x

The latest industry news to your inbox.


I'd like to hear about marketing opportunities

    

I accept IQ Magazine's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

news

Budapest prepares for EPFE 2019

The third Event Production Forum East will take place at Akvárium Klub in Budapest, Hungary, next month

By IQ on 10 Oct 2019

EPFE 2019 host Carl Martin

EPFE 2019 host Carl AH Martin


Panels have been announced for the third annual Event Production Forum East (EPFE) summit, which takes place at Akvárium Klub, in central Budapest, on 15 November 2019.

EPFE attracts event professionals working in the central and eastern European (CEE) market, and this year is also opening its doors to all levels of production, venue management, promoters, F&B and supply personnel to benefit from the shared knowledge and debate.

Carl AH Martin, host of EPFE, as well as the ILMC Production Meeting (IPM), states: “Over many years attending and running international panels, I have experienced that the focus tends to be on only the top end of the industry – so arenas, stadia and large festivals are all that are talked about.

“We want to encourage best practice filtering to all corners of the industry, so this year we will be compensating for the other end of the market and making a real effort to be inclusive for venues from 25- to 5,000-capacity.”

EPFE will continue in the same format with four major sessions. In addition to the venues and festival panels, delegates will hear about health and safety and from the ever-entertaining “dinosaurs’” panel featuring respected industry stalwarts.

The day will be scheduled with two sessions either side of lunch and coffee breaks, followed in the evening by a free networking dinner and drinks. In the morning delegates will hear about “what are the normal situations and aggravations to be dealt with, from artist riders, production (in-house and tour requirements), selling the gig, regulatory requirements and, of course, the audience,” according to Martin.

“‘The industry is as advanced here as it is throughout the western world, it just doesn’t shout about it’”

Organisers also hope they can connect with other European conferences and maintain a thread to the discussions so that key outcomes are shared, discussed and moved forward faster, Martin adds: “Another item of perennial conference discussion is health and safety. The normal comment is, ‘not again!’ Well, this is an item that will not go away.

“What we want to do is to pick up the discussion here and persuade other conferences, such as Eurosonic and IPM, to continue the theme. [EPFE 2019] will be talking about this, honestly, in a completely different way of thinking.”

“Although the outside world does tend to think that this area is a ‘developing’ market, that’s true. Bryan Grant, from Britannia Row Productions, was a panel member last year and confirmed to the audience that, ‘The industry is as advanced here as it is throughout the western world, it just doesn’t shout about it! People from outside could learn a lot…’”

Tickets cost €55 and are available at www.tixa.hu/epfe2019.

IPM returns on 4 March 2020. More information will be available shortly.


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.