It’s a live show, so anything can happen.

Every year my social networking sites (twitter and facebook) are over loaded with status’s and ‘tweets’ about the X Factor. Ryan (2011) describes that a social network is a cluster of people connected for a specific reason.  The social networks we speak of today, such as Facebook or Twitter, provide incredibly rich communication. Meaning that the people who i am ‘friends’ with on these sites love to publish their opinions to the rest of the net working site. Such as “Why is Christopher Maloney still in this competition?” and “I LOVE James Arthur”. The past couple of years I  have lost interest in the TV show but for some reason this year I have become really involved. As I have seen myself posting my thoughts and feelings about the TV talent show online. Showing me that events involve the public on a large basis. I know that the fans of the show will have purchased tickets to see the final at Manchester Central but the rest will watch on TV and still be come involved with the event whilst in the comfort of their own home.

On the first night Nicole Scherzinger and Jahmene Douglas performed Whitney Houston’s Greatest Love of All which was sadly ruined due to technical difficulties. Daily Mail Reporter (2012) explains that a technical error almost ruined their duet together after Nicole’s microphone broke down. Forcing her to share one microphone between herself and Jahmene. This made their performance dramatic and exciting , as I was hoping a little inside that Jahmene’s microphone was going to turn off as well which would of been chaos!  Despite the slight hic up with the electrical equipment the show went on. Showing the audience that the X Factor is well and truly live! Funk (2012) notes that you must maintain an inventory of all equipment and its condition. Personally I believe that this one microphone must not of been checked as it was clearly broken and wasn’t fit enough to use. The event manager of the X Factor final should then speak to the male/female in charge of the sound for the event. When doing so they must question why wasn’t this piece of equipment not checked prior to the performance.

Personally this little error on the night showed me that yes the final was a live show, so anything could of happened. Its a good job that the performance carried on as though nothing happened, so it didn’t cause too much of a panic.

Ticketing

Ticketing is a large part of any event as this is where most of the income and profit comes from. Van Der Wagen (2008) describes that the ticketing department co-ordinates all relevant processes related to tickets, including seating plans, ordering and issuing tickets and venue admission procedures. There are even companies designed just for the use of ticketing as it such a large, important part of any event.

Ticket master is one of the companies dedicated to ticketing such as concerts and sporting  events. To purchase tickets there are a number of procedures this can be completed for example Ticket Master offers you the option to buy your tickets either via the website or by the use of your phone. Online you can search for a specific date which you would like to attend, then search and a number of events will appear. Click on the specific event and read the given information. If successful you enter the billing information then confirm. Your tickets will then be purchased, which is a quick and efficient way of doing so. Option two is to call the booking service.  This option is also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But personally I believe this option would take longer as you normally have to wait to speak to a real person as you are left listening to the automated message for at least half an hour. It can be very stressful and end up costing you a lot of money.

Ticket Line is another event ticket purchasing service used by the public. Barlow, T. (2012: presentation) stated that Ticket Line offer a number of ways to purchase tickets such as:Online, Box Office, Call Centre, Mobile Commerce(mobile friendly website) and the Ticket Line App. By offering a variety of ways to be able to purchase event tickets makes it more easily accessible for the customer. The company also offers the ‘Online seat picker’.  This is a service allowing you to see the layout of the venue whilst gaining knowledge of which seats are available and where they are located.  I like this option to view the available seats so you can gain a rough idea of how far you are from the stage. In the past I have always used Ticket Master but once learning that Ticket Line has more ways of purchasing I could change my custom to the more easily accessible site.

Once the tickets have been purchased it is time to receive the tickets. Over the years when receiving the them they are tangible where as recently they are becoming intangible which means that the ticket is not physical. For example mobile ticketing with QR Codes are becoming more popular. ventipix (No Date) explains that this is a professional web based PHP application that gives you the ability to offer 2D mobile barcode tickets. These tickets are sent to the customers using SMS. When entering the venue, instead of showing a tangible ticket your phone is scanned for a QR Code which looks like the image bellow. Once the code has been accepted your then allowed to enter the event. Personally I do not like this form of ticketing as I like having the physical ticket as a souvenir to allow me to save my memories of that event.  But I do like that fact that this form is eco-friendly, as it is saving the use of paper for a one off use.

