promoter Ollie Catchpole. Other hires will be announced soon.

Norrköping-based Nordic Exhibitions, founded by promoter and CEO Stefan Papangelis in 2016, will now be part of the FKP Scorpio Group and renamed FKP Scorpio Entertainment Nordic. The company has sold approximately 700,000 exhibition tickets in the Scandinavian markets.

Under the new operation, Papangelis and his team will work closely with Bozo Rasic, MD of FKP Scorpio Sweden, as well as reporting directly into FKPE London and responsible for developing the growth of exhibitions and special events in all Nordic markets.

“We really look forward to combining forces to make great successes in the Nordic markets and beyond”

“It’s truly fantastic to be part of the FKPE family, a perfect fit for us and we really look forward to combining forces to make great successes in the Nordic markets and beyond,” says Papangelis.

The development of the non-music economy has also been fuelled in Germany by FKP’s recent successes in the German comedy market. Headed by promoter Thilo Elsner, FKP has staged over 365 comedy shows in the last two years with more than 250,000 tickets sold.

In addition, FKPE is on schedule to complete the renovation and build of its own 8,000 square metre exhibition venue in Oberhausen, Germany.

Earlier this year, live music promoters FKP Scorpio UK and Communion Presents merged to form Communion ONE.

Koopmans, Cassidy and Campbell share more details on FKPE’s expansion plans in the 2024 Touring Entertainment Report (TER), which comes out next week.

“As you can probably tell from our activities, we’re extremely confident about the future,” they tell TER. “There are now so many more exhibitions and special project events for people to go to these days, and FKPE can’t wait to be at the heart of it.”

 

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Touring Entertainment LIVE programme complete

The conference programme for the first edition of Touring Entertainment LIVE, which is set for London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on Friday, March 1, is now complete.

Leading executives from the world’s biggest and most successful touring shows and exhibitions will gather to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the multi-billion dollar sector, topped by keynote sessions from ABBA Voyage producer Svana Gisla and theatre legend Richard Lewis.

The final schedule includes the State Of The Nation session, which will see Tom Zaller (Imagine Exhibitions), Liz Koops (Broadway Entertainment Group), David Pitman (Cirque du Soleil) and Jenny Sirota (RoadCo Entertainment) survey the key issues facing the sector. Susan Vargo (Moonbug Entertainment) will chair a panel on The A&R of IP, featuring Sana Ali Aamir (Fever/Secret Media Network), Kurt Baker (NEON Global) and Andrew McGuinness (Layered Reality).

Semmel Concerts’ Christoph Scholz will be looking at Standing Out In A Crowded Market with Ryan Amstad (Pophouse Entertainment), James Cassidy (FKP Scorpio Entertainment UK Ltd), John Langford (AEG Europe) and Marine Tanguy (MTArt Agency). Unify Productions’ Heather McGill will host an expert panel looking at the Trends For 2024/25. Meanwhile, Manon Delaury (TEO) and Jessica Willig-Rosenstein (Fever) will also host Quickfire Sessions featuring short pitches of new touring content.

“We’re really excited to welcome some of the leading names in the touring entertainment industry to this inaugural event”

TEL takes place on the final day of this year’s sold out ILMC, but one-day passes for the specialist event are still available.

Companies attending include ASM Global, Live Nation, FKP Scorpio, Kilimanjaro Group, Neon, Semmel Exhibitions, Fever, TEO, RoadCo Entertainment, Terrapin Station Entertainment, Cirque du Soleil, Harlem Globetrotters, Imagine Exhibitions, Broadway Live, Pophouse Entertainment and Layered Reality.

Also confirmed are AEG Europe, Great Leap Forward, Science Museum London, lililililil, Imagine Exhibitions, Universcience, Proactiv Entertainment, Let’s Go Company, MB Presents, World on Ice, Expona, Slam Dunk Entertainment, World Concert Artists, Grand Palais Immersif, Fierylight and Opus One.

“We’re really excited to welcome some of the leading names in the touring entertainment industry to this inaugural event,” says ILMC MD Greg Parmley. “With so many influential decision-makers in attendance, we’re looking forward to some really fruitful conversations at Touring Entertainment LIVE.”

Full information about Touring Entertainment LIVE is on the ILMC website here.

 

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Touring Entertainment Report 2023 out now

The Touring Entertainment Report (TER) 2023, a new resource puts the global business of touring theatre, shows and exhibitions in focus, is out now.

From theatre productions and family entertainment shows to exhibitions, the new report is the first of its kind to delve into this multi-billion dollar sector of the live entertainment industry.

Available to subscribers of IQ, it explains the key things to consider when creating or promoting family entertainment, as well as introducing the producers of top shows and outlining what’s available to book through our invaluable directories.

“You’ll find in-depth looks at key segments of this booming sector of the live entertainment industry”

“You’ll find in-depth looks at key segments of this booming sector of the live entertainment industry, featuring interviews with top producers and promoters worldwide, plus a directory listing hundreds of shows and contacts for the people behind them,” says TER editor James Drury.

The inaugural Touring Entertainment Report includes:

The Touring Entertainment Report 2023 is available exclusively to IQ subscribers in print, as a digital magazine or online at our dedicated minisite here. Subscribe now and view the full report.

