Top names from the live entertainment and environmental fields assembled today for the 17th edition of Green Events and Innovations (GEI17), the leading conference for event sustainability.

Organised by A Greener Future (AGF) in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC), the event attracted hundreds of delegates to London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel, kicking off ILMC Week.

Headline session Act 1.5 and Beyond focused on the groundbreaking work of Massive Attack and their collaborators, following their huge proof-of-concept show in Bristol last year, and UN Accelerator City being awarded to Liverpool in 2024. Hosted by AGF’s Claire O’Neill, the session featured environmentalist Dale Vince (Ecotricity/Forest Green Rovers) and professor of climate and energy policy Carly McLachlan (Tyndall Centre), plus special guest – writer and Act 1.5 lead producer Mark Donne.

“The theory and critique was important, but we didn’t want to just produce reports… [the idea was to] bring as many identities together and create a proof-of-concept show,” said Donne. “We know it works, we know fans want to do it and buy into it, but how do you begin to proliferate this stuff? How do you scale it? How do you work with government and authorities?”

Held last August on Clifton Downs, the 32,000-cap Massive Attack gig was powered by 100% renewable energy and has now been confirmed as breaking a world record for producing the lowest ever carbon emissions.

“We went about it by initially developing this super low carbon live music roadmap, which was setting out some targets for different areas of emissions,” explained McLachlan. “Act 1.5 in Bristol last summer was putting the elements of the road map into practice.

“The thing for us as scientists working with Act 1.5 as a partner is that they wanted to get stuck in there. This collaborative process was really central.”

“Act 1.5 has demonstrated that it is possible to run a significant outdoor event entirely from batteries without any diesel generator back up”

McLachlan has co-authored a newly published report reviewing the performance of the Act 1.5 show against the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Super-Low Carbon Live Music Roadmap.

The report concludes that Act 1.5 “demonstrated that it is possible to run a significant outdoor event entirely from batteries without any diesel generator back up”, adding that: “Emissions associated with onsite electricity were at least 81% lower than the counterfactual event running on diesel generators.”

AGF was responsible for advanced planning, on-site sustainability management and coordination, post-event analysis and reporting for the concert. Donne revealed the show was originally planned for Liverpool, but switched to Bristol to serve as a homecoming for Massive Attack.

“Part of the reason why Massive Attack decided to do the show in the Downs was because there’s an existing festival there [Forwards], which is run by Team Love, who are effectively our hosts, and they were every bit as committed as we were in this initiative,” added Donne.

The GEI panel stressed the need to “break down barriers” with the wider industry, so that others can follow the example.

“We’re down here talking about sustainability, they’re talking about something else,” said Donne. “We need to be in the same room. They wouldn’t exist without everyone in this room, and we need to break that barrier down and stop having reductive conversations about individual exercises. We need to talk to the government, but world leaders making hundreds of millions of pounds in profit every year need to start stepping up.”

Act 1.5 also included a 100% vegan menu, while extra trains and free EV buses were organised for the audience.

“Foods brought a 90% reduction in emissions. Artist travel [saw a] 73% reduction,” said McLachlan.

“GWR [Great Western Railway] were amazing to work with,” said Donne. “We want to get to a position quite quickly where we can partner with a show and there is a rail presale of 48 hours with something like GB Rail being the sponsor.”

“There wasn’t much choice when it came to food & beverage 20 years ago”

Asked about other initiatives similar to Act 1.5, McLachlan added: “We heard a lot from others we interviewed that often in production, there’s good intent in the beginning, but then you hit some bumps. There’s pressure from commercial and time aspect, but you have to find a solution that’s in that super low carbon space.”

Earlier, the opening Food & Drinks: Impacts & Emotions – The Cow in the Room session explored the impact of sustainable food & beverage within the live event industry. It heard that while the easiest issue to solve on a practical level, F&B has long faced resistance from profit-driven companies and event audiences who are hesitant to attempt plant-based alternatives that would greatly reduce their carbon footprints.

