American football’s NFL has proposed that musicians should have to pay to perform at the coveted Super Bowl Halftime Show.

The proposal received a “chilly reception” from Coldplay, Katy Perry and Rihanna, the three musicians under consideration for the 2015 show, according to the Wall Street Journal newspaper.

Traditionally the NFL has not paid a performance fee to the stars of the show, although it does cover expenses for the act and the entourage.

The Halftime Show, which takes place on the pitch in the break between the second and third quarters in the NFL’s showpiece game, always attracts one of the largest global television audiences of the year.

A record audience of 115.3 million viewers tuned in for the 2014 Halftime Show on February 2 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bruno Mars taking to the stage.

According to data measurement company Nielsen, musicians who perform at the Halftime Show regularly experience a significant spike in album sales and paid digital downloads due to the exposure of the performance. Several acts have used the Halftime Show as a platform to launch a new album.

It has been reported that the NFL has proposed a revenue-sharing arrangement whereby the league would receive a portion of additional album sales income as an alternative to a flat fee from the performers.

NFL spokeswoman Joanna Hunter said that the league’s priority was to “put on the best possible show” for fans.

“When we have something to announce, we’ll announce it,” she added.

In June, Variety magazine reported that the NBC network is asking advertisers to pay $4.5m for a 30-second spot during the 2015 Super Bowl – a record figure and a 12.5-per-cent increase on the Fox network’s advertising rate card for the 2014 game.

The Super Bowl Halftime Show has attracted the biggest names in the music business over the years, with performers including The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, The Rolling Stones, U2, Tina Turner, Phil Collins, Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Paul McCartney, Madonna and Michael Jackson.

The 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show will take place on February 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Many will be looking forward to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games this summer purely because of the sporting action that will be taking place across Scotland’s largest city, with stars such as Mo Farah set to be competing. However, in recent years major sporting events have not only been required to provide a city full of the best in sporting stadiums and facilities but also a comprehensive cultural programme.

The Cultural Olympiad, which took place as part of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, included artists from across the country taking part in large scale cultural events. The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games is planning a similar array of arts projects to take place around the Games.

Organisers have called the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme an ‘unprecedented nationwide programme of activity’ that includes 200 projects and exhibitions and over 800 events. The programme is split into two separate brands: Culture 2014, which is a longer term project that is taking place across Scotland, and Festival 2014, which is the Glasgow-based side of the project that will run alongside side the sporting activities. 

Culture 2014 is set to include dance performances, stand-up comedy and theatre projects across Scotland which will aim to involve a large number of people from a wide range of backgrounds. Festival 2014 will then provide two weeks of culture and arts in the host city of Glasgow, which organisers hope will act as a celebration of the Games. 

A sporting and cultural event

The head of this ambitious cultural programme is Jill Miller. She says the cultural function of the Commonwealth Games is now a key element of the event that needs to be integrated in with the sporting aspects. 

“The organising committee for the Games has been very clear about this, it is a sporting and cultural event,” explains Miller. “I think that’s something that’s changed. What we’re really keen on is that this is about strengthening what’s happening in the city to make the city the very best host is possibly can be.”

Miller experienced the cultural side of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Manchester and Delhi and she says this experience has given her team a great insight into how best to put together a cultural programme. 

“We went to look at what was happening in terms of how these festivals were delivered. We came back from all of those experiences and developed a model in Glasgow that was about engaging with our existing cultural sectors, to make sure they had the opportunity to accelerate their ambitions.”

Legacy is often cited as one of the key aspects of any cities’ bid to host a major sports event, but this is usually looked upon from a sporting and infrastructure perspective. In London the regeneration of the East End and the lasting effects of inspirational sporting achievements were cited as key parts of the legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games. 

However, Miller wants to also include the legacy element of the Games into the cultural programme. “I would suggest the festival we have in the city is much more integrated into the plans and the developments for the future… what we’re trying to do is get people to come back post 2014,” she says.

Host with the most

As part of this legacy, the programme aims to promote the host city to the rest of the Commonwealth, and vice versa, through working with a range of government bodies and wider international organisations. “This is absolutely about showcasing Scotland and Glasgow within the Commonwealth and working with the Commonwealth in a way that we can actually showcase them in Scotland and Glasgow.

