DHP Family’s festival raises £89k for the homeless
DHP Family’s charity festival Beat the Streets raised £89,500 for the homeless population in Nottingham, England.
The award-winning festival takes place in January across multiple venues in the city, where the UK independent venue operator is based. The money raised this year surpassed the £76,000 ($95,000) raised last year.
Since launching in 2018, Beat The Streets has raised more than £400,000 ($500,000) for Framework, the charity that supports the homeless population of Nottingham, and has directly benefitted more than 300 individuals.
This year’s funds will go towards the creation of eight self-contained flats for people who have been on the streets for more than 20 years.
The accommodation will provide rough sleepers with permanent housing combined with a program of unlimited person-centred support towards independence.
They will also be able to access Framework’s other services dedicated to drug, alcohol, mental health, and employment support, and more.
“We hope to continue to use our expertise as music promoters and festival organisers to make a difference”
This year’s Beat The Streets lineup featured Ferocious Dog, 7th In Line, Alt Blk Era, Jerub, Lacey, Palm Reader, The Publics, Victory Lap, and many more.
“As a Nottingham-based company, it means a lot to all of us that work here to continue to deliver a fantastic Beat the Streets festival each January as we know how vital the funds are to Framework and the people they support across the city,” adds DHP Family’s MD George Akins.
“We hope to continue to use our expertise as music promoters and festival organisers to make a difference. We are extremely grateful to all the artists who give their time to play and each and every person that bought a ticket as together, we are helping to support something very worthwhile.”
Beat The Streets is delivered by DHP Family in collaboration with local organisations and music groups including I’m Not from London, Farmyard Records, Hockley Hustle and Rough Trade.
DHP promotes national tours and concerts, operates music venues, organises festivals and manages artists.
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Paul Heaton, Jacqui Abbott to perform free for NHS staff
Former Beautiful South members Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott are performing a free show for National Health Service (NHS) workers at the 9,000-capacity Nottingham Motorpoint Arena.
The show will take place on Tuesday 13 October as part of a UK tour, which has recently been rescheduled due to the coronavirus outbreak. The tour is promoting the duo’s recently released album, Manchester Calling.
NHS staff, “including but not limited to doctors, nurses, support workers, porters and cleaners”, will be eligible for free tickets to the show.
“The coronavirus pandemic should remind everyone, and let no-one forget, that our National Health Service is the most brilliant and significant institution in our lives”
“The coronavirus pandemic should remind everyone, and let no-one forget, that our National Health Service is the most brilliant and significant institution in our lives,” says Heaton.
“The men and women who serve us and care for us, give us hope and sacrifice for their own wellbeing, can never be thanked enough. We are just musicians, so there is little we can do but sing for you.”
Tickets will be available from 7 p.m. on Tuesday 31 March, and will be limited to two per person. Ticketholders must bring a valid NHS or Primary Care Trust identification card to the show. More information can be found here.
Photo: Simon Fernandez/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) (cropped)
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Motorpoint Arena Nottingham holds greenest-ever event
Motorpoint Arena Nottingham and National Ice Centre (10,000-cap.) has celebrated its greenest event day in history, recording its lowest-ever electricity and water consumption as part of it ongoing Greener Arena campaign.
On Friday 15 March the live entertainment and sports venue successfully used less energy than on any other event day, beating its previous lowest electricity usage by 1000 kilowatt hours (kWh).
The day, named Greener Arena Day, saw team members working together to promote the venue’s eco-friendly initiatives and environmental solutions, which come under the venue’s Greener Arena umbrella campaign.
Throughout the day, the arena generated a total of 1063 kWh of electricity from solar panels.
Environmental initiatives include rooftop solar panels, a waste water system, biodegradable polystyrene cups and recycled paper. The venue also has a dedicated environmental group that looks for new ways to reduce energy consumption.
The arena has reduced its energy usage by over 20 percent over the past five years.
“We have built some real momentum engraining sustainability into the culture of our business”
In 2017, the arena became the first UK indoor entertainment and sports venue to introduce eco-friendly cups, both fully reusable and recyclable. The venue is also a zero-landfill site, with 40 percent of waste recycled and the remainder used to power the building.
During the Greener Arena Day, team members made pledges to reduce their personal carbon footprints, including taking public transport, going paperless, using reusable water bottles and cutlery and avoiding unnecessary lighting.
