ASM Global has promoted three senior executives in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region.

Mark Jan Kar has been promoted to senior vice president of entertainment, content and programming for the region, in addition to his current role as general manager of Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

Kar joined ASM in 2018 as commercial director of Coca-Cola Arena. The following year he was put in charge of live entertainment at the venue and, in 2021, he was promoted to general manager.

Elsewhere, veteran Deb Rogers has been promoted to vice president of people and culture for Asia and the MENA region.

Her time with ASM Global began with Suncorp Stadium in 2002 as HR and training manager and since then has included the Burj Al Arab, Qatar National Convention Center, Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, and Exhibition World Bahrain.

In addition, Iain Wooldridge, finance director of Coca-Cola Arena since 2019, has been promoted to chief financial officer for MENA. Wooldridge has two decades of experience in financial leadership and strategic management across the UK and the Middle East.

“The combined expertise of these professionals will generate enormous growth across our MENA region”

“The combined expertise of these professionals will generate enormous growth across our MENA region which is powerful for the joint success not only of our venues but for the developing entertainment industry across the region,” says ASM Global (APAC) chairman and chief executive, Harvey Lister AM.

The new hires come shortly after Martin McGougan was named ASM’s regional director of business development for the MENA Region.

Elsewhere in the industry, Sir Nick Varney has been appointed as the new chair of NEC Group, based in Birmingham, UK.

Varney has over 30 years of experience working in the tourism and leisure industry and was CEO at Merlin Entertainments from its inception in 1999 to his retirement in November 2022.

He has previously served as chair of UKHospitality, the trade body representing the UK’s hospitality and tourism industry, and is currently a non-executive on the board of Marstons PLC, a senior advisor to Blackstone Private Equity, and a non-executive chair of Bath Rugby.

In the Netherlands, MOJO’s senior financial project manager Lorien Kramer has been appointed as the new director of operations at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.

In addition, the position of director of commercial affairs will be reintroduced at Ziggo Dome. This will be filled by Birgitte de Winter, the current general manager of AFAS Live.

She will be succeeded at AFAS Live by the current general manager of operations, Jan Willem Ruijs. Rick Gemser, the current head of commerce at the Ziggo Dome, will become the new director of commercial affairs at AFAS Live.

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Tickets for Lana Del Rey’s surprise shows in Dublin, Paris and Amsterdam have flown off the shelf.

The singer announced the shows last Tuesday (27 June), just three days before tickets went on sale: “I love Europe and after playing at Glastonbury I’ve decided to play a few more shows around my Hyde Park London concert.”

General sale for Del Rey’s concert at the Ziggo Dome (cap. 17,000) in Amsterdam – the largest of the three shows – took place last Friday (30 June) and sold out within 10 minutes. A pre-sale exclusive to subscribers of MOJO’s newsletter launched a day prior.

At present, 1,440 tickets are wanted on the resale platform Ticketswap and 849 have been sold since the general sale.

“I love Europe and after playing at Glastonbury I’ve decided to play a few more shows”

The 4 July concert will mark the first time in a decade that Del Rey has performed in the Netherlands, after a sold-out show at the 6,000-capacity AFAS Live (then known as Heineken Music Hall) in 2013.

The 38-year-old will also visit the 3Arena (13,000) in Dublin on 7 July and the Olympia Music Hall (1,996) in Paris on 10 July. Both shows are sold out.

The New York-born singer, represented by WME worldwide excluding North America, also played Italy’s La Prima Estate festival on 2 July and is due to close BST Hyde Park (AEG Presents) this Sunday (9 July).

It comes after Del Rey’s headline slot at Glastonbury was cut short as a result of appearing on stage 30 minutes late.

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The Netherlands’ Ziggo Dome has partnered with blockchain ticketing company GUTS Tickets.

The move, which sees GUTS added to the venue’s preferred ticketing partners, marks the next step in the collaboration between the two Amsterdam-based parties.

