festivals
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Several years ago, Miami-based Loud And Live CEO Nelson Albareda tried to book Brantley Gilbert for a country festival there — but, he says, Gilbert’s agent wouldn’t even pick up the phone. Though Albareda would grow to be a giant in the Latin touring community — he was named Billboard’s 2023 Latin Power Players executive of the year — at that time he was still building his company.
“I called my accounting team and said, ‘Wire $300,000 to William Morris and put Brantley Gilbert on it. And an agent called me and said, ‘Hey, why’d you wire me $300,000?’ and I said, ‘Exactly for this. We’re on the phone. I want to make a deal.’” And that’s how Loud And Live booked Gilbert for 2016’s one-day Tequila Bay Fest, which also featured Montgomery Gentry (in the duo’s last show before Troy Gentry’s death) and Kip Moore, among others.
But Albareda had much bigger plans on his mind. He was keenly aware that country music appealed to Latinos — a Country Music Assn. study showed that Hispanic country music listeners increased 25% between 2006 and 2016 — and that the Miami market was highly underserved by country music tours, which tended to stop in Palm Beach, Fla. — located 75 miles north — instead.
Flash forward seven years and Albarada is realizing the dream that started so many years ago with this weekend’s two-day Country Bay Music Festival. Kicking off Saturday (Nov. 11), the festival, held on the Miami Marina Stadium grounds in Key Biscayne, Fla. near downtown Miami, will feature headliners Sam Hunt and Thomas Rhett, as well as Lainey Wilson, Chris Young, Lee Brice, Elle King, Blanco Brown and BRELAND, among others. For some local flair, Miami-based Latin acts Alexandra Rodriguez and “Cuban Cowboy” Orlando Mendez are also on the bill, as well as country duo Neon Union, which includes Miami-born Leo Brooks.
This time, Nashville agents were all in. Albareda says he had a phone call with 60 agents to talk about the festival and that former agent Gilbert Paz, who now works for Albareda, visited Nashville at least three times over the last two years to meet with agents and managers.
One of those meetings was with The Core Entertainment, whose clients Nate Smith and Josh Ross are playing the festival. The company’s co-founder, “Chief” Zaruk, remembers meeting with reps from Live And Loud several months ago. “They came to [Nashville] with the purpose of saying, ‘Here’s our concept,’ and to explain to people what their vision was for this festival. They did it very smartly,” he says.
The idea of playing to a more diverse audience immediately appealed to Zaruk. “The Latin scene is massive, so if there’s an audience there that we can tap into that also loves country, we’re excited about the opportunity to get into a new fan base,” he says. “It’s only going to help country music and it’s only going to help personally our artists and we’re really excited to see the reaction.”
Fans can attend the festival via land and sea. The Miami Marine Stadium grounds hold around 25,000 people, but eventgoers can also enjoy it from their own boats with the purchase of a BYOBoat pass. “One of the things we want to do is capitalize on what Miami is all about,” Albareda says. “The venue and the way that it’s laid out has a whole view of downtown Miami. Miami Marine Stadium was originally built as a stadium for boat races, so the stadium faces an entire marine basin. Through the years it’s become an iconic place to anchor your boat. What we’ve done for the first time is secured the permits to close the basin and issued permits for you to bring your boat.”
Albareda adds that the festival’s more than 100 boat permits have sold out, with prices based on how many feet the boat measures. Tickets for landlubbers are scaled from as low as around $144 for a one-day pass to two-day platinum VIP tickets priced at more than $1,000.
Sponsorship dollars are also rolling in, with Zelle serving as the primary partner. “We are 300% above what our original budget was,” Albareda says.
To build awareness for the festival, which Loud and Live is presenting in conjunction with its South Florida-focused live events division, EngageLive!, the promoter held a series of pre-parties at the VIVO! Dolphin Mall featuring free concerts by such acts as Frank Ray and Austin Snell and is slated to hold a kick-off party on Friday night (Nov. 10).
