Speakers from other areas to inspire Coliseum

Article posted by Coliseum, March 13^th, 2019

Image: MJR Group Ltd.

Coliseum – a top name in international stadium conferences – is returning to London with 40 top international names in the sports venue business as speakers at the latest edition of Coliseum Summit EUROPE on March 20-21, 2019.

As a unique initiative, speakers at this year’s summit will also include a range of experts from various other specialized areas that have some similarities in operational aspects with stadiums and venues.

“One of the new elements at this year’s summit will be the inclusion of expert speakers from different sectors who will still have something relevant to offer to the stadium and venues sector,” said Michael Rennschmied, the Founder of Coliseum.

For instance, Wilfried Covent, Sr. Security Expert at Brussels airport will throw light on the security measures at parking spaces and other standard safety practices at airports around Europe, which is equally relevant for sports venues.

Two speakers from Wacken Festival – Leander Schlicht and Tim Hoffman – will not only run us through the amazing history of the world’s biggest heavy metal festival but also showcase a range of products that it has created for different price categories catering to a diverse audience. This will offer a perspective from which the stadium sector could benefit as well.

“We are trying to involve other sectors into our conference in order to inspire as well as to get inspired from each other,” Rennschmied remarked.
“Stadium and arena industry should look across the border and learn from other segments, like the Wacken Open Air Festival,” he remarked emphasizing how the festival dubbed as the mecca of heavy metal and hard rock music festival, has emerged as a “great development of customer experience and diversification of products in the last 30 years”.

The keynote speech on the inaugural day will unravel the mantra behind German Football Association’s (DFB) successful bid for UEFA Euro 2024 and will be delivered by Markus Stenger, the head of the DFB’s team that made it happen.

Sam Piccione III, President, Oak View Group (OVG) International will deliver the keynote speech on the concluding day. This will offer an overview of the global venue development, advisory and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries.

“Other distinguished speakers will share their unique case studies and experiences covering all the aspects of sports venue sector such as design, construction, operations, technology, security, fan experience, premium seating etc.,” Rennschmied said, adding: “All kinds of sports will be covered at the conference – soccer, cricket, rugby, horse racing, Gaelic football and even American football.”

The summit will also highlight on the forthcoming FIFA events and on security issues, which has become a major concern for the industry, particularly after last year’s shocking attack on Stade de France in Paris.
In addition, SKIDATA, a leading global company with Head Quarters in Salzburg Austria having decades of experience and expertise delivering stadia access systems will showcase its latest NFC pass reading product Flex.Gate at the event. This will offer Coliseum participants a first-hand experience of the ease and speed NFC offers to fans whilst increasing vital fan experience and engagement.

SKIDATA have installed fully NFC ticketing enabled access systems in several stadiums including The Allianz (Bayern Munich) and Banc of California Stadium (LAFC).

Over 240 venue specialists from 20 countries are expected to participate at the summit. “This is the biggest attendance for the European edition of Coliseum so far. The delegates as well as speakers are from very well known clubs and venues and represent a range of new and under-renovation stadium projects,” Rennschmied said.

Participating delegates will also get unique ‘behind the scene’ experiences through venue tours that would include the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground on March 20.

Conceived and executed by the MJR Group, Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports venue executives and professionals.

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