Delivering world-class events from movie premieres and classical shows to international sports events and megastar music concerts’
Thomas Ovesen is the CEO 117 Live, an entertainment company responsible for organizing headline live events with the biggest stars such as Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, and Ed Sheeran. We sat with Ovesen to discuss the latest developments in the regional live entertainment industry ahead of his particpation at Prolight + Sound Middle East’s Events Technology and Entertainment Development Forum.
1. What have been some of the most popular events organised by 117 Live over the years and why?
We only kicked off the 117Live business here in Dubai with a Nicki Minaj March 2016 show but had done some UK shows prior and since then have rolled out a great season of events including shows with Justin Bieber, Guns ’N Roses, Elton John, Jennifer Lopez and Ed Sheeran.
Prior to this I have promoted shows here with the likes of Shakira, Aerosmith, One Direction, Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart, Stone Roses, Mariah Carey etc but I think the most popular of the shows I have worked on in Dubai has been Phil Collins and The Eagles….probably shows that with most events targeting a slightly younger audience when once in a while a legendary heritage super star act like these comes to town then fans will turn out in large numbers for what to them might be one of the big nights of their year, perhaps even life!
It also reflects that whilst some of the current chart toppers like Bieber have some amazing shows it is the fan pull that sells the tickets whereas for stars like The Eagles and Phil Collins it was also a matter of the amazing songs, quality of the musicians and very importantly the reminiscence for the fans allowing everyone in attendance to relieve an important part of their lives……
2. What are people yearning for now in live entertainment and what is in store for us in the future?
On the touring circuit we now see tours heavily reliant on video and screens, recreating what you see in a music video and with creative and impressive hydraulic and aerial elements including for some artists even acrobatic features like silks etc……then you have the likes of U2 that “just” drops the biggest video wall ever seen and in front of that performs a downscaled, back to basic style show which I guess pretty much reflects the diversity of the type of shows you will see touring over the coming years and based on whether chart topping pop acts or older heritage acts wanting just to keep it “real”.
But I think the new trend in live entertainment or admission based entertainment is the conventions like comicon, beauty cons, tech and game based as well as high octane offering sportainment style events….these are event types we will see more of in the coming years in particular when indoor venues and arenas open here.
3. Why is Dubai such an ideal stage to host large-scale live events?
It isn’t really when it comes to large scale shows and events – we had to build our own venue to find a space where we could, through higher than usual volume and frequency of events and investment in “permanent” infrastructure, bring down the cost per event to minimize the challenging margins such events carry in our market.
Remember that for a big tour to get to play in Dubai the tour will have to abandon the cheaper truck transportation and ability to move between revenue earning events over night as they do when they tour Europe, North America etc to costly air freight and multiple hotel nights here for only 1 night of a revenue generating activity.
However Dubai is the ultimate hub of the region in particular when it comes to entertainment and is by far the city most fans prefer to travel to for a bit of fun and excitement so we just need to get the purpose built venues put in place and more public transportation options for fans to be able to experience hassle free large scale events on a regular basis!
4. What have been the key challenges you’ve had to overcome that are unique to Dubai in delivering world-class live events?
Lack of purpose build venues and traffic – traffic meaning both the current need for fans getting to and from shows via conventional car and taxi transport but also the challenges of the road system coping with such traffic in and around the large scale concert and entertainment venues/areas.
As the last missing puzzle in the hospitality and entertainment sector here I think both issues will be dealt with soon and the authorities here are certainly aware of and in support of such developments.
5. Where do see the opportunities for the live entertainment sector with the advent of Dubai Expo 2020?
The event itself, the 6 months of the expo hosting pavilions and activities from all over the world combined with visiting guests will naturally require the entertainment sector’s support and involvement and the city and entire UAE will still need entertainment so the issue is not so much what we do to accommodate the Expo but how we prepare to cope with both the Expo and then what hopefully will be a steady growing inbound tourism thereafter.
Some legacy venues for the Expo event will also off us new options for event locations post Expo and the 6 months of high volume tourism should generate repeated returns. I see it more as a matter of planning for a steady growth in business volume over the coming 5-10 years but with the expectation of a jump in requirements and potential around 2020!
6. To what degree is the entertainment industry ready given the scale of infrastructure and other projects ongoing in preparation for the Expo 2020?
I think we will only know once the various pavilions, exhibitors and Expo operators announces and goes to market with their event plans but with our own Autism Rocks Arena, the new Dubai Arena, Dubai Opera etc we have some great venues in town for the Expo event and then as we are so used to here we can convert sporting arenas and facilities, car parks, hotel lawns and parks into entertainment venues as required!!
7. Will there be a major industry shift post Expo 2020 and what will key stakeholders need to do to prepare for this?
We might come out of Expo with a sight over capacity in available resources when it comes to rental companies, event organizers etc but I think the constant upward trajectory of our business means the natural lift in business also beyond 2020 will utilize such resources however as is customs on the back of the Expo there will be movements in industry individuals as well as companies for all for the better I think. Key is also what legacy venues and infrastructure will remain from the Expo….exciting prospect for our industry!
8. Finally, how important is it for you to speak at the The Events Technology and Entertainment Development Forum?
Very – meeting peers, colleagues, competitors and clients is always good and to be able to contribute with my experiences and views on our business is always a great way to also gauge our compatibility within the local industry as well as compared with the rest of the world.