“We have built some real momentum engraining sustainability into the culture of our business,” comments Lee Chadburn, head of facilities at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham. “Our industry doesn’t lend itself to changing processes and systems overnight, but we are leading the way we operate environmentally compared to other arenas.
“We’re not perfect but continue to take steps towards sustainability at every opportunity,” adds Chadburn.
Examples of recent environmental initiatives across the music industry include ID&C’s eco-friendly event wristbands made from recycled plastic bottles and bamboo and Glastonbury Festival’s blanket ban on single-use plastic bottles.
Motorpoint Arena Nottingham’s environmental policy can be found here.
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Gigantic set for record-breaking 2018
UK ticket agency Gigantic is on course for a record year after posting turnover growth of 21% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2018, its busiest to date.
The Nottingham-based company’s achievements in Q4 include an exclusive Spotify presale for Pink’s UK tour, new deals with Nottingham City Council and Visit Nottinghamshire and the deployment of its ticketing solution for multiple Christmas market events, including Nottingham Winter Wonderland, Christmas in Wallsall and Sheffield’s the Village Screen Christmas.
Mark Gasson, the company’s founder, comments: “We experienced a record year in 2017, with more than 20,000 separate events available via gigantic.com and 1.5 million tickets sold, an increase of 500,000 ticket sales year on year. As we approach the end of 2018 we remain confident that we will deliver another successful year of record results.
“Next year is going to be an incredibly exciting year for Gigantic, with lots of new technological developments due to launch and new business agreements already in the pipeline.”
Gigantic, founded in 1997, works with the UK’s biggest promoters, festivals and venues, including Live Nation, DHP Family and AEG Presents; Reading and Leeds, Tramlines and Download; and O2 Academy Brixton, Wembley Stadium and Rock City, Nottingham.
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“Best friend” Gigantic grows indie festival roster
Ahead of the 2018 festival season, UK ticket agency Gigantic has revealed it has almost doubled the size of its festival roster since 2015, with an 84% increase in the number of festivals it has put on sale over the past three years.
Gigantic, an independent ticketing company based in Nottingham, has almost 300 festivals on sale, with founder Mark Gasson saying indie events appreciate a partner who can help ease the “myriad demands” on festival organisers’ time.
Cornwall’s Leopallooza, Kent’s Southbeats, PennFest in Buckinghamshire, Chagstock in Devon and Handmade in Leicester are among the latest events to appoint Gigantic as their lead ticketing agent, joining existing clients Reading and Leeds Festivals, Lovebox, Download, Latitude, Tramlines, the Great Escape and Indietracks.
“We consider ourselves as the best friend to independent festival and events”
In 2018, an estimated 500,000 customers will be scanned through Gigantic’s ‘queue-busting’ access control system at events across the country.
“We have significantly strengthened our position within the extremely competitive marketplace over the past 18 months,” comments Gasson. “We pride ourself on working closely with festival organisers because we are passionate about what we do. We are proud to be independent, which allows us to be flexible and supportive.
“We consider ourselves as the best friend to independent festival and events.”
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DHP Family to host Women in Music event
Senior execs at DHP Family and Academy Music Group and the tour managers for London Grammar and Frank Turner will be among the women sharing their experiences of working in the male-dominated live music industry at next week’s Women in Music Event hosted by UK promoter DHP.
The event, on Wednesday 7 March at Rescue Rooms in Nottingham, will be introduced by Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body ALMR, and comprises panels featuring insights from women working in the business, as well as those advocating for change.
DHP Family’s Michele Philips says: “Our ambition is to shine a spotlight on the issues including, but not exclusive to, why women don’t apply for positions in venues anymore, and also provide a platform for positive change. We want to identify tangible things that can be done to address the shocking levels of gender imbalance that still exist throughout the industry.
“It feels like the right time for us to be trying to bring about change in our industry”
“The #MeToo movement has been incredibly powerful in that it’s given a voice to the marginalised, but also put the issue of inequality at the forefront of many discussions. It feels like the right time for us to be trying to bring about change in our industry, especially with it being 100 years since some women gained the right to vote. We should all be looking at ways in which we can make a difference.”