“There wasn’t much choice when it came to food & beverage 20 years ago, but what we’ve noticed over the past five to eight years, especially from the younger generation, is a huge drive towards wellness and understanding the provenance of product,” said Adam Hempenstall of festivals & events bar operator Peppermint. “There are more indie breweries such as Small Beer and Purity that are producing more information and are being more transparent about the carbon footprint of their processes, and there is absolutely a higher interest in locally-produced F&B nowadays.”

While the focus of the Events in the New Climate: Damage Limitation panel was on the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles last month, Megan Best of Native Events recalled her experiences being at festivals such Co Kildare’s Forever Young in Ireland as an example of the ruinous effects that extreme weather has on live events.

“These extreme weather events are tough enough for us when it comes to the human & financial cost, but there’s a huge natural cost as well,” she explained, adding that we have quickly gotten used to “once having a wet Glastonbury, to enduring more intense tropical rainfall over the last decade”.

Further panel reports from GEI17 will appear in IQ in the coming days.

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A new 3,000-capacity venue has opened in Bristol, in the southwest of England, with hopes of attracting big touring acts.

The Prospect Building in the suburb of St Phillips officially opened its doors on 28 September with an all-day event featuring LSDXOXO, Blawan, Peverelist and Overmono, in partnership with Team Love.

Formerly known as an events space called Propyard, the 25,000 sq. ft. warehouse has been taken over by A Man About A Dog (AMAAD), the London-based electronic promoter behind LWE, Junction 2, ION and Cogo Events.

AMAAD has pledged to work with local Bristol promoters such as Team Love, The Blast and Dance Corp, to bring a broader range of music events and festivals to the space.

“Bristol has missed out on bigger touring acts in the past”

Initially, the venue will exclusively host electronic artists before expanding into live shows next year, according to the promoter. Renowned DJs such as Bonobo, Andy C, Joy Orbison, Floating Points, HAAI and Dax J are on the venue’s winter listings, while local acts will have the chance to play in the intimate Room 2 space.

“Bristol has missed out on bigger touring acts in the past,” Will Harold, director of AMAAD, told BBC. “This space is more versatile [than the former Propyard] and can host emerging artists as well as bigger acts.”

The opening of the new venue comes as the developers of the long-delayed Bristol Arena are yet to set a date for when building work will begin. A recent update revealed that the 19,000-cap YTL Arena Bristol, planned for Filton Airfield, will not open for concerts until 2027 at the earliest.

In addition to DJs and live music, Prospect will act as a “cultural hub” hosting family days, food festivals, vintage clothes sales and circus performances.

“Venues are closing, it’s a challenge,” adds Harold. “We are trying a new way to approach it by doing different things in one place.”

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The BBC’s investment arm BBC Ventures has invested £500,000 (€590,263) in Bristol-based immersive live events specialist Condense.

Over the past year, BBC Radio 1’s New Music Show with Jack Saunders has worked in partnership with Condense to host a series of immersive live gigs with artists such as Gardna, Charlotte Plank and Sam Tompkins.

The concerts have taken place in a virtual venue called The New Music Portal, where artists’ performances are captured and live-streamed as “true-to-life” video, and fans can join as an avatar on their mobile or laptop and move around the venue like a video game.

“The New Music Portal enables the BBC to bring the best of our performances to younger audiences who are increasingly spending time in these sorts of game-like online environments,” says Jeremy Walker, head of BBC Ventures.

“In fact, they’ve already seen massively popular music events in spaces like Fortnite – young people in their millions have gone to online concerts from megastars like Travis Scott, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande.”

“The New Music Portal enables the BBC to bring the best of our performances to younger audiences”

The BBC says that, by using Condense’s technology, it can give artists access to this technology at a much earlier stage of their career.

Sam Tompkins, whose performance in The New Music Portal was his first in a virtual environment, said: “The more that this technology moves on, the more we’re going to get closer to that live experience and I think that’s so special. This is a much more accessible way for people to hear live music and I’m all for that.”

BBC Ventures is planning to explore other ways to use Condense technology to bring live and immersive experiences to audiences in areas such as sport, education and news.

