Festival News

Promoter FKP Scorpio has announced its Bråvalla festival in Sweden will go cashless this year. Customer's wristbands will contain an RFID chip. This chip can be loaded with money and all sales in the festival area will only be made through the wristband. “This means that the festival will become smoother and safer and quicker,” says a spokesman adding “the big difference is that during the festivals the ‘money’ on each wristband and cannot be misplaced. As soon as someone swipes the bracelet, they will also find out how much money they have left on the wristband.” Bråvalla festival takes place in Norrköping 26-28 June. Headliners include Iron Maiden, Kings of Leon and Kanye West.

and Intelligent venue Solutions (IVS) expects over £6 million cashless transactions at UK festivals this summer. The British Event Technology & RFID Specialist is confirmed to deploy at over 50 major live events in 2014 and the deployment of RFID enabled wristband technology is expected to increase by a huge 70% this year. With over 3.5 million smart wristbands being issued across the summer season, event organisers will be anticipating a significant increase in on-site spending. The UK-based company has this year already deployed its systems at UEFA Champions League Final in Lisbon, the French Open in Paris, the Grand National at Aintree as well as a debut appearance at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Glasgow recently which saw them deliver a managed fast card payment system for VIP guests.

Mobile phone carrier Orange has announced it will stream highlights from the 13-15 June Orange Warsaw Festival, following a partnership with music media company, LoveLive. Orange Music Live will be available across eight European countries including France, Poland, Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Armenia and Moldova providing selected live video streaming of performances by major international artists, to be unveiled in the coming weeks. Accessible across multiple screens including smartphones, tablets, computers and televisions, Orange Music Live will be enhanced by Orange’s 4G and fibre networks, where available.

In the UK the Police have launched a manhunt after a man died following a beating at the Parklife festival on June 7th in Manchester after his girlfriend was hit with an inflatable doll, police said. The BBC say that Robert Hart, 26, was knocked unconscious in front of the main stage at the Parklife Weekender on Saturday at around 9.15pm. He was given CPR at the scene by two off-duty medical personnel. He died on Jun 11 in hospital. The offender is described as a mixed race male, aged in his late 20′s and around 6ft 1 tall. He has a muscular build and short, dark hair which was shaved at the sides. He was also wearing shorts and a blue, bomber-style jacket with the letter ‘A’ in white on the front. Police have also issued an efit. Anyone with information should contact the incident room on 0161 85 69283 or by email (and please attach any footage):  mit.syndicate8@gmp.police.uk 

The 14,000-capacity We Love Green festival in France - The nature-centric opener of the Parisian festival season -  has again been powered entirely by eco-friendly fuel sources, according to organisers. The event is one of Europe’s most sustainable festivals set in the majestic scenery of Parc de Bagatelle in Paris and a winner of the Greener Festival Award. We Love Green has a wide range of environmental initiatives covering many aspects of the production including local service providers, saving water and energy, recycling, managing waste, car sharing, deposit system for glasses, providing free drinkable water fountains, safe storage for bikes and adopting renewable energy across the site.

Event organisers in the UK have called for a national ban on Sky Lanterns - branding them a danger to the public, livestock and buildings. Already banned at a number of events including the Glastonbury Festival after one of organiser Michael Eavis's cows died after ingesting the remains of a lantern, the new campaign by the National Outdoor Events Association has a three-pronged approach aiming to raise awareness among the public, event organisers and to gain a parliamentary debate in the bid for an outright ban. Launched in the South West at England’s biggest agricultural show, the Royal Bath and West in Somerset, the campaign is now being rolled out nationally. Susan Tanner, NOEA’s chief executive said: “In essence balls of fire are being sent into the air uncontrolled and unmonitored causing damage to animals and property. Ultimately there is a risk to human life; we have already seen firefighters injured while tackling a blaze caused by a lantern.” Back in 2011 Michael Eavis said that once the lanterns fall to the ground, the metal frames partially disintegrate: "The wire is then eaten by the cows and sheep and can actually kill them by causing bleeding or blockages in their stomachs. I have had a couple of my own cows die from eating the metal-like needles" adding "We're not arable farmers, but when the crops get tinder dry they will go up in no time if a lit lantern were to land on them. I would like to see them banned nationwide."