XS Malarkey

Tuesday 4th December me and a colleague visted XS Malarkey. XS Malarkey is a comedy night based at Unique (Platt Chapel) in Fallowfield, Manchester. The evening was stand-up comedy event which is where a comedian performs in front of a live audience, usually speaking directly to them. We attended the event as a form of research for our unit ‘project management’ as we are hoping to produce a comedy night in the future. We chose to visit XS Malarkey first of all as it was walking distance from home and was only £5.

ww.xsmalarkey.com (No Date) informed us that in the past years XS Malarkey has featured many well known comedians such as: Jason Manford, Phill Jupitus, Jimmy Carr, John Bishop, Alan Carr, Peter Kay, Sarah Millican, and Russell Howard. By having such large names performing at the small venue will attract an audience. I know this as this was one of the main reasons why I attended, hoping to be lucky enough to bump in to a famous comedian. Sadly this did not happen.

Different styles of comedy was told throughout the evening but the comedian Wouter Meijs nearly over stepped the line. This was because he used his slot on the stage to tell black comedy. Charney (2005) explains that black comedy depends upon a modern and postmodern way of thinking about reality. Sick jokes are an expression of this type of comedy which could include jokes about terrorists and suicide bombers. The comedian at XS Malarkey was close to over stepping the line of being extremely shocking and disrespectful, as he told jokes involving children. Luckily the audience found his humour hilarious. If this wasn’t the case and the audience found the act insulting i’m sure the comedy night would of lost custom. Personally I did find the act funny, but he was cutting it very close!

The venue (Unique) has a bar within its premises, which sells soft drinks, crisps and alcohol. By offering alcohol they must need to follow the licensing act 2003. House of Commons (2009) explains that Personal licences must be applied for, which authories individuals to sell or supply alcohol. Therefore by having the bar open to the public they must own this licence. If not a maximum fine of £20,000 will be awarded or a 6 month imprisonment.

In conclusion Unique was a small venue which hosts comedy nights every Tuesday. The night I attended was highly enjoyable and I would defiantly attend again in the near future. The main reasons being as they have a fully stocked licence bar and the comedians are pretty entertaining. Definitely worth £5!

Blackpool Tower and The Wedding Law

  

I am currently living in Manchester but I was born and raised in Blackpool. Walton (1999) explains that Blackpool was the world’s first and biggest working class seaside destination. Over the years the town has grow and gained countless attractions such as: Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Winter Gardens, The Sandcastle and not forgetting the world famous Blackpool Tower! The tower is defiantly my favourite attraction as it is synonymous to Blackpool.

The Blackpool Gazette (2007) notes that Blackpool Tower is the most famous landmark in Blackpool which was completed in 1899 and stands at a whopping 380ft above the ground. Shockingly this structure has the licence to be able to conduct wedding ceremonies, making this a unique/unusual venue for a wedding.

On researching weddings at the tower, I came across the ‘Blackpool Tower News’ which informed me that a wedding law has changed! The Blackpool Tower (No Date) explains that “The old law, dating back to 1836, only allowed marriages to take place between 8am and 6pm, the new law, which applies to both marriages and civil partnerships, does away with these restrictions allowing couples to tie the knot at any hour.” This was news to me as I did no know this law even existed, let alone that it had been lifted.

I can’t see there being much point to having the law lifted. As I can’t see many people wanting to get married after the time of 6pm as it is a little late. Leaving not many hours left of the day which defeats the object of a having a ‘wedding day’ . Also why would you want to be married before 8am? This is far too early in my opinion, making the day extra long. It is also quite inconvenient for the guests because nobody wants to get up and get ready in the early hours of the morning for an event which begins at 6am.

Personally I woudn’t like to get married up the tower as I see it as tacky and not very personal to me. But with the law changed I think with the sun setting in the background of the tower this would make a beautiful setting to conduct the ceremony.

BBC Good Food Show Winter

On the 28th November 2012 Me and my colleagues attended the BBC Good Food Show Winter in Birmingham. The event was held at the NEC (The National Exhibition Centre) which is a venue based on hosting exhibitions. The 650-acre site has staged various events such as Grand Designs Live in 2010 to Cage Warriors:Right to Fight also in 2010.