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The Glastonbury Festival has secured a new premises licence that will enable it to continue to hold the event at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, until 2024.

The new application received only a few representations, of which all concerns were satisfied by the deadline. In the past, Glastonbury Festival's licences have been subject to scrutiny in a public hearing because of objections from the public or concerns from those with an interest in the safety of the event such as the police, fire or ambulance services.

As one of the world’s largest cultural events without any permanent infrastructure, Glastonbury Festival requires large amounts of temporary event infrastructure and seasonal operational expertise. 

Ensuring safety at the music festival will fall under the watch of Nigel Hunt, building control manager at Mendip District Council and interim head of the proposed Somerset Building Control Partnership.

“This is an enormous festival and no one can afford to be complacent – we will continue to work with the organisers to ensure this remains one of the safest events anywhere, and if we have any doubts about this we will take action,” said Mr Hunt. 

“Thankfully, this year everything went without a hitch and my team did a superb job as ever.”

His structures monitoring team, which already has many years of Glastonbury Festival experience, is responsible for all temporary structures including the Avalon Inn, the Irish Piano Bar and the new BBC studio in The Park, as well as all the stages and platforms.

Building control teams are involved as part of the licensing team at sporting and cultural events. 

“This is my second year working at Glastonbury and I still can’t believe the size and scale of the festival, the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes and the number of miles the building control team have to walk every day on their shifts,” said local authority building control (LABC) director of training Anna Thompson, who attended this year’s festival as part of the structures monitoring team for Mendip District Council.

Theatre lovers in Bern are being offered something very special. Performances for the 2016 season take place not in the usual venerable municipal theatre, but in the middle of Bern's Old Town. NUSSLI has installed a temporary theatre cube, with a historical appearance, in record time on Waisenhausplatz. 

The theatre opened on March 19 with a programme of exciting, impassioned and fascinating performances that runs until October 2016. 

"If the restoration work at the municipal theatre is delayed again, we can easily leave the cube standing for another season during the winter or even adjust the building to changing needs at a later date," says NUSSLI Project Manager, Christian Frei. 

For a year and a half, Frei and his team worked on the development of the system with which the halls can be constructed within a very short time, even at the most unusual locations, in any size and with column-free spans of up to 40m. 

Efficient and Easy to Build 

Frei was often on site during construction on Waisenhausplatz and lent a hand time and again, because the assembly of the modular hall system is almost as thrilling as its unlimited applications. 

At the very beginning, the assembly crew installs the external structure with the flexible NUSSLI construction system. Then, they completely assemble the roof structure, including the sound and lighting fixtures, on the ground at a comfortable working height within the designated construction area. Finally, the entire roof structure is moved to its final height. 

This construction method reduces the required installation space to a minimum and enables installation even on sensitive ground while increasing the safety of the crew. All the streets around the cube on Bern's Waisenhausplatz were able to remain open to traffic throughout the construction, and the crane-free assembly did not stress the underlying parking garage structure in any way. 

Central Location Opens up Possibilities 

The idea of bringing the theatre cube to the audience instead of bringing the audience to an existing provisional arrangement opens up new possibilities for the Bern Theatre. 

The program was therefore put together with a conscious effort to include events which reflect the central position in the public square and appeal to various interests. So, a tango milonga, a public viewing of the European Football Championship and a James Bond evening are scheduled in addition to ballet, opera and drama. 

The modular hall system offers some important advantages, especially for construction projects in public places, on sensitive ground, or with limited access. The construction system requires no foundations, there is significantly less point loading than with construction using conventional steel supports, and the total load is evenly distributed over the entire ground surface. 

Because Waisenhausplatz sits directly atop a parking garage which is subject to special static requirements, there were no problems for the theatre cube despite its 1000sq m size and 200-ton weight. No heavy crane equipment is needed, especially for assembly work in modular hall system.

"We could have set the theatre cube up on the Pilatus or on a golf course," laughs Project Manager Frei. "That would work." 

Plan Today, Build Tomorrow 

The planning of the Bern Theatre cube with 480 seats, catering, backstage and technical areas as well as a cloakroom took less than a year. 

"A month after the first truck rolled out with its material, the cube was already cladded, equipped, and ready to go," recounts Christian Frei. 

