Łódź venues announce senior management team

Slawomir Worach has been named as the new chairman of Makis, which operates both the 18,000-capacity Widzew Stadium and the 14,000-cap. Atlas Arena, in Łódź, Poland. He replaces 11-year veteran Krzysztof Maciaszczyk.

The management shake-up will also see well-known promoter Łukasz Minta take on the newly created role of executive manager at Makis, giving him responsibility for business relationships with new and current promoters.

Minta successfully ran his own company, Go Ahead, which was purchased by Live Nation in 2019. He had been working for Live Nation prior to the Makis appointment.

As one of Poland’s biggest venues, Atlas Arena is well established on the European tour circuit. Among the confirmed artists on the arena’s calendar are Enrique Iglesias, Simply Red, Hans Zimmer, James Blunt, Kiss and Céline Dion.

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Live Nation acquires Polish promoter Go Ahead

Live Nation has acquired Poland’s leading club promoter, Go Ahead.

Founded in 2005 by Łukasz Minta and Andrzej Jegliczka, Poznan-based Go Ahead has organised shows by international acts including Wolf Alice, Khalid, Twenty One Pilots, Years & Years, George Ezra, Florence + the Machine and Tom Odell. It also hosts an annual three-day conference, Spring Break, which showcases local Polish acts.

“We are excited to welcome Łukasz and his team to Live Nation,” says Steven Todd, Live Nation’s managing director for central and eastern Europe. “Go Ahead has brought many international artists to Poland over the years and we are confident about what we can achieve together in this new era for us.”

As part of the acquisition, Live Nation is opening a regional office in Poznan. Live Nation Poland’s head office remains in Warsaw.

“We hope the combination of our team and the Live Nation infrastructure will keep Polish audiences entertained for years to come”

Minta adds: “We have enjoyed many successes over the last few years. I’m particularly proud of Spring Break, which has become a real platform for local artists, and a key date in the musical diary for Poland.

“We look forward to being a part of Live Nation, and hope that the combination of our team and the Live Nation infrastructure will keep Polish audiences entertained for years to come.”

The Go Ahead acquisition is Live Nation’s 12th of 2019, following Singapore’s One Production in January, Canada’s Embrace Presents, Spain’s Planet Events, Tennessee’s Neste Event Marketing, Finland’s Blockfest, Norway’s Tons of Rock and Australia’s Moshtix (through Ticketmaster) in February, Belgium’s Antwerps Sportpaleis and New England’s Levitate in April, and Denmark’s PHD Music and Los Angeles-based Spaceland Presents in May.

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