Nick Fellingham, Condense CEO, adds: “This partnership positions BBC audiences at the very forefront of the evolution of what it means to be a music fan in an age where people all over the world can now come together in-game to experience live music. You can attend a gig with your cousin who lives hundreds of miles away and share a real moment with your favourite artist through the New Music Portal.”

Founded in 2019, Condense technology is powered by volumetric video, allowing clients to create 3D content instantly and live-stream to mobile, PC, web, consoles, VR and AR.

The firm has previously partnered with telecommunications company BT, Crack Magazine and brand builder Diageo.

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Final plans have been submitted for the long-awaited YTL Arena Bristol, in the southwest of England.

After a series of delays, the 19,000-capacity arena is set to be built at Fliton Airfield and could open by late 2026.

New artist impressions show the airfield’s Brabazon Hangars transformed into the UK’s fourth-largest indoor arena and flanked by new conference and exhibition halls.

An estimated 300,000 people are expected to attend events at YTL Arena Bristol each year, boosting the local economy by £60 million annually.

“The arena finds itself in an ideal position to evolve into a cultural hub”

The arena site is set to include restaurants and bars, an outdoor cinema, basketball and football courts, a pump track for cycling, a Christmas ice rink and huge public squares.

YTL, the Malaysian developer behind the arena, is also building a new neighbourhood on the airfield with thousands of homes, a park, community facilities, leisure and employment, with a new train station due to open there in mid-2026.

“The arena finds itself in an ideal position to evolve into a cultural hub,” said architects McGregor Coxall.

The venue has experienced a number of delays related to Covid and the construction industry, with site preparation finally beginning in March.

Decontamination work is underway and will be followed by the demolition of non-essential structures ahead of the main construction programme, which is said to take around two-and-a-half years once builders move in.

A rival arena, operated by Live Nation and Oak View Group (OVG), is set to open in Cardiff, Wales, in spring 2025.

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Site preparation has finally begun on the long-awaited YTL Arena Bristol, in the southwest of England.

The 19,000-capacity arena, which was delayed due to Covid- and construction industry-related delays, could now open by late 2026.

The project will see the Brabazon Hangars – once a vital part of England’s aviation past – transformed into the UK’s fourth-largest indoor arena.

The initial phase of the YTL Arena began with the decontamination of the site carried out by Omega Environmental Services. That will be followed by the demolition of non-essential structures and then, the main construction programme.

YTL Construction UK, a new company that will be part of the international YTL Group, will be responsible for the construction of the venue.

The company previously operated in Malaysia, China, Japan, Singapore, and Australia across a range of sectors including energy, water, rail and property development.

“Once main construction has started, we estimate it being a two-and-a-half-year build programme”

“We’re pleased with the progress and are pushing forward, albeit slower than originally planned,” says Andrew Billingham, CEO of YTL Arena Bristol.

“Handing over the Hangars to Omega represents a pivotal milestone. We have tackled challenges head-on making crucial decisions to expedite the opening while ensuring we deliver one of the premier arenas in Europe. Once main construction has started, we estimate it being a two-and-a-half-year build programme.”

“It is well documented that construction companies are facing difficulties, and with the international experience the YTL Group has in construction and project management, it is a logical step for us to control the whole process through to operation.”

The arena will be 100% electric, making it one of the first venues in the UK to operate without the use of fossil fuels.

YTL Arena will be operated predominantly as a music venue, with approximately 70–75% of programming being concerts.

A rival arena, operated by Live Nation and Oak View Group (OVG), is set to open in Cardiff, Wales, in spring 2025.

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Festival Republic has applied for a premises licence to stage a three-day music event in Luton, UK this spring.

Luton Borough Council’s licensing panel is due to consider the application today (22 January), with the event pencilled in for the Bedfordshire town’s Stockwood Park across the spring bank holiday.

The promoter is seeking permission to stage the festival between noon and 11.30pm Friday 24 May and 9.30am to 10.30pm on 25-26 May. The licence would allow entertainment including live music, recorded music, dance performances and films, in addition to the sale of alcohol.