Previously, GUTS has handled ticketing for shows by Dutch artists BLØF, Suzan & Freek and Antoon. The firm utilises GET Protocol, a “fraud- and scalping-proof ecosystem”, which allows event organisers to track their tickets, with all transactions being registered with blockchain technology. The result is a ‘smart ticket’, which cannot be duplicated or sold for a price other than that set by the issuer.

“We are immensely proud to take our collaboration with the Ziggo Dome to the next level in this way,” says GUTS Tickets CEO Rempko de Bie. “After working together on several great shows, this step feels like a validation for our system, while at the same time motivating us to push even harder and continue the exponential growth we are experiencing.

“Together we are going to give it our all in order to make the ticketing experience for attendees of the Ziggo Dome easy, honest and even fun.”

“Every day we hear about ticket buyers who have not received their tickets or were forced to pay an outrageous price”

The 17,000-cap Ziggo Dome is set to host upcoming concerts by acts such as The Killers, KISS, Pearl Jam, Snoop Dogg, Arcade Fire, The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar.

“Every day we hear about ticket buyers who have not received their ordered tickets or were forced to pay an outrageous price,” says Ziggo Dome commercial director Danny Damman. “We are also seeing a rise in the number of fans showing up with fake tickets or ones that have already been invalidated. The result of which is that they can’t see the show.

“GUTS Tickets uses innovative technologies such as blockchain to issue honest tickets. These digital tickets prevent unwanted reselling and ticket fraud. That’s why we are happy to share that we have added GUTS tickets to our list of preferred suppliers.”

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Dutch promoters Mojo and ID&T, along with Heineken, are organising the Netherlands’ first large-scale event without restrictions which will go ahead as soon as it is permitted.

The event, dubbed ‘Celebrate Life’, will take place in Amsterdam venues Ziggo Dome (cap. 17,000) and AFAS Live (6,000) on an unspecified date in the post-pandemic future.

“We haven’t danced together for over a year. Not partied for a whole year. As soon as the corona measures give us free rein, we will see you at the front of AFAS Live and Ziggo Dome! The moment the government gives the starting shot, we are shoulder to shoulder again. This can be during the weekend, but also take into account a weekday. We will of course inform you immediately,” reads a statement on the Celebrate Life website.

“The moment the government gives the starting shot, we are shoulder to shoulder again”

De Jeugd van Today, Maan, Ronnie Flex & the Fam and Vunzige Deuntjes Soundsystem have been announced for the four-and-a-half hour AFAS Live event, which is open to all ages.

Benny Rodrigues, Freddy Moreira, Kris Kross Amsterdam, Lucas & Steve and Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano have been announced for the 18+ Ziggo Dome event, which will run from 21:30 pm and 06:00 am.

Dutch residents are able to pre-register for tickets now which cost €50.40 and €61.60 respectively, or €89.60 for a combi ticket.

An event similar to Celebrate Life was announced at the beginning of the year by Live Nation Belgium, Studio Brussel and the Subs.

Billed as Belgium’s biggest “post-Covid party”, ‘I Want to Dance Again‘ will also take place in Antwerp as soon as restrictions on major events are lifted.

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Thousands of Dutch residents took part in the latest Back to Live test events, which took place in the Ziggo Dome (cap. 17,000) at the weekend.

Saturday’s dance event saw 1,300 people visit the Amsterdam venue to enjoy sets from domestic DJs including Sam Feldt, Lady Bee and Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano.

The next day André Hazes delivered a concert in the venue, with the same amount of participants.

The events, organised by Mojo and ID&T, ran from 3 pm till 7 pm in order to comply with the nationwide curfew from 9 pm to 4:30 am, which has been in place for the past six weeks.

Around 100,000 people applied for the Ziggo Dome events, which were priced at €15 (£13), and tickets for both sold out in 20 minutes.

“One group was given a fluorescent drink and encouraged to sing in order to examine how much saliva was released”

Those who successfully secured a ticket had to have received a negative Covid-19 test 48 hours prior to the event. Twelve applicants had received a positive test result and were turned away. Those who did attend were asked to take another test five days afterwards.