A preview version of the Touring Entertainment Report 2023 is below.

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Teo Live gets set for third edition

Professionals from around the world are set to check in for the third edition of Teo Live, the annual online event for the international touring exhibitions community.

Taking place on Thursday 11 May from 3pm to 5.30pm CEST, the free registration event will focus on the key issues impacting the industry and is open to all people involved in cultural exhibitions worldwide, including museums, galleries, science centres, libraries, archives, gardens, zoos, exhibition venues and event organisations.

“Teo Live is designed to provide a moment in the year where everyone who is involved in international touring cultural exhibitions can come together, catch up on the latest trends and creative developments in our industry, and meet with peers,” says Teo (Touring Exhibitions Organisation) co-founder and CEO Manon Delaury.

“The idea behind the event is to provide a gathering moment beyond borders, an opportunity to get together that complements in-person events and makes it possible for everyone involved in the hosting, touring, production or promotion of exhibitions worldwide, to join an industry event, no matter where there are.”

Launched during the pandemic to help bring the industry together, Teo Live has evolved into an annual gathering. This year’s keynote will see Anaïs Aguerre and Otone Doi from Culture Connect consultancy unveil and discuss the findings of the Cultural Dialogue Survey on the Future of Touring Exhibitions, which it conducted in collaboration with Teo.

“We started in Covid times, during lockdown, to support our community as it had become so complex to travel and get together”

“We started in Covid times, during lockdown, to support our community as it had become so complex to travel and get together,” says Rennes, France-based Delaury. “With Culture Connect, a consultancy specialising in unlocking the collaborative and international potential of the cultural sector, we had conducted a survey on the future of touring exhibitions, to listen to the voice of our industry in this pandemic context.

“We launched Teo Live as a new space for members of the international touring exhibitions community to get together, and we shared the results of the survey during this first edition. Last year, the keynote was about sustainable development practices in touring exhibitions and experiences. This year, two years on, we explore the future of touring exhibitions with a second survey.”

The original 2021 survey revealed there was a need for more flexible collaboration models and more sustainable practices, touching upon the rise of unconventional hosting venues such as outdoor spaces and shopping malls, and the development of innovative practices such as virtual couriering and blueprint exhibitions. This year’s keynote will reveal how these trends have evolved two years on.

“The versatility and diversity that is at the heart of our industry, in the stakeholders involved, in the experiences provided, in the collaboration models developed, and in the topics addressed, will be brought to light with the survey insights and the presentations of exhibitions by international producers,” says Delaury.

“At Teo Live attendees have the opportunity to actually meet with speakers for informal talks after the presentations”

In addition, Teo Live will feature more than 20 exhibition presentations, followed by opportunities to meet up with producers in dedicated rooms.

“At Teo Live attendees have the opportunity to actually meet with speakers for informal talks after the presentations,” adds Delaury. “So this year, each producer will be available in a dedicated room, accessible directly from the meeting room, where attendees will be able to come and meet, and share any questions they might have, directly after the presentations.

“It’s always so amazing to see people from all around the world, from so many different institutions and organisations, come together and talk, formally and informally, about international touring, our challenges and our purposes.”

 

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Kilimanjaro to launch new London exhibition space

The Kilimanjaro Group, which currently produces more than 2,000 live music and theatrical shows each year, has been granted a 15-year-lease to transform the London Bridge arches location into a fixed cultural hub.

Opening in spring 2023, the new exhibition location – Arches at London Bridge – will see a £5 million (€5.75m) start-up investment. The move marks the DEAG subsidiary’s first long-term lease acquisition into entertainment venues.

Arches at London Bridge will feature curved 6m high, 360° cavernous galleries, and will be a perpetual artistic space. It is estimated to welcome up to 400,000 visitors each year.

“Kilimanjaro are excited to enter into the exhibition space as a new venture for the group, a rare cultural hub, that’s at liberty to host all the weird, wild and wonderful exhibitions that travel the world,” says Kilimanjaro Live CEO Stuart Galbraith. “Our aim is to make Arches at London Bridge a thrilling cultural encounter for Londoners and tourists alike, bringing a constantly changing line-up of highly sought after exhibits and interactive experiences, that are already enjoyed by other major cities across the globe.”

“We are thrilled to bring this exciting new cultural arts space to London”

A permanent fixed space designed by architect Cubit3D, Arches at London Bridge will feature a revolving array of ticketed tours and exhibitions, starting with an immersive exploration of Monet’s Garden. An education tour will be developed for each exhibition.

The venue will be helmed by Liz Koravos, who previously oversaw the design, operation and build of the British Music Experience (BME), the UK’s Museum of Popular Music in Liverpool.

“We are thrilled to bring this exciting new cultural arts space to London,” says Koravos. “We can’t wait to open the doors of Arches at London Bridge and welcome in visitors to the worlds created by some of the finest producers and artists working today.”

Kilimanjaro Group comprises Kilimanjaro Live, Flying Music Group, Gigantic Tickets, MyTicket, Let’s Rock Festivals, UK Live, Fane Productions, Singular Artists, Kilimanjaro Theatricals, Form, Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival (Scotland) and Christmas Lights.

Kilimanjaro Live was named National Promoter of the Year at this week’s inaugural LIVE Awards at The Brewery in London.

 

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