Luton Today reports that a representation has been made by a local resident expressing concerns about the suitability of the site, which last hosted concerts by Bad Manners and Levellers in 2010.

“As this is the first large scale event to be held at Stockwood Park, there could be people turning up with the intention of listening to the music, but outside of the event area,” it reads.

The publication notes that a noise hotline would be available during the event, while Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn would consult the local community ahead of the event.

Bristol City Council has approved FKP Scorpio UK’s bid to stage a series of outdoor concerts in the city centre despite local opposition

Also in the UK, Tower Hamlets Council has backed a decision to allow medium and large events at London’s Victoria Park – home of AEG-promoted concert series All Points East – to increase in capacity from 500 to 5,000 and 5,000 to 20,000, respectively. Major events will remain at 50,000-cap, but will rise in frequency from 10 to 12 per year.

According to the BBC, Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman says the council had “no choice” but to hire out the park as another way of making money. The authority is hoping to generate £1.58 million (€1.85m) a year from the increased capacities as it seeks to tackle debt in excess of £68m.

However, some residents have slammed the mayor’s proposal as “a terrible idea that would ruin our park”, and are demanding the council carry out a consultation.

Elsewhere, FKP Scorpio UK’s bid to stage a series of outdoor concerts in Bristol has been approved by the city council despite local opposition. The company will present three 15,000-cap live music events in Queen Square from 9-11 August.

The concerts will be the biggest to take place in Queen Square, which hosts the main stage of Bristol Harbour Festival but is near a growing residential area, since Glastonbury’s Arcadia brought its fire-breathing spider to the square in 2015. Massive Attack also performed at the site in 2003.

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Bristol’s Ashton Gate stadium in the UK has announced it is to promote its first ever multi-artist concert later this year.

Ashton Gate Presents BS3 (the name is derived from the venue’s postcode) is aiming to become an “iconic event” in the South West’s musical calendar.

It will feature ten acts across two stages at the 32,000-cap home of Bristol City Football Club and Bristol Bears rugby union club on Saturday 22 June, with the first artists to be revealed this week. Ticket details and hospitality packages for BS3 will be announced soon.

“We have seen such a massive demand for live music in Bristol every time we announce a concert, so we are excited to be taking this new step and promoting our own multi-artist event in what is a first for Ashton Gate,” says Ashton Gate venue director Jenny Hutchinson. “Our team has worked hard to curate this new show for the stadium, which will see ten incredible artists perform back-to-back hits throughout the day across two stages.”

“Ashton Gate has hosted world-renowned acts such as Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Elton John, Muse and Spice Girls in recent years”

She continues: “Ashton Gate has hosted world-renowned acts such as Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Elton John, Muse and Spice Girls in recent years and we have fine-tuned our concert operation, teaming up with experts in the industry to ensure we deliver a truly spectacular concert.

“We are always proud to deliver memorable experiences for our audiences, so we are thrilled to be able to present our own show at the stadium. Ashton Gate Presents BS3 will lay the foundations for us to deliver more multi-artist shows in the future.”

The stadium will also welcome Take That for two dates from 8-9 June.

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British band Massive Attack has announced their first concert in five years, which will be powered by 100% renewable energy.

The outdoor show, which will take place on Clifton Downs in their home city of Bristol, will have the lowest carbon footprint of any concert of its size, according to the band.

The concert, production and catering will be powered entirely by battery and solar power. In addition, food vendors will be vetted to ensure they use locally sourced produce and a “climate-resilient woodland plantation in the south-west region” will be created after the show.

The Act 1.5 concert, scheduled for 25 August 2024, will primarily target audience travel – “the single largest contributor to an outdoor event’s carbon footprint”.

Mark Donne, a filmmaker and climate activist who has worked with Massive Attack on several projects, said 65% to 85% of emissions for large-scale shows comes from audience travel. “This will be the first show that meaningfully deals with that,” he said.

“In terms of climate change action, there are no excuses left”

Massive Attack will give local fans priority when it comes to tickets, train travel will be encouraged, and the organisers are putting on free electric buses to ferry crowds back to Bristol Temple Meads station if they’ve come from farther afield.