Those participating were traced in all their movements and contacts through a tag.

Participants were divided into five ‘bubbles’ of 250 people, plus one of 50, each of which had to comply with different rules.

In bubble 1, participants were told to wear a mask throughout the event. They could decide for themselves where to stand but had to ensure that there were no more than three people in a square metre of space.

In bubble 2, participants wore a mask at all times but were told to keep a distance of 1.5 metres. In bubble 3, participants wore a mouth mask only when in motion and had to stand on designated spots.

In bubble 4, people wore masks all the time and were permitted to sit down. In bubble 5, people wore masks only when on the move. There were standing and seating areas. The participants were put in their dancing spot by the organisers with two chairs spacing people apart.

In bubble 6, participants did not wear masks and were allowed to stand or sit where and when they pleased.

One group was given a fluorescent drink and encouraged to sing and scream to the music in order to examine how much saliva was released at moments of peak revelry, according to The Guardian.

Tim Boersma, of Fieldlab, the organisation carrying out the research for the government, told the newspaper: “We hope this can lead to a tailor-made reopening of venues. Measures are now generic, allowing for instance a maximum of 100 guests at any event if coronavirus infections drop to a certain level. We hope for more specific measures, such as allowing the Ziggo Dome to open at half its capacity.”

“We hope this can lead to a tailor-made reopening of venues”

Rosanne Janmaat, COO of ID&T, said the events were “a historical moment”, adding: “Hopefully this is the key to being able to reopen”.

The Back to Live series has so far included Back to Live Business, which simulated a conference environment, took place at Utrecht’s Beatrix Theatre on Monday (15 February) with 500 people, as well as two football matches with 1,200 supporters at each.

Two music festivals – a dance music event and a rock/pop festival – will take place on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 March, respectively, on the Lowlands site in Biddinghuizen, in the central Netherlands.

Government advisers will use the behavioural data collected to inform decisions on whether or not to ease restrictions on nightlife in the near future. It is more than a year since gatherings of more than 100 people were banned in the Netherlands. All bars and restaurants in the country have been closed since mid-October.

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Fieldlab, the organisation spearheading the ‘Back to Live’ test series in the Netherlands, has revealed details on the previously announced open-air festival pilots.

The eight-event test series is being orchestrated with Event Platform, the Alliance of Event Builders and the government to investigate how events with an increased visitor capacity can take place safely and responsibly during the pandemic.

The festival tests are being organised along with Dutch promoters Mojo and ID&T and will take place at the event site in Biddinghuizen – home to festivals such as Defqon.1 and Lowlands.

Fieldlab and Lowlands director, Eric van Eerdenburg, has revealed that the festivals will likely be scheduled for March, kicking off mid-afternoon and running until the early evening in case a curfew is in place.

Eerdenburg also said that each festival will host 1,500 visitors, who will be tested before and after the events, and are required to wear masks for the duration.

Participants will be ‘tagged’ at the entrance and admitted in phases before they’re free to roam the mini-festival, which will include several stages and food trucks.

Fieldlab’s Tim Boersma told 3voor12: “It is not a medical experiment, we will look at contact. Everyone is tagged at the entrance. Not all of those 1,500 people meet, but how many do, and for how long? In which places do crowds arise? Can you solve that by installing more toilet blocks, for example?”

The organisation plans to announce the exact dates for the festival tests next week.

Each festival will host 1,500 visitors, who will be tested before and after the events, and are required to wear masks

The postponed ‘Back to Live’ pilot shows that are scheduled to take place this month include a cabaret performance by Guido Weijers to 500 guests at the Beatrix Theatre in Utrecht (20 February), a business conference at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht (15th) and two football matches at the home grounds of NEC (21st) and Almere City FC (28th).

Details have also been revealed about how the football games will take place. Each match will kick off at 12:15 pm at the respective grounds and will host 1,500 season tickets holders.

