Needless to say, the pandemic has had a devastating effect on the events industry as a whole. The live entertainment industry has been particularly hard hit, especially at the scale that we operate. For me, I would say adapting has been more about survival.
It’s been a big shift, in the past, we’ve predominantly focused on promoting our own events and, with everything coming to a halt, it means we’ve had to be more creative, coming up with content, keeping our followers engaged while no live events are taking place. We’ve focused a lot on promoting livestreamed events. This has been a way to keep the fans connected to their favourite artist while staying safe at home.
Being a part of a global company, the pandemic has also highlighted the power that we hold as a collective brand. Combining the social media and communication platforms across 40 countries creates a strong offering to Live Nation artists and clients.
Can you tell us more about your partnership with Health Passport Europe? Big Concerts, together with The Entertainment Group partnered with Health Passport Europe to safely re-open the events industry in South Africa using the latest developments in rapid Covid-19 testing. Last year, we successfully hosted our first event, Recharge 2020, using this technology and the event was a great success, representing an important stepping-stone towards a wider reopening of the event industry in 2021.
I have so much admiration for Big Concerts as a brand and I'm incredibly proud to be part of the journey of such a South African icon. It is certainly an interesting and challenging role at times as it's hard to make absolutely everyone happy when it comes to music tastes, but no two days or events are the same, so it's always fun and inspiring!
There have been many in my 11 years at Big Concerts. One that stands out was meeting Ed Sheeran when he toured here in 2019, I’m such a fan. Then my next would be working on stadium tours, I love the energy of it and getting to work with such incredible colleagues behind the scenes.
We recently collaborated with Jeff Fitness and supported Johno Meintjes with Jeff’s 25-hour workout where R350,000 was raised for Gift of the Givers in support of South Africa’s frontline healthcare workers. As a brand, we wanted to be involved with this great cause. We just love the energy and zest behind the Jeff brand; the pairing of fitness and music is seamless and, of course, it has been important to us to remain present in the lives of South Africans in a time when we can't all be together in person.
A combination of radio, digital advertising and social media.
For me, it’s a combination of hard work ethic, being reliable, passionate and loyal.