The band said all vehicles used for the concert will either be electric or fuelled by certified waste product HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) fuel.

“We’re chuffed to play our home city again and to be able do it in the right way,” reads a statement from the band. “In terms of climate change action, there are no excuses left. Offsetting, endless seminars and diluted declarations have all been found out – so live music must drastically reduce all primary emissions and take account of fan travel.

“Working with pioneering partners on this project means we can seriously move the dial for major live music events and help create precedents.”

The concert is the band’s latest attempt to tackle the live industry’s carbon footprint. In 2021 Massive Attack created a guide for the music industry on how to combat climate change, in conjunction with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. And in 2019 the band decided to tour by train rather than flying between European concerts.

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FKP Scorpio UK has applied to Bristol City Council for a premise licence to stage a series of outdoor concerts in the city.

The company is bidding to host an unspecified number of 15,000-cap live music events in Bristol’s Queen Square.

Bristol 24/7 reports that the application is for a licence up to the end of 2028, with shows to run until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 10.45pm on Sundays.

The concerts would be the biggest to take place at the venue, which hosts the main stage of Bristol Harbour Festival, since Glastonbury’s Arcadia brought its fire-breathing spider to the square in 2015. Massive Attack also performed at the site in 2003.

FKP Scorpio UK has upcoming shows with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Noah Kahan, Mitski, Anne-Marie, Hauser, Slowdive, and The Reytons

However, as Queen Square is situated near a growing residential area, the Bristol Post notes the plan could prove controversial, with the application expected to go before the licensing committee, which will make the final decision on whether to approve it.

CTS Eventim-owned FKP hired concert promoters Daniel Ealam and Scott O’Neill from DHP Family in 2020 to head up and grow its then nascent UK touring business, which originally soft-launched in 2018.

The UK office worked on Ed Sheeran’s 2022 stadium tour and has upcoming shows with the likes of Anne-Marie, Beans On Toast, The Rifles, Nick Mulvey, DMA’s, Calum Scott, Buzzcocks, Slowdive, Noah Kahan and Sundara Karma, as well as Disney100: The Exhibition.

Meanwhile, it was revealed earlier this year that Bristol’s long-delayed 19,000-cap YTL Arena will not open until late 2025 or early 2026.

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Ticketmaster has renewed its partnership with UK-based independent music venue operator Electric Group.

Formed in 2013, the Group runs Electric Brixton (cap. 1,700) in London, SWX (1,800) in Bristol, and NX (2,100) in Newcastle.

The collaboration with Ticketmaster comes as NX (the former O2 Academy Newcastle) hosts its first concert since undergoing a £2.7 million redevelopment.

SWX has also been given a redo, costing £3.2m, after an arson attack damaged the building. The restored venue reopened in early September, just over a year after the incident.

“I’m delighted to renew our long-term ticketing partnership with our friends at Ticketmaster,” says Dominic Madden, Electric Group CEO.

“It’s a great and easy fit and I know that we will receive the focus that is required to support our existing venue estate and the mighty new NX Newcastle.”

“Spaces like these are the heartbeat of the live industry, a breeding ground for talent”

Today’s announcement coincides with the appointment of Sam Isles as senior vice president of Ticketmaster Clubs International, heading up the division across Europe.

Already a veteran of club venue ticketing with a stint at Brixton Academy, Sam joined Ticketmaster to lead TicketWeb UK, and then launched the international arm of Ticketmaster’s Artist Services division, leading its market expansion.

In her new role, Isles will drive Ticketmaster’s ongoing investments in creating industry-leading technology and DIY solutions to serve the unique ticketing needs of clubs and independent venues with innovative tools and solutions to grow their business.

“Having worked with the team at Electric Brixton for more than ten years and now SWX Bristol, we know they’re going to bring a one-of-a-kind vision to NX Newcastle,” says Sam Isles, SVP Clubs International.

“Spaces like these are the heartbeat of the live industry, a breeding ground for talent and where fans discover the artists they’ll love for decades to come. They are vital, and our mission at Ticketmaster is to provide the world-class tools and support that can empower these iconic rooms.”

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