As part of the Events Management course we have to attend the BBC Good Food Show Winter in aid to gain 20% of our overall mark for the Event Marketing Management and Research Methods unit.

Hall et all. (2008:4) state that  “Food events, sometimes referred to as hallmark or special events are fairs, festivals, expositions, cultural, consumer and industry events which are held on either a regular or a one-off basis.”  In this case this event is a festival which is repeated on a yearly basis in Birmingham.

The NEC Birmingham (2012) explains that The BBC Good Food Show Winter is known to be the biggest foodie event of the year! The event includes: specialty producers, live demos from top celebrity chefs including James Martin, Paul Hollywood and Gino D’Acampo, fantastic shopping opportunities and entertainment, plus much more.

The ticket prices vary from Adult Standard from £21.50 / Adult Gold £23.50 and over 65s standard £19.50 /over 65s Gold £21.50. Although if you are attending in a group ( which we were) the price was lowered and free tickets where given as you are buying in bulk. The price charter for group ticket prices are as follows:

Group Rates	10-19 people	20-44 people	45+ people
Wed-Fri & Sun  Standard Adult Gold Adult Standard Over 65s Gold Over 65s	£19.35 £21.15 £17.55 £19.35	£18.28 £19.98 £16.58 £18.28	£17.20 £18.80 £15.60 £17.20
Saturday (Only)  Standard Adult Gold Adult Standard Over 65s Gold Over 65s	£20.25 £22.05 £18.45 £20.25	£19.13 £20.83 £17.43 £19.13	£18.00 £19.60 £16.40 £18.00
Organisers’ FREE ticket allowance	2 FREE tickets	4 FREE tickets	6 FREE tickets

(http://www.bbcgoodfoodshow.com/show-info/group-tickets)

Our tickets stated that they cost £17.20 per ticket. Meaning that the group earned a minimum of 6 free tickets as there was at least 100 students on the trip.  These tickets also allowed us entry to the Super Theatre. TheSuper Theatre allowed me and my class to sit in a large arena with at least another 1000 spectators. We sat and watched Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood demonstrate a range of cooking skills, who of which are part of the Great British Bake Off team. The Great British Bake off is a series which aires on the BBC showcasing twelve home bakers taking part of a “bake off” in competition to be crowned the Great British Bake Off’s Best Amateur Baker.

The event also allowed the guests to taste samples of produce which was on sale.The ‘freebies’ included were almost nibbles compared to full portioned food for example Crisps, Yogurts, Popcorn, and Cake. Alcoholic drinks were also on offer such as Chocolate wine, Caramel Vodka, and Cocktails. When trying wine students seem to be given a smaller taster glasses compared to other guests. This was probably because they thought we was not going to buy the produce. (Which was most likely true). This was some what discriminatory towards us, as they seem to stereotype us before they new our financial background. Apart from this slight irritating element we came away from the event full and satisfied.

Personally I would not have attended the event off my own back but i’m glad I did as it was a new experience for me which allowed me to become interested in the art of cooking.

 

Weekend Away

On the weekend of the 16th – 18th November 2012 me and my boyfriend (Adam) visited Leeds for a weekend break away to get away from the stress of day to day life in Manchester. We stayed at a beautiful hotel called the ‘Bewleys’. The reason for choosing this hotel is because they had a good offer on at the time. 2 nights for two people for £113 which seemed very reasonable due to the great location.

When traveling to Leeds it took us two hours to drive there from Manchester due to traffic jams. Once turning off the motorway the hotel stood directly in front of us which came as a shock as we didn’t realize how close we were to the junction. As there wasn’t many clear signs to direct us to the hotel car park, we missed the quick turning and had to drive an extra 20 minutes around a one way system before arriving at the Bewleys car park.

Segel (2008) explains that customers perceive signage to be great customer service, helping them find what they want easily and efficiently. In our situation we were not satisfied due to the poorly lit sign adding extra time on to the travel.  When we annoyingly knew that the hotel was standing in front of us but was inaccessible due to the one way system once we missed one small turning.