He is looking forward to the reactions after the first performance, but adds quite calmly: "If the theatre organisation still wants modifications, it can be quickly and easily adjusted. The walls of the cube are also made of system material. They have just the exact thickness so that the entire installation can be accommodated in them and still remain easily accessible." 

Plans for the next projects with the modular hall system are already underway. Besides other theatre constructions, NUSSLI is planning a double-decker bridge for the IndyCar race in Boston in September. A bridge that has it all, because it crosses over the racetrack to the South Boston waterfront and will be equipped as a VIP lounge. 

The sophisticated structure consists entirely of system material. Therefore, it is possible to start construction one day after approval of the construction concept on the part of the client or the authorities - which is unparalleled.

This article was written by NUSSLI

Ben Avison: I was fortunate enough to be in Glasgow for the MTV EMAs – what a fantastic show!

Bruce Gillmer: It was a great show, we are very proud. The city was great too, it was a good partnership – it was a good one for sure, glad you were there.

Ben Avison: What qualities is Viacom looking for in a host city of the MTV EMAs?

Bruce Gillmer: First and foremost, we are attracted to cities that have rich musical heritage and robust music fans – that lights up the scoreboard for us. Cities that are interesting culturally are attractive. 

Also a city that’s easy to travel in and out of from a variety of different cities around the world – easy to get to from the US and the UK, not too far off the beaten path. 

Something that is of huge importance to us is the presence of a proper venue to stage the event. 

Ben Avison: What are the main technical requirements of a venue to host the MTV EMAs?

Bruce Gillmer: The EMAs is quite a big event, so generally speaking we look for an arena that can hold approximately 10,000 fans and VIPs. We prefer a structure that’s on the newer side, maybe built in the last 10 years.

The Hydro this year was incredible. We got tremendous feedback from the artists, fans and VIPs. It was a comfortable environment with very good sightlines, no matter where you are sitting, for taking in the various different staging that we had around the venue.

And then there are all the other ancillary bits – a dressing room area that can support a red carpet pre-show and so on. The newer venues tend to be much more appropriate for an event of this scale.

Ben Avison: How can hosting the MTV EMAs benefit a city?

Bruce Gillmer: There’s the obvious economic boost that an event brings to a city, with several people travelling in from all around the world. 

But really we think the value is in the amount of exposure on an international level that the event brings to the host city. There’s all of the pre-show marketing and promo and press, and then the broadcast of the EMAs itself reaches over 160 territories around the world – it’s a massive audience on every platform. In our minds that’s key – it’s the international exposure. 

Also, the EMAs is synonymous with being super-relevant. A city that’s hosting the EMAs will be seen as a forward-looking, exciting location.

Ben Avison: What opportunities are there for cities outside Europe to host MTV events?

Bruce Gillmer: We host a variety of events around the world and we’ve got several award shows in addition to the EMAs, starting with the MAMAs, which is the Mother Africa Music Awards that takes place in Africa each year. 

In the past it’s been in Lagos but most recently in Durban. The next host will be another exciting city in South Africa that will prove to be most advantageous from a staging production perspective. The other locations were extremely interesting from a cultural standpoint. 

We have the VMAJs (Video Music Awards Japan) which is our awards show for MTV Japan, in Tokyo. 

We also produce a variety of World Stage events around the world, which is not an awards per se – it’s basically a collection of artists, both international and local. It’s in Malaysia each year; we’ve been to quite a few cities around Mexico; we also host several events throughout Europe. We reach every major cluster of the world with our events.

It’s not just the obvious locations. We go for keen interest from a city or from a partner to go to a certain location, as long as it makes sense from a staging and production perspective and we can get what we need and we’ve got robust audience and excited music fans, then we’ll consider. 

Ideas for events sometimes come to us from external partners or cities. In the case of the MAMAs, we staged an event also on South Africa a couple of years ago – the MTV Africa All Stars – where we had a vast array of artists from different genres from all over the continent – just. We also brought Snoop down, which was really cool and there was a lot of interaction between the artists.

So we’ve literally been to every corner of the world. 

Ben Avison: How important are the EMAs to the MTV brand?

Bruce Gillmer: We do a vast array of events throughout the year; they are all important and they all serve a purpose and they all quite frankly support our brand and help us keep connected to the audience, which is vital. 