Albareda sees tremendous similarities between the Latin and country genres, including the loyalty of the fans to the artists, the tight-knit industry, the emphasis on family and songs that rely on storytelling. “When you look at country music, it’s all about the story, when you look at Latin music it’s about the story. They’re about ‘I’m in love’ or ‘I’m gonna have a tequila’ or ‘I’m gonna have a beer.’ Those cultural relevances are very similar between Latin and country so that is something that has really attracted me.”
Therefore, Albareda views Country Bay Music Festival as more than a one-off event. “I believe that Loud And Live is not only invested in Country Bay, but in figuring out how do we continue to grow within the country genre,” Albareda says, adding that the company is looking at promoting individual country shows within Miami beyond the festival and then building from there to other cities.
Country Bay’s biggest local competition comes from the three-day Tortuga Music Festival, held every spring in neighboring Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (this year’s edition, which occurred in April, featured Shania Twain, Kenny Chesney and Eric Church, among others). But Albareda sees the two events as more complementary than competitive.
“The festivals are far enough apart and we wanted to differentiate with our diversity. Miami is a diverse city, we wanted a diverse line-up,” Albareda says. “The idea was to [be] reflective of what’s happening overall with music and even with country. Also, if you’re going to have it in Miami, you should reflect the diversity of a market like Miami.”
While it’s too early to know for sure how successful Country Bay will be financially, Albareda is bullish on country music’s overall future in Miami. “We expect hopefully to make money and, if not, to break even,” he says. “Whether it will be profitable or not, we have a multi-year internal commitment to build the festival. We are already picking talent for next year.”
Erykah Badu & Herbie Hancock are headlining the music & food fest this weekend, taking place Nov. 10-12 across downtown Los Angeles.
The “Biggest Party in the South” is back for 2024.
Pepsi Rock the South 2024 will return to Cullman, Alabama for a three-day festival July 18-20 withheadliners Eric Church, HARDY and Jelly Roll along with Oliver Anthony, Parker McCollum, Flatland Cavalry, Warren Zeiders, Priscilla Block, Wyatt Flores, Nelly, Gavin Adcock, Nate Smith and more throughout the three-day event.
As Rock the South continues to grow, organizers have increased the festival site by over 45 percent, invested in infrastructure improvements for campers, and added ways to beat the heat with the Honky Tonk Hideaway, a large-scale air-conditioned Nashville Broadway Experience outfitted with an acoustic stage, line-dancing lessons and more.
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Tickets will go on sale Friday (Nov. 3). Pre-sale registration is now open and ends Wednesday (Nov. 1) at 10 a.m.
“After being named the Alabama Tourism Department’s Event of the Year, we’re excited to announce this year’s event, building on the success of our record-breaking 2023 and are prepared for 2024 to be the most incredible year yet,” said Nathan Baugh, Pepsi Rock the South partner. “Our biggest focus is always producing an incredible event with music’s biggest names. We love hearing the level of impact Rock the South has in our County and regionally.”
“Crafting the lineup for Pepsi® Rock the South 2024 has been an incredible journey. We’ve listened to our fans and aimed for the stars,” said Shane Quick, partner of Pepsi Rock the South. “This year, we’ve brought together an amazing lineup of artists that truly reflects what our fans want to ensure they have an unforgettable three days. We have so many great things in store for Rock the South 2024.”
Learn more at rockthesouth.com.
SXM Festival is returning to its Caribbean home of St. Martin this spring, with a just-announced crew of artists.
The dance festival’s phase one lineup, released on Tuesday (Oct. 24), includes techno creator Kevin Saunderson, house mainstay Loco Dice, Israeli producer Adam Ten, British duo Eli & Fur, German legend Anja Scheider and many more. The event will also feature a sunrise event curated by the ever-vibey Anjunadeep.
SXM has happened on St. Martin since 2016 and will once again take place in locations around the island, with beach parties, pool parties, villa parties, boat parties and jungle parties all on the lineup. The majority of the festival happens on private beach adjacent to the jungle. The event will also offer day trips including hikes and cultural excursions.
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Tickets go on sale Nov. 2, with both three-day and seven-day passes available.