Checking in was quick and simple and the staff came across as polite but not very informative.  This is because they did not inform us that the restaurant (Brasserie Restaurant) was not open over the next two nights due to functions booked in that room. We found this information out by reading posters in the lift , but I found it odd how we wern’t told about this when checking in to the hotel. Surely this information should be given out straight away when arriving. What if we wanted to eat within the hotel restaurant?  This resulted in me and Adam eating in the hotel bar for our dinner, as we couldn’t be bothered leaving the hotel thanks to the tiring journey.

The location of the hotel was excellent as it only took 10 to 15 minutes to walk in to the center of Leeds where all the shops and restaurants where based. Chavan (2010) notes that location implies accessibility and convenience to the users of hospitality services for example the hotel. This definitely was true in relation to the Bewleys Hotel as the location was more than accessible. This is because it was close to areas we aimed to visit such as the “Call Lane” and the city centre.

Once returning back to Manchester I began to tell people about my experience. Goodman (2009:22) explains that word of mouth occurs because people have a social and psychological need to tell one another about good and bad experiences. Therefore I will be using positive word mouth to family and friends with strong recommendations as my overall experience.

The weekend was relaxing and just what I needed! I would certainly return to the Bewleys hotel and Leeds once again. As it lived up to my expectations of being a great city to shop in and to socialize in.

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

2nd November 2012, I attended the Nicki Minaj ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’ arena tour. On this date she played at the newly renamed ‘Manchester Arena’ (Previously known as the MEN) and she was outstanding!The tickets cost me £39.50 plus a whopping £5.80 for booking fee, but it was well worth the price.

I arrived at the concert at 7.45pm, where we saw the last 10 minutes of one of the supporting acts which was Misha B. Tyga was the second supporting act for Nicki Minaj and he entered on the stage at 8pm and ended his set at 8.45pm. Both acts performed well and seemed to be running on schedule.We then waited an HOUR for Nicki Minaj to grace us with her presence.

I was extremely angry at the fact she kept her fans waiting for so long! During the hour, you could tell the crowd was becoming increasingly angry. This wait was proved to be dangerous for the audience as you could see fans passing out due to the heat and over crowding. I explained what I saw to a friend of mine at university the following week. She began to tell me how in the past she has attended gigs where people where passed out in the crowed and was passed back in the style of a ‘crowd surf’. This really shocked me. Yes it was a solution on how to get the injured out of the crowed quickly but this was certainly not safe.

Tarlow , P (2012) notes that event risk managers are expected to have invested a great amount of time understanding crowd control . If this is so, in this case did the risk manager think of the scenario of people passing out? and was there original plan to crowd surf the injured out to safety? I don’t think this would of been the case but if they had a plan in place then why wasn’t this taken?

Manchester Arena on the other hand , handled the situation well. As they had security walking around the venue on look out for people who were injured or were coursing trouble. If an audience member was seen to be passed out, then they would carry them to safety and sit them down on the seats in a cooler section of the arena. This allowed the attendee to be at a safe distance to be able to calm down. For the rest of the show he/she would be offered the seat for the rest of the concert as a safety measure so they don’t enter the crowd and pass out once again, but still having the option to enjoy the show.

I also noticed on the ticket which granted us access to the concert, there was a number of company logos featured on it. Such as: Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Express, Ticket mater, and SMG Europe. These companies will be the ‘Manchester Arena’s sponsors, I know this because Goldblatt (2008) lists typical types of sponsors which could be associated for a variety of events such as:

Festival: department store and record store.

Sport: athletic wear manufacturer, brewery and a hospital or health-care related.

School Program: children’s toy shops, kids clothing stores, and theme parks.

Meeting/conference: printer, bank, and insurance broker.

The listed companies on the ticket are all related to the arena For example: The Crowne Plaza and The Holiday Inn Express are types of accommodation available close by to the venue. Ticket Master is the company where the tickets are sold and distributed.Finally SMG Europe is the world leader in venue management and operation, which clearly fits nicely as the arena is a large well known venue.