The EMAs is really the crowning jewel and it really does personify the MTV brand. It’s always cutting edge; we hope that it’s always funny and fun and irreverent – all these characteristics are part of the DNA for the MTV brand. It’s really our opportunity to bring the brand to life in one glorious evening. 

Ben Avison: The next MTV EMAs is in Milan, isn’t it?

Bruce Gillmer: Correct, we’re extremely excited about that. We announced that partnership as we were leaving Glasgow so really looking forward to that experience. The city of Milan really seems to be excited as well  and we look forward to it.

Ben Avison: Have you had much interaction with the World Expo people there?

Bruce Gillmer: Not a tremendous amount just yet but I assume as the weeks and months go on we will for sure, because we are tied in and meant to be the exclamation point to the Expo if you like. We always look to bring the fun with us.

This interview first appeared in the Winter 2014/15 issue of HOST CITY magazine

Host City: We are very much looking forward to your participation in Host City 2016. What do you think is most interesting about the conference agenda?
John Langford: I think it’s a much needed conversation piece, realising the economic impact that big events can deliver. In particular I think there’s a growing focus on cultural events. 

Host City: Are we seeing a greater convergence of sport and entertainment?
John Langford: Yes we are definitely seeing more of that and I think there are two reasons. The first is that the lines between sport and non-sport entertainment are becoming blurred. We are expecting it to be integrated: whether it’s a Super Bowl half time show or an opening or closing ceremony of Formula 1 Rocks, it’s becoming expected. 
The second reason is that it adds value to sponsors and consumers. It brings in additional people and additional money. My wife will come with me to sport events if she knows there is going to be some kind of entertainment that she is going to be interested in. That brings in more eyeballs and more sponsors. 

Host City: In relation to your experiences as a promoter and venue manager, what do you think are the critical issues for customer experiences?
John Langford: The first thing is truly understanding what the customer experience is. In our case, the customer experience begins the moment the person starts looking for tickets, not when they arrive at the venue. 
And if you take that to a city context, it’s the whole experience that someone has. If they are a music tourist, it’s not just seeing Coldplay at the arena or the stadium; it’s the whole experience that leads up to that: the travel, the hotel, the food, the whole lot.
Secondly, we are all striving to exceed expectation and for me that’s a measure of great customer experience – we need to truly understand what the customer is expecting and then exceed that. 
Thirdly, this really means that all the players need to work in a synchronised approached and that is a real challenge for cities – how do we work better with transport hosts, airports, hotels etc. to deliver a city-wide customer experience?

Host City: How does SECC work with the city of Glasgow to achieve this?
John Langford: Fortunately, the city of Glasgow is quite progressive in the way it approaches big events, more so than most other cities around the world. It’s always had a big drive to lead on hosting events, whether that’s conferences – they’ve got a very successful conference team at the city marketing bureau – or the major events team, who we worked with very closely on events like the MTV European Music Awards and Radio 1’s Big Weekend. We’ve got the MOBO awards coming up at the end of the year – those are driven by the city as opposed to promoters. 
The real benefit of Glasgow is that there is a city strategy to drive cultural tourism. And it works both ways: the city can drive things to us, and if we have an idea we can drive it back to the city. A good example is the Ignition Motoring Festival in August, which is a concept that we came up with and the city bought into it and essentially it’s a whole campus-wide festival of motoring. 

Host City: How do you go about programming content at SECC and SSE?
John Langford: We are quite fortunate in a way in that we don’t have major competition for our size in a good 200 mile radius. And Glasgow audiences are great; they are some of the best audiences in the world and we know from the research we’ve seen that they buy about 50 per cent more tickets that the UK average for live music events. 
Typically anything that comes to the SSE Hydro is booked in the same way that the O2 is booked in London: a big artist like Madonna, U2 or Timberlake will typically book the O2 and the Hydro and then fill in the rest of UK and Europe on the back of that. So we are very fortunate in that we get a lot of proactive bookings; promoters will come to us. 
We do however have challenges outside those busy periods where we try and create our own content and that requires working with promoters and artists and festival organisers to create events. 
We are very cautious not to be promoters. Some venues feel differently but we feel we are not in the business of promoting. We would rather be in the business of coming up with concepts, taking a share of the risk, but we’d rather work with an established promoter to actually deliver the event. 
We work very closely with AEG that owns the O2 in London on a country music festival called Country to Country. We are working on another music festival, the genre of which I can’t share just yet. 