“With great excitement and anticipation, we present phase one of the 2024 lineup, marking the beginning of our seventh edition,” says SXM founder, Julian Prince. “This launch sets the stage for an incredible journey of music, art, and unity. The carefully crafted lineup is a testament to our unwavering commitment to providing an unforgettable experience for our festival-goers. It is a celebration of the limitless creativity and passion within the electronic music community.”
“Together,” Prince continues, “we will weave a tapestry of emotions, where joy, exhilaration, and pure euphoria converge beneath the Caribbean sun. Join us as we ignite the spirit of SXM Festival and unleash the magic that has made it an extraordinary event.”
See the phase one lineup below.
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Thomas Rhett, Dierks Bentley and Billy Strings will spearhead the music lineup for the inaugural Big as Texas Festival slated for May 10-12, 2024, at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Conroe, Texas, just outside of Houston.
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In addition to Bentley, Strings and Rhett, the lineup also includes 49 Winchester, Anne Wilson, Clay Walker, Amanda Shires, Dwight Yoakam, Hannah Dasher, Maddie & Tae, Midland, Morgan Wade, Tracy Byrd, Julia Cole and Warren Zeiders.
The three-day festival will feature more than 26 hours of live music from 35 artists. The curated performance lineup also nods heavily to the festival’s Texas stomping grounds; one-third of the artists set to perform hail from the Lone Star State.
“We are stepping out in grand fashion for our inaugural year, and I couldn’t be more excited about the stellar music lineup we have curated for next May. It’s ultimately meant to be representative of the many facets of country and Americana music because we like to think there is something for everyone at Big as Texas Fest,” Big as Texas’ co-executive producer and talent buyer Steve Said noted in a statement.
“With an incredible lineup secured for year one, my team and I now turn our attention to curating all of the major aspects of the festival-going experience for fans — from the food and drink to the nonprofit partnerships to the immersive activations. We already have a lot of amazing plans in store for our fans, and I’m hopeful Texans will show out in major form to support our independent locally owned festival,” added Big As Texas’s co-executive producer Trey Diller, a lifelong resident and community advocate based in the Conroe community.
Beyond music, the festival will offer activities including custom car shows, equestrian exhibitions, art installation and camping.
Additionally, the festival aims to give back by focusing on raising awareness around mental health issues and suicide prevention. Festival organizers will invite local experts, doctors, therapists and more to join onsite in May. In addition to offering resources during the festival, organizers will donate 10 percent of net ticket proceeds from each individual ticket sold to 501 (c)(3) nonprofits that promote suicide prevention in Montgomery County and across Texas.
Three-day general admission passes are on sale now at bigastexasfest.com.
Every time a terrorist or active shooter attacks a music event — from “ >Israel’s Supernova Sukkot Festival invasion on Oct. 7 to the 2017 massacre at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas — police, promoters and venues pledge to improve concert security by adding things like metal detectors, bomb-sniffing dogs and even facial-recognition technology. And while it’s impossible to fully protect venues against gunmen with Kalashnikovs or organized terrorist strikes, three crowd-safety experts told Billboard how fans can help protect themselves in the event of an attack:
— Charge your phone – and consider bringing a portable charger to festivals. “It makes a difference,” advises Nicholas Dawe, fire marshal for Cobb County, Ga., which encompasses Atlanta. “You need a phone to connect with your friends.”
— Use the buddy system. “Keep up with somebody. Watch each other’s backs,” Dawe says. “It’s easy to lose someone, especially nowadays. Four eyes is better than two.”
— Study the venue in advance. Track down a map and go over the sometimes detailed official safety precautions. “When I go to a venue, one of the first things I do is look at where my exits are, and possibly the secondary and maybe even a third exit,” says Howard Levinson, owner of Expert Security Consulting in Norton, Mass.
— Envision an escape route on-site. In an emergency, Levinson says, having a mental escape plan could save your life: “It might be smoke, it might be a situation [where] the lights are out. You picture what it would be like if you couldn’t see, if you had to go on your hands and knees and crawl out.”