The company’s owner, George Akins, adds: “It’s really important to try and encourage more women to break into our industry. Nottingham is a hotbed for music companies: we have promoters, record companies, ticket agents and talent managers working across all genres of music on a national level. I really believe if we can address the imbalance in Nottingham it will have a strong effect across the country.
“Hopefully this event will show that there are roles and support for more women to get involved.”
For more information and a full line-up of panellists, visit the event’s Facebook page. To buy tickets, click here.
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Motorpoint Arena Nottingham appoints Chief Exec
Deputy CEO of Motorpoint Arena Nottingham and National Ice Centre, Martin Ingham, has been appointed chief executive of the venue and its indoor ice rink.
Ingham takes over from Geoff Huckstep who retired in May after 15 years. Since then, Ingham, who is also chairman of the National Arenas Association, has been the interim replacement. He joined Motorpoint Arena in 2002.
Discussing his promotion, Ingham said: “I have loved working at this superb venue from day one. The combination of delivering both sport, from social activity to competitive and Olympic level athletes, and world class entertainment, including concerts, comedy, sport and family shows, is unique and utterly compelling to work within.
“When you add in a team of staff that display such extraordinary skills, dedication, tenacity, creativity and humour that the complexities of our industry demand, then it is an even greater privilege to be appointed to the role.
“I am really looking forward to developing the relationships with our extensive range of stakeholders to ensure that we continue to further improve the range and quality of our services.
“We have numerous exciting projects already in the pipeline and the whole team are looking forward to delivering these for the benefit of all our customers, the city of Nottingham and the East Midlands region as a whole.”
“We have numerous exciting projects already in the pipeline and the whole team are looking forward to delivering these for the benefit of all our customers, the city of Nottingham and the East Midlands region as a whole.”
Chairman of the Motorpoint Arena and National Ice Centre, Mich Stevenson, added: “I have really enjoyed working closely with Martin over the past six months and have been impressed with the way that he has led the company through a smooth transition since Geoff Huckstep’s retirement in the summer.
“The board are delighted to endorse Martin with his appointment to chief executive, a role which he has clearly demonstrated he is more than capable of performing.”
“The board are delighted to endorse Martin with his appointment to chief executive, a role which he has clearly demonstrated he is more than capable of performing. There are exciting challenges ahead and we are confident that Martin is the right person to lead our wonderful team of staff.”
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Hallowe’en festival shut down after crowd surge
A Hallowe’en-themed music festival in the English city of Nottingham was called off early on Saturday night after fence breaches led to dangerous overcrowding.
Detonate Halloween, at Nottingham Racecourse, ended at around 20.30 – three hours early – on the advice of the festival’s health and safety officer and Nottinghamshire police, cancelling or cutting short sets by Kano, New York Transit Authority, Kurupt FM, Andy C, TQD and The Prototypes and 2Shy. A sister event at the O2 Academy in Sheffield went ahead as planned.
In a statement, promoter Detonate says: “We are truly gutted that an event which we’ve been working on for the last six months ended the way it did. We’d like to thank everyone for leaving the site in a calm, orderly way.
“The safety issue was due to the majority of people wanting to be in one tent, which caused large queues. When some of the surrounding fence was breached and crowds surged, action had to be taken to avoid people being injured.
“Closing just one tent wasn’t an option, as it would have caused the same issues at other arenas. We had no choice but to start a phased closure of the site”
“Flow of people is estimated based on capacities of each area; popularity of the acts which are on at the same time in each arena; and dynamic assessments on the day. We surveyed our ticketholders in the lead up to the event by asking them which acts they most wanted to see, and used this data to programme set times. Queuing systems were in place to prevent any one tent becoming overcrowded.
“In the case of The Boneyard [tent], this meant that people inside didn’t leave, even when relatively small acts were on, as they could see it would take a while to get back in. As a result, there was very little flow of people in and out of that arena and long queues of people who were rightfully frustrated by not being allowed inside the tent. When this situation worsened and started to pose a risk to people’s safety, the music was switched off. Closing just one tent wasn’t an option as it would have caused the same issues at other arenas. From then on we had no choice but to start a phased closure of the site.”
Detonate is currently offering refunds on drinks vouchers. Regarding ticket refunds, it says it is “working out how we can compensate people, and will update very soon”.
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