Host City: So you are moving towards “festivalisation” as well?
John Langford: Yes, I think that’s an audience trend. People are expecting bang for their buck. Way Out West in Gothenburg is an example of an urban festival, or the Great Escape in Brighton – those are examples of things that we would certainly like to see more of in Glasgow, not just on our campus. We feel that we are part of the fabric of Glasgow, just as much as Barrowlands or Hampden Park stadium.

Host City: How important is nurturing local talent for cities to develop themselves as cultural hubs?
John Langford: I think it’s all part of the same ecosystem. You need record labels, promoters, managers, recording studios; you need a whole ecosystem that creatively feeds itself. 
Some of the research that I’ve seen on developing music cities is that it’s important to have all of the aspects working together; and ideally that it’s driven by the city and I think that’s probably the biggest challenge for a lot of cities. 
It’s a bit like herding cats, particularly in the creative industries; there are a lot of entrepreneurs and independent thinkers and I think the challenge is creating an environment within which they can work. You need to lead without pushing and I think that’s a real challenge for cities. 

Host City: How important is venue planning in creating entertainment hubs – not just physical venues but also using open spaces?
John Langford: Glasgow has a good range of venues, indoor and outdoor, sports and entertainment. I think it’s key that cities have that. 
Secondly it’s licensing and I think a lot of cities need to work harder on this. You need to get all the city structures working together if the object is to bring more events into the city. Whether its occasional licenses for drinking, food or capacity, everything needs to work together. 
You need a progressive planning regime in the city. In the UK there are a lot of traditional music venues that are being squeezed by pressure from residents. The gentrification of areas is causing a lot of venues to shut down, so there is a big drive, certainly from the music industry, to protect those venues.
But what you’re talking about is going that extra step. It takes a liberal, forward thinking city to recognise that there is going to be a bit of pain sometimes, whether it’s noise or hundreds of thousands of people coming to your city for an event – the progressive cities realise that’s where the economic impact comes from. You need to take a bit of pain sometimes to get the gain.

*UK Music report “Wish You Were Here 2016”

John Langford, Director of Live Entertainment at SECC and SSE Hydro, is speaking on 22nd November at Host City 2016 conference and exhibition on the subject of “Creating Entertaining Experiences for Visitors".

London’s first Lumiere light festival closed on Sunday 17th January at 10.30pm, having transformed the city’s streets and buildings with 30 spectacular artworks. First estimates put the numbers of visitors at over 1 million attending the festival over four evenings.

Developed by creative producers Artichoke and supported by the Mayor of London, Lumiere London turned King’s Cross and London’s West End, including Leicester Square, Piccadilly, Regent Street, St James’s and Carnaby into a magical pedestrian playground and encouraged Londoners and tourists alike to explore the heart of the capital and view it in a new light.

“I am thrilled by the success of Lumiere London, which has brought a wonderful burst of imagination, colour and creativity to our city’s streets in the middle of cold, dark January. It could not have happened without the input and support of the many businesses and agencies who helped to make it happen,” said the Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

“We have been astounded by the crowds, which exceeded all our expectations and brought a boost to the West End and King’s Cross and are delighted by the response, not just from Londoners, but visitors from around the world.”

Lumiere was created by Artichoke in Durham in 2009, and has been recommissioned by Durham County Council every two years since then. In 2013, Artichoke also produced Lumiere in Derry~Londonderry UK City of Culture, commissioned by Culture Company 2013. In November 2015, the festival returned to Durham for the fourth time, attracting an estimated 200,000 visitors to the city.

“It’s been an unprecedented four nights for London and the turnout has been extraordinary,” said Helen Marriage, Director of Artichoke. 

“Over a million people came to experience something truly magical and unusual: this great world city turned into a temporary pedestrian playground.

“While the success of the festival did mean that contingency measures had to be put into place occasionally to help keep the crowds moving, the atmosphere has always been amazing. This festival has been about more than seeing the art. It’s about people sharing public space and re-discovering the city’.”

Over 200 volunteers from across the capital were recruited to support the festival through Team London, the Mayor’s volunteering programme for London.

Business boost

The festival is said to have brought a significant year-on-year uplift in food and beverage sales to businesses in London’s West End and King’s Cross, with anecdotal reports of double digit growth from restaurants, cafes and bars.