— “If you see something, say something.” It’s a cliche, and you might feel uncomfortable eavesdropping and reporting suspicious strangers, but this is standard anti-terrorism advice for large events, posted prominently on official websites for Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, the City of Chicago and elsewhere. “Telling your friends is not a good idea,” Dawe says. “Say something to security and police personnel.”
— Keep your faculties. It’s hard to avoid weed-smoking and beer-drinking at shows, but avoid getting so blotto that you can’t clear your head and figure out what’s going on during a crisis. “I know it’s not the coolest thing to say, but it does impact how you perceive the circumstance,” Dawe says. “Being alert is pretty much your best option.”
— In a pinch, look for a fire extinguisher. It can be a self-defense weapon. “If somebody is coming for you, before you lock yourself in a closet, an extinguisher could temporarily blind people to possibly allow yourself to escape and overtake them,” Levinson says.
— Flee. Steven Adelman, vice president of the Event Safety Alliance, a concert-industry group of promoters and security experts that puts out a free crowd-management guide, reels off a macabre list of tragedies, from Columbine to Sandy Hook to the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., and gives one word of advice: “Evacuate.” Then he adds: “Quickly.” Just as if there’s a lightning storm at an outdoor event. “We live in harm’s way — when we go to school or an entertainment event or a supermarket or a church,” he says. “What can people do? Be prepared to run.”
The world’s largest automotive trade show is launching a music festival next month, bringing together live entertainment and car culture in Las Vegas.
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) — a 60-year-old trade organization representing after-market auto part manufacturers and sellers — is launching the first-ever SEMA Fest at the Las Vegas festival grounds Nov. 3-4 with performances by acts including Imagine Dragons, Incubus, Wiz Khalifa, AJR, Third Eye Blind, Bush and Walk the Moon. The festival takes place during the annual SEMA trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which will open to the general public for the first time. Besides music, the festival will also include a full slate of immersive automotive lifestyle events, a consumer marketplace, world-class drifting, motorsports competitions and freestyle motocross.
“What we’ve noticed over the last 10 years is that the connection between a manufacturer and an end-user is getting closer and closer,” says Tom Gattuso, vp of events at SEMA.
“We decided as an association a couple years ago to open a membership category to an enthusiast or a consumer,” he added, noting that prior to 2023, the SEMA trade show was only open to wholesalers and retailers.
“And as soon as we opened it up, the consumer wanted to know how they could be part of the event,” Gattusto continued. “So we started to think how we could really engage consumers and have this complete distribution cycle where you’ve got manufacturing, distribution, and end-user all in one place. So we created SEMA Fest with an eye on automotive activation tying in another passion — live music — that would help our industry with growth.”
Tickets for the two-day festival start at $179, while tickets to both the Friday tradeshow and the weekend festival start at $299.
“Everybody remembers the first time they drove their car all by themselves — it was all about driving in the car, but also what you were listening to on the radio,” says Gattuso, who hired California talent buyer Roger LeBlanc to book the festival. “We really got positive response from both the industry and the public at large and we’re excited to see it all come together in November.”
SEMA Fest will be spread out over two stages, with the lineup of 21 artists also including The Struts, Ludacris and Dead Sara. There will also be three activation areas for Formula Drift, Hooligan off-road racing and Nitro Circus freestyle motocross.
“There will always be something to do as fans make their way through the festival grounds, either exploring something that may be new to them or exploring something that’s a deep passion for them and really interacting together in that space,” Gattuso says.
Click here to learn more about SEMA Fest.
When David Sinopoli answers the phone, he’s at his Miami nightclub Jolene, rolling joints.
Sinopoli, along with member of his staff, are prepping roughly 1,000 joints as part of the gift bags artists will be getting at III Points, the festival Sinopoli co-founded in 2013, which launches its 2023 edition on Friday (Oct. 20) at Miami’s Mana Wynwood center and its adjacent blocks. Other goodie bag items include crystals and magic mushrooms. (But not too many, as in past years, a few artists got so high that they had trouble getting onstage.)
“It’s become [a tradition] where we can all get together, eat some food, everyone plays music,” Sinopoli says of this annual rolling session. “It’s really nice, fun and quite wholesome.”