“Sponsorship is now used to drive sales as well as develop favorable brand associations and awareness”. (Masterman, G 2007:11) Therefore the companies based on the ticket will hopefully gain brand awareness which will then expectantly increase their sales. The Manchester arena will ask for a fee from each organisation as space of advertisement, this will allow the venue to raise additional profit. Overall both the Manchester Arena and the featured companies will gain benefits by helping on another.

On the whole the concert was enjoyable and seemed at a high quality of health and safety. I believe this as the staff came across as they really cared about their customers. I would definitely be returning to the Manchester Arena when another concert comes to the venue which I would like to see, due to this successful experience.

SIB Great Northern Beer Festival 2012

On Saturday 27th October 2012, I volunteered at the SIB Great Northern Beer Festival 2012. Robinson, et al (2010) notes that volunteering is an unpaid role at an event, where you can take part in many tasks  to help out such as:  fundraising, promotion , organizing events, administration, committee work, first aid and warden duties.

Whilst attending the Beer Festival, I was part of the fundraising team for ‘After Adoption’ charity. As part of the fundraising team I took part in two activities for example:

Job role one was where me and a colleague walked around the festival interacting with the attendees. Me and Jordan had to ask “would you like to take part in raising money for After Adoption, by donating £1 and in return you get the chance to win £50!”.  The prize money could be won by the customers handing over £1 for our donation bucket as they then choose a brewery. On the board which we carried around with us there was 150 names of different brewery’s. The male/female must then select a brewery to be in the chance to win £50. Once selected they then placed their name and number down on the board. On Monday 29th October a member of the After Adoption team will pick a brewery name out of a hat and the customer who picked that certain name then they would win £50.

I have volunteered many times before, but this was a whole new experience to me. As the customers we had to interact with, were under the influence of alcohol.  Therefore some guests came across as lovely and attentive where as others came across as very rude!

 Shone et al, (2004) describes that the Chief Steward at the event should have a fixed rota in place to control the volunteers so that no one spends too long a period of time doing the same repetitive task.  This was taken place at 3pm where Sophie the ‘Chief Steward’ announced that we could swap roles to allow us to try something new. I am glad she allowed us to do so as me and my colleague became frustrated with job role one, as it was difficult to find new people to donate.

Job role two allowed me and Jordan to swap roles with other volunteers at the event. In the second hour we stood by the entrance of the festival and offered the guests a chance to buy programs for the SIB Great Northern Beer Festival 2012. The programs were sold for £1 each and half of the money made, went straight to the After Adoption charity and the other half went back to the festival.

I found this job role a lot easier as the guests where entering the event hadn’t consumed any alcohol at this stage. Also the guests seemed more willing to donate to us as they where receiving a souvenier from the festival in return.

The SIB Great Northern Beer Festival 2012, was held at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel. This venue was in a fantastic location as it was situated in the heart of the city centre and is next to the main bus station in Manchester and tram stops. The festival was based in the ‘International Suite‘ which is “made up of the Terrace and the Ballroom, situated on the 3rd floor with it’s own private reception area, bar and stage. Can also cater for 700 for a reception/buffet. With natural daylight and wheelchair access.”  (My Mercure. (no date) :Online) This room was extremely spacious and catered well for the amount of guests which attended. When I first entered the venue the festival hadn’t begun, so there was me thinking this room looks far to big and wouldn’t be filled easily, but I was wrong! By 2pm the 814 m²  area was buzzing and was crowded.

I really enjoyed being part of this event as it was a new experience for me. As I said previously I hadn’t come in to contact with alcohol fulled guests before whilst volunteering so this was entertaining to say the least! For example one attendee asked if she could become our adopted Nan. This was an example of the more polite and positive customers and made the experience even more enjoyable.

Above shows an email which was sent to myself thanking me for taking part in volunteering in the event. Within this document it notes that After Adoption raised £2,600 over the three days, which is outstanding!