With founding support from Atom Bank, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Heart of London Business Alliance, London & Partners and King’s Cross, plus additional support from a host of partners and sponsors, including Westminster City Council, Lumiere London presented installations by 30 international artists, at some of the city’s most iconic locations. 

The creative power of Lumiere was accompanied by a boost to business in the city. Karen Baines, Heart of London Business Alliance representing over 500 businesses and 100 property owners in Leicester Square, Piccadilly and St James's said “The atmosphere in Leicester Square, Piccadilly and St James’s has been absolutely electric with footfall increasing by 18% year on year on Thursday and Friday from 6pm to 11pm, as visitors flocked from far and wide to see our globally renowned cultural landmarks transformed.

“Our vibrant evening economy saw a significant boost with West End restaurants, cafes and bars reporting double digit growth in sales as visitors made the most of what was on offer to make it a night out and an evening to remember.”

How London came to life

Audiences from across the world were enthralled by artworks including a glowing tropical garden filled with giant plants in Leicester Square Gardens and a technicolour animation featuring the faces of some of the UK’s best-loved TV and film stars, projected onto BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly. At Oxford Circus, which was closed to traffic during the festival, people lay on their backs gazing up at 1.8 London, Janet Echelman’s beautifully illuminated aerial sculpture strung between buildings at Oxford Circus.

Along Regent Street, pedestrianised for the event, crowds gathered to see Elephantastic!, a 3D, larger-than-life projected elephant stomping through the Air Street arch, while in St James’s visitors gazed at the ethereal Les Voyageurs – sculpted human forms flying high above the buildings. At Westminster Abbey, audiences stood mesmerized by The Light of the Spirit, a digital painting by French artist Patrice Warrener, who had bathed the Abbey’s West Gate in an electric riot of colour. 

In Carnaby, on Broadwick Street, visitors gathered around Julian Opie’s animated LED monolith – Shaida Walking. The piece has been commissioned as a permanent installation and will be illuminated during the day as well as at night.

Aquarium, Benedetto Bufalino & Benoit Deseille’s iconic red telephone box filled with exotic fish at Grosvenor Square, was a firm festival favourite, drawing audiences to the leafy garden square in Mayfair. The square was also a temporary home to Elaine Buckholtz’s abstract digital painting, which uses light and music to re-imagine Van Gogh’s painting All Night Café.

Hundreds of Londoners of all ages played their part in the festival: from donating a recycled plastic bottle to the glowing Plastic Islands installation by Luzinterruptus in the Trafalgar Square fountains, to appearing on film in the spectacular Circus of Light projected onto the Granary Building at King’s Cross. 500 children also took part in workshops at schools in the area to help make Joining the Dots and Litre of Light, both also at King’s Cross. 

Founding Partner Bloomberg Philanthropies and Artichoke also hosted a sold-out Lumiere London Symposium, “The Heart and Soul of the City”. Speakers including Lumiere London artists, cultural pioneers and leading policy makers, shared their visions for the public realm, and how artists and communities can transform it. 

When in 2008 the northern English county of Durham and its small historic city became a unitary council – the fifth biggest in England – it was golden opportunity to build a new events and tourism strategy for the region. 

“One of the things that became obvious was the need to change the narrative, both regionally, nationally and internationally about Durham, which was seen as a former industrial area,” George Garlick, Chief Executive of Durham County Council, told HOST CITY.

Durham put in a bid to be the UK’s first City of Culture in 2013 – a bold move for a city of less than 40,000 people. In the end, the title was awarded to Derry~Londonderry, but Durham decided to press on with its ambitious programme of cultural events anyway as a way of attracting visitors to the region. 

It was through this work that the possibility of hosting the Lumiere festival came about, a huge light festival owned by a small and innovative arts events company called Artichoke. 

“It was one of those fortuitous things. Artichoke were planning a major festival of light elsewhere in the UK and that fell through, and they’d got backing from the European Commission and Sky Arts at that stage,” says Garlick.

“So it was a fairly fully developed proposition, and on hearing that we were raising the flag for major events here in Durham, they came to see us and we said ‘yes, that sounds great’. In 2009, pretty much at the drop of a hat, the first Lumiere festival was put on.”