For the match at NEC’s home ground, the Goffert Stadium in Nijmegen, the 1,500 attendees will be split into six ‘bubbles’ of 250 for the purpose of the investigation.

For the game at Almere City FC’s home ground, the Yanmar Stadion in Almere, the visitors will be divided into three ‘bubbles’ of 200, 600 and 700 people.

During each type of test event, Fieldlab will study several ‘building blocks’ that contribute to prevention and reduction of the risk of spreading the Covid-19 virus including behaviour; triage, tracking and tracing; rapid tests; visitor dynamics; air quality; personal protection; cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and materials; vulnerable groups.

The Back to Live test series will also include a concert and a dance event at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, also organised by Mojo and ID&T, which are yet to be announced.

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The Dutch government has approved several pilot shows for January 2021 to determine how events with an increased visitor capacity can take place safely and responsibly during the pandemic.

The test events, organised under the umbrella of ‘Back to Live’, will include a concert and a dance event at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam and two open-air festivals at the Lowlands and Defqon Biddinghuizen festival site, all of which will be organised by Mojo and ID&T.


‘Back to Live’ pilot shows that have already been announced include a cabaret performance by Guido Weijers to 500 guests at the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht, a business conference at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht and football matches with 1,500 supporters at the home grounds of NEC and Almere City FC.

The events, which are organised by FieldLab Events, a joint initiative with Event Platform, the Alliance of Event Builders and the government, have been divided up into four categories in order to draw up effective measures for each type: inside passive, active indoors; active outdoors; and outside active festival.

“This is confirmation of the fact that we have presented a solid plan of action”

Participants of all events will have to meet a number of requirements in order to gain entry including submitting a negative Covid test, completing a health declaration within 24 hours before the event, participating in a temperature measurement or rapid test at the entrance of the event upon request and avoiding contact with vulnerable groups in the two weeks after the pilot event.

At each event, Fieldlab will study several ‘building blocks‘ that contribute to prevention and reduction of the risk of spreading the Covid-19 virus including behaviour; triage, tracking and tracing; rapid tests; visitor dynamics; air quality; personal protection; cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and materials; vulnerable groups.

Previously, the government said the pilot shows could only take place in regions that are in the ‘vigilant’ stage but that condition has now been abandoned.

Marcel Elbertse, chairman of the Fieldlab Events Steering Group: “This is confirmation of the fact that we have presented a solid plan of action. It shows the government’s guts that they are now giving us permission to organise the pilot events. We have always emphasised that these can take place safely and are essential for the entire industry. In principle, every visitor to a pilot event has been tested negative, thus avoiding risk.”

Similar studies have been organised in Spain and Germany.

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Promoter Friendly Fire has become the latest Dutch concert business to make redundancies following a challenging summer, according to local media.

Amsterdam-based Friendly Fire, part of CTS Eventim’s Eventim Live grouping, organises festivals such as Best Kept Secret (25,000-cap.), Indian Summer (30,000-cap.) and Tuckerville (30,000-cap.) and promotes both local and international artists, including the 1975, Fontaines DC, alt-J and Pip Blom. The National, the Strokes and Massive Attack will headline the company’s flagship event, Best Kept Secret, next year; the festival, like all major events, was axed in 2020 because of Covid-19.

Of its 35 employees, Friendly Fire has been forced to let go of ten, reports public broadcaster VPRO.

The lay-offs at Friendly Fire follow redundancies at other Dutch live entertainment stalwarts

The lay-offs at Friendly Fire follow redundancies at other Dutch live entertainment stalwarts, including the country’s leading promoter, Live Nation-owned Mojo Concerts, which has laid off around a third of its staff, according to VPRO.

Other Dutch industry professionals to have lost their jobs in recent months include staff at arenas Ziggo Dome (14 of 34) and AFAS Live (10 of 25) and pro-AV company Ampco Flashlight Group.

The Dutch live music industry, united under umbrella group the Alliance of Event Builders, recently warned of a wave of bankruptcies of events businesses without further government support for the sector.