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It’s also one of the personal touches that have made III Points a standout on the U.S. electronic festival circuit over the last decade, while also elevating Miami one of the crown jewels cities in the country’s electronic scene. It’s founders grew up in Miami, and the lineup is 60% local acts — Coffintexts, Jonny From Space, Nick León — along with 2023 headliners including Skrillex, Fred again.., Iggy Pop, Caroline Polacheck, Grimes and Black Coffee. The food vendors and visual artists are also all from the city, as are many of the 50,000 people who attend over its two days.
“I think it’s just very authentically Miami, and a real time capsule of Miami sonically and visually right now,” Sinopoli says of putting on a festival with an identify and real personality. “I think people feel that when they come.”
III Points is able to rep the city so well because Sinopoli and his team — “they’re connected here 365” — know it so intimately. Sinopoli is also the co-owner of Space, the city’s 24-hour bacchanal of a nightclub that he, along with Davide Danese and Coloma Kaboomsky, took over in 2016. He’s also the owner and operator of Factory Town, a 190,000-square foot arts and nightlife complex built in a World War II-era mattress factory, as well as the cocktail bar Floyd and Jolene, the intimate “sound room” where Sinopoli and his some staff are rolling Js.
David Sinopoli
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Born in New Jersey, Sinopoli relocated to Fort Myers with his family when he was 15. He was diagnosed with cancer while in high school, once spending five months in isolation at a Durham Children’s Hospital. A bone marrow transplant from his brother eventually brought him back to good health, and after he finished high school, Sinopoli went to college in Gainesville. He rose through that city’s nightlife scene then making a name for himself in South Florida, where he founded III Points in 2013 with his business partner Erica Freshman. Their statement-making debut lineup featured James Murphy, Jamie xx and DJ Shadow, a crew that was 180 degrees away from the big-name EDM DJs dominating the city’s club scene in that era.
Carving out a place for underground and indie-leaning electronic music, and getting acts to town that might otherwise never play there, “is part of the reason I started III Points,” Sinopoli says.
Routing a tour to Miami has long been financially challenging for artists, with many acts just skipping the city altogether. “To play Miami and be supported by Orlando and Tampa on the way down almost doesn’t make sense [for artists],” Sinopoli says. “A lot of time Orlando and Tampa don’t support the same things Miami does. Miami is in Florida, but it’s not f–king Florida.”
III Points has also been embraced within the industry for booking new acts agents are excited about, but who don’t often yet have major name recognition. Sinopoli says while such signings “maybe are not making the most sense financially,” they payoff is in fresh lineups, industry goodwill and the opportunity to break artists and grow along with them.
As the festival has expanded Sinopoli says many agents now just block off the weekend in advance then look for an offer from III Points. This is easier given the fest happens in the fall, the opposite side of the year from Miami’s other major electronic music festival, Ultra. While there’s some lineup overlap, each largely does its own thing, with Ultra driving loads of business at Space, Factory Town and Floyd each March.
Business was also shored up when III Points partnered with electronic festival behemoth Insomniac Events in 2019. The company took an ownership stake in Space and became partners in all of Sinopoli’s business ventures. “They sat with us for a long time before they stepped in in some of the areas we really needed them,” he says. “They let us make mistakes first, before they were like, ‘We can help you with that.’”
“I’m not even 40 yet,” he continues, “so I’m learning so much by mistake, and sometimes you can’t afford to keep making mistakes, because it will put you out of business.”
Insomniac has been especially helpful in training him and his team in marketing and budget management. “We would think we made money or only lost that much money,” he says, “then the real report would come out and it’d be like, a swift kick in the stomach. They helped us understand that you start with this budget, then every 30 days you cut it down, then cut it down again.”
The partnership was especially stabilizing in the pandemic and its aftermath. In 2020, III Points moved its dates four times: “It was [Insomniac’s] backing that allowed us to do it,” Sinopoli says. “If it was up to us, we would have cashed in and walked away.”