Unusual Historic Venues

When researching venues to hire out for an event, event managers today tend to look more towards the unusual. Meaning “Different from other people or things in a way that is interesting, attractive, or impressive”. (Macmillan Dictionary (2012): Online)

By attempting to find a suitable venue with an unusual/unique edge will hopefully attract attention.  (Yeoman et al, 2004) explains that some venues are not equipped for events originally but have a strong appeal. This is due to their distinctive history. An example of a venue with a great historic background is the Pyramids in Egypt. The Pyramids would be a great back drop for an event such as an exhibition centered around ‘Mummies of Ancient Egypt’ . Although this venue has its down falls as it isn’t equipped with the appropriate facilities such as a catering facilities,  and doesn’t provide usable electricity.  The venue has a heap of history but it is seen as unusable, where as  The National History Museum in London brings great historic features and has a range of rooms to hire out for events . “From the informal and intimate to the spectacular and magnificent, the Natural History Museum has a wide range of truly unique spaces, whether you’re planning a private or corporate event.” (National History Museum (2012): Online)

The image above is one example of the areas you can hire out at the muesum. This is room is called the “Central Hall” which hosts a dramatic landscape of Soaring Romanesque arches, Gilt and terracotta ceiling panels and breath taking stone staircase. This venue also supplies you with a giant Diplodocus skeleton cast in the center to give your event the ‘WOW’ factor. Holding 100 to 700 guests dinner style, or 200 to 1,200 guests reception style, this unusual location comes at a cost at a whopping £19,900 for the hire charge. For this price you gain the following :

• Personal Event Manager.
• Dedicated Operations Manager.
• Network of accredited suppliers.
• Top security team.
• Staffed cloakroom.
• Toilet attendants.
• Cleaners and porters.

This price is obviously extortionate but you do get a lot for your money! Such as all staff provided, and a beautiful scenery to set your event. The slight down fall is that you will not be provided with furniture, this comes at an additional cost or you may provide this yourself. The museum has produced over 140 events on a yearly bases by hiring out their rooms, therefore this shows that the price of the venue does not impact as it is still attracting business.

This was only a quick  insight in to unusual venues as I will be producing further posts on this subject on later dates as I am fully interested in this area. I believe this as in today’s market, clients are bored of the original and normal venues such as a hotel and more looking towards the abnormal to allure customers to attend their event.

Outdoor Wedding Ceremonies

After watching a recent episode of “Don’t Tell The Bride” , It occurred to me that in the UK you are unable to have your wedding ceremony out doors. I decided to research this as I believe this law is ridiculous, and shouldn’t occur. I believe a wedding takes place because two people love one another, so why should it matter where they get married? Especially why does it matter if it takes place outside?

The Marriages (Approved Premises) Regulations 1995 allow “civil marriages to take place regularly in hotels, stately homes, civic halls and similar premises without compromising the fundamental principles of English marriage law and Parliament’s intention to maintain the solemnity of the occasion.” (Tameside Metropoliton Borough (2012): Online)

Clearly stating in this quote that the ritual can take place outdoors. One Life Weddings Explains that a Registrar cannot perform a marriage ceremony outdoors , therefore leaving the couple to believe they are unable to get married outside.

“In England and Wales a legal wedding can only take place in a venue licensed for weddings and cannot take place in the open air, in a tent, marquee, or any other temporary structure.” (One Life Weddings (2011): Online)

All though, there is a twist because, the happy couple can become “Husband and Wife” before the outdoor ceremony, this can take place at their local Register Office. By attending the Register Office they can complete a set of vows, and ‘tie the knot’. They are then allowed to recreate their vows to one another outdoors as it already granted that they are “Husband and Wife” . This is a short and straightforward method of getting around this ridiculous situation.

The English marriage law has been changed over the years and become more flexible with venues.  “Couples can now get married in a large number of licensed venues ranging from hotels to castles, whereas prior to 1996 the ceremony itself could only be carried out in a church or registry office. ” By Keynote, (2000,cited in Shone et al,2004:25) . Even though the law has become more flexible over the years, it is still illegal to official get married outdoors. Therefore it would not surprise me if this law is lifted within the next ten years as the law seems to modernize itself with the era.

After researching I have come to the conclusion, that this law should be revoked, due to the stupidity of the reasoning behind the law. Once again believing that if the couple is walking the isle outdoors or indoors this shouldn’t be an issue, as they are performing the act due to their love for one another and that shouldn’t effect where they express their feelings.