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From today (1 July), Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome will open up for concerts with up to 2,400 spectators, as the Netherlands further eases restrictions on live events.

The Dutch government has now removed maximum capacity limits from seated indoor and outdoor events, theoretically allowing shows of any size to take place. However, all guests must continue to adhere to the one-and-a-half metre distancing rule, reserve seats in advance and undertake a pre-show health check.

For events where organisers cannot implement reservation systems or health checks, a capacity of 100 applies for indoor shows and 250 for outdoor performances.

Nielson will be the first act to perform at the 17,000-capacity arena on 9 July, followed by artists including De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, Maan, Frenna Deluxe, Rolf Sanchez and Typhoon over the coming weeks.

All shows will also be streamed live via Mojo’s Larger than Live platform, which the promoter launched last week together with telecommunications giant Vodafone. Streaming tickets cost €11, with tickets to attend the shows in person range from €22.40 to €39.20. An overview of all shows and tickets can be found here.

“The damage can only be made up in the coming years, with the old normal”

“There’s going to be life again,” Ziggo Dome commercial director Danny Damman told Dutch daily NRC. “It is nice that the audio and sound engineers, production crew, security and catering staff can return to work.”

However, according to Damman, concerts at the Dome are only profitable “at about two thirds of the capacity”, or with over 11,000 tickets sold.

“What would be our best year ever is already our worst year ever. The damage can only be made up in the coming years, with the old normal.”

Damman says the Ziggo Dome team are currently in talks with smaller venues, such as the 2,000-capacity Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam, to move concerts from smaller halls to the arena, as “all shows now have to play a size up”.

Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw is also preparing to reopen its 1,974-cap. Main Hall for up to 350 people, with upcoming concerts from soul and jazz musicians Alain Clark and Cor Bakker, Dutch piano duo Arthur and Lucas Jussen, electric violin band Fuse and singer Sjors van der Panne.

Also reopening its door are Tilburg’s 3,000-capacity Poppodium 013, which will host acts including Guus Meeuwis, Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo and Jeangu Macrooy and Wies for at least 100 fans; Rotterdam’s 2,100-capacity De Doelen, which will open for up to 500 visitors; and Amsterdam’s 1,500-capacity Melkweg, which will open for with intimate shows by Raw Poets, Gaidaa and Dave Budha.

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Dutch promoter Mojo has teamed up with telecommunications giant Vodafone to launch Larger Than Live, a virtual concert platform allowing for direct artist-to-fan interaction.

Larger Than Live makes its debut on 9 July, with a concert from Nielson at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome, which recently reopened for audiences of just 30 at a time.

Other acts to perform via the platform include De Staat, De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, Maan, Frenna Deluxe and Rolf Sanchez. Acts will perform on a custom-built stage in the 20,000-capacity arena, which is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to ensure high-quality images, sound and lighting.

Larger Than Live allows fans to switch between camera angles while watching a show, as well as providing the opportunity for interaction with the artists.

Larger Than Live allows fans to switch between camera angles while watching a show, as well as providing the opportunity for interaction with the artists

Tickets are available now, priced at €11, along with a full listing of upcoming shows. Anyone with a ticket can access the relevant show via their smartphone, tablet or laptop. The stream can also be cast onto televisions or beamers.

Additionally, fans can sign up to join a virtual Golden Circle via a live video connection, enabling artists to see audience reactions in real time and feature fans in their live show.

Vodafone customers receive access to a virtual backstage tour prior to the show and are entered into a competition to win an online meet and greet and the chance to attend the show in real life at the Ziggo Dome as a VIP.

The initial concert series will be followed by others at a range of different venues and festivals. Mojo plans to make streaming tickets available for shows even after live events are able to start up again, to give fans more choice and to avoid capacity limitations.

It is believed that the Dutch government will announce the scrapping of current capacity limits tonight (24 June), provided that venues can undertake health checks and maintain a 1.5 metre distance between guests instead.

Photo: Shirley de Jong/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) (cropped)

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