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The peace of mind of solvency allows for a focus on music and experiences. When assembling lineups, the team first considers who hasn’t been to Miami in awhile, and who’s never been at all. Sinopoli also dreams up the moments and vibes he’d like to create, then plugs in the artists mostly likely to conjure them. This worked especially well in 2017, when The xx played the mainstage with a glowing light on the festival’s giant disco ball (“the largest disco ball on the southeast!”) that gently twinkled on the side of the warehouse wall.
“It almost looked like raindrops, then all sudden this cold drizzle of rain started coming down on the crowd.” Sinopoli looked next to him and saw his production manager was crying. “Because it wasn’t something we could have planned,” he says. “It was like this f–king God moment.”
This weekend will, fingers crossed, deliver other such magic. III Points’ six stages will host the aforementioned headliners, along with Explosions In The Sky, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Alice Glass, SBTRKT, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Moscoman & Whitesquare and many other stars and up and comers culled from both around the world and around the block.
Sinopoli laughs when asked if he feels like he runs the city’s electronic scene. “No! No, no,” he insists, listing a dozen names of people on his staff that help make it all possible. He’s been having a lot of big-picture conversations about the festival’s ten-year anniversary, but his days are more about details, like lights on the disco ball and joints rolled with love.
“We’re so deep in the bubble that I don’t really even grab on to any outside significance of it,” he says. “It’s really just about the next show.”
CRSDD Music Festival has been a fixture of the Southern California electronic circuit for more than a decade, having become so, and stayed so, on the power of lineups featuring a smart blend of legends, rising stars, reliable genres and experimental sounds.
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The fall 2023 edition of the festival, which happened this past September 23-24, demonstrated this same balance. Headliners included Flume, Underworld, Amelie Lens and Charlotte de Witte, with a loaded undercard including Salute, DJ Minx, Weval, TSHA, HAAI, SG Lewis and many others.
This electronic melange was set against the extremely picturesque San Diego waterfront, with the festival again drawing thousands of fans to its longtime base at the city’s Bayfront Park.
Were you there? Did you miss it? Either way, take some time to transport yourself back to the event with these three exclusive CRSSD Fall 2023 sets from Basement Jaxx, Interplanetary Criminal and Nikki Nair.
Basement Jaxx
The English legends brought the heat during their headlining set, loading up their 90 minute performance with loads of funk, disco strings, Latin rhythms, edits of their own hits, classic Donna Summer and lots of other mega high-energy house music.
Interplanetary Criminal
The rising Manchester native played a 75-minutes set made of ultra fast-paced house music, spatial experimental sounds, drum ‘n’ bass and loads of hard house by U.K. and Irish artists including Knuckleheadz, Camrisa and Ryan Donaghy.
Nikki Nair
The Atlanta-born producer loaded his set with experimental sounds, with the vibe ranging from spare to elastic to crunchy to spacey to pummeling. Listen for his 2023 Hudson Mohwake collab “Demuro.”
Dutch dance festival DGTL will produce its first U.S. editions this December.
DGTL launches in the States with back-to-back days happening on opposite ends of the country. On Friday, Dec. 1, the festival will go down in New York City with a lineup that includes a live set from Danish trio WhoMadeWho, techno titan Ida Engberg, amapiano artist AMÉMÉ, German deep house producer Henrik Schwarz, Irish mainstay Mano Le Tough and South Korean producer Shubostar.
The next day, a similar version of this show will happen 3,000 miles away in Los Angeles, with DGTL’s Dec. 2 lineup also featuring WhoMadeWho, Mano Le Tough, Henrik Schwarz and Shubostar, along with French duo Parallelle.
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Venues for these events have not yet been announced.
Both shows will be put on in partnership with the longstanding New York City-based electronic producer Teksupport, with the Los Angeles show also produced in partnership with Stranger Than. Both companies have established themselves by producing dance events in non-traditional locations in their respective regions.
Originating in Amsterdam, DGTL has also done festivals in Barcelona, Madrid, Tel Aviv, Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Santiago, São Paulo and Guadalajara.
Since its launch in The Netherlands in 2013, the festival has become known for its immersive, cutting-edge stage designs. It’s also a leader in sustainable live events, with initiatives including plant-based food options on site, extensive recycling programs and elimination of single-use plastics and residual waste.
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