Durham has hosted Lumiere every other year since then, with the city investing GB£400,000 in the event for 2011 and 2013. These sums have been matched by the Arts Council, with additional funding from the European Commission and a significant amount of private sponsorship and a major grant from VisitEngland.

Lumiere had a huge impact, with 175,000 visitors coming to see the light festival in 2013. National newspapers published double page spreads on the event and the international broadcaster BBC World ran a one minute clip of the show on its rolling news coverage for 24 hours. 

“It’s a really interesting balance of something that’s working for the local population, but also being attractive to people visiting for the first time,” says Helen Marriage, director of Artichoke. “Just over half the visitors that we count through our evaluation come from the immediate city, 17 per cent from the wider region and the rest from outside.”

The increase in tourism over the period that Durham has been hosting Lumiere is impressive. “VisitEngland said we were one of the fastest growing tourism areas over the last three years – we are up 150 per cent in Durham itself and nearly 20 per cent across the county,” says Garlick.

“The increase in the visitor economy in each of the last three years means a huge increase in employment. It’s not just the people who are actually employed for the festival – the major change is the structural change in Durham as a tourism destination. 

“The festival actually generates GB£5 million directly in restaurant sales, overnight stays and so on in the local economy. We’ve seen a lot more people coming from both Europe and in particular America.”

Lumiere is a very successful flagship event, but it’s not the only contributor to Durham’s success. 2013 was a particularly big year for the city.

“We had the Ashes test between England and Australia at riverside stadium, where England won the Ashes to baying and excited crowds, which was terrific. We had the Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition, which came up from the British Library – 100,000 people bought every ticket available for the three months that it was on. We had cycling events, a brass festival – but Lumiere is the jewel in the crown.”

The good news continued in 2014, with Durham County Council being named local council of the year. “It’s a city and county that really punches above its weight,” says Marriage.

“It’s tempting to think that it’s an impoverished area with a decline of traditional industry, but that’s not the impression you get when you are here. It’s a place on the up and people are making it work – and events are really part of that culture.”

Durham’s long term strategy is hinged around Lumiere, but another important cultural event is the fast-growing Durham Book Festival. “The world heritage site between the cathedral, the castle and the university has a number of display venues, so there’s a programme worked out in advance for that,” says Garlick. 

“In 2015 there will be a major exhibition of the Magna Cartas, which are in the cathedral’s ownership to coincide with the anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta.”

In October 2015 the Rugby World Cup comes to St. James’ Park in Newcastle, just 15 minutes from Durham. “I would hope, as we’ve seen in many previous large events and when we saw the Olympics were on, we’ll see a lot of people visiting Durham,” says Garlick.

“Durham hotels traditionally pick up a lot of business from anything major that’s happening in Newcastle because it’s an attractive place to stay and a 15 minute train journey, so the Rugby World Cup will be really good for us.”

The next Lumiere festival takes place in November 2015. “We’ve recently agreed a package with the Arts Council, which will allow us to do it next year and in 2017,” says Garlick. 

The city consulted with the local people and businesses before agreeing to host the event again. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from the public, but particularly from businesses who think this is working really well in terms of hoisting Durham’s flag,” says Garlick. 

“It’s a huge project that takes about 18 months to plan,” says Marriage. “So we are a year out and we are looking at all the logistics – traffic planning, crowd management, where the installations might go, technically what they might need.”

Helen Marriage was one of the speakers at HOST CITY Bid to Win conference on 28th October 2014, on a panel called “Bidding for the Right Event”, alongside the owner of a very different event, Peter Tindemans of Euroscience – which awards the EU City of Science. 

“It was really fascinating to begin to think about what we do from the other end of the telescope,” says Marriage. “So hearing Peter Tindemans talk about the fact that he saw Euroscience as a property that he could get cities to bid for – that’s never the way we work, we are always trying to persuade people to let us do what we do.”

Lumiere also took place in Derry last year as part of the closing celebrations for the first UK City of Culture, and there are many other events that Artichoke produces. “We are working in London, Northern Ireland, we are looking at something in Wales. We are increasingly invited to do things internationally.

“But even if cities invite us, they don’t really get what it’s going to be like and all the compromises everyone is going to have to make. Very often an artist will say ‘I really want to make something here’, and we set about the process of persuading the authority that they want to fund it and that they can accommodate it. It’s always tough the first time you go into a place.”

For more information visit www.lumiere-festival.com