x

The latest industry news to your inbox.


I'd like to hear about marketing opportunities

    

I accept IQ Magazine's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

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.”

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.