E3 Group

E3 Group attended the RSVP exhibition at the Business design centre in Islington today. On show were companies and services from the full spectrum of the events industry. Before attending, our delegates feared that the shadow of the G20 protests would loom heavily over the event, making potential attendees reluctant to travel through London. Fortunately, the atmosphere at the event was exceptional, with people totally unfazed by the potential for disruption attending in their thousands. E3 Group attended the event to determine exactly what kind of impact the current economic climate was having on the industry in general and to listen to the experiences of our suppliers and potential business partners. Although everyone admitted to the belt-tightening that is becoming compulsory for all businesses at the moment, no matter the sector, we were pleased to here that it is not all doom and gloom for the events industry, in fact, far from it.

The current downturn has become a common ground for the sector to unite over. Partnerships were springing up left, right and centre as business who previously may have been content to go it alone, looked to form new relationships and strengthen the old. Entertainers were out in force in an environment which truly represented the vibrant and exciting culture this industry enjoys. Walking down a typical aisle at RSVP you could expect to be serenaded by a crooner, baffled by a close up magician and relaxed by some ambient, classical strings, all the while being dazzled by the array of exhibiting styles the different stands had to offer. E3 Group found the event to be thoroughly enjoyable and beneficial as a networking opportunity, as a chance to promote your services and as an opportunity to have personal contact with the people who keep the industry fresh, innovative and successful. For your chance to get a glimpse of the event, stay tuned to Channel 4’s Ten Years Younger, hosted by the lovely Myleene Klass, as they were filming at RSVP today. If you watch closely, you may even catch a glimpse of E3’s own Callum Gill and Ryan Curtis who were asked by Myleene to pass judgement on one of the contestants, and were only too glad to oblige!

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As the UK dipped further into the recession at the start of this year, many analysts pointed to music festivals as an area of the events industry that would suffer excessively from the negative climate. There have been a few casualties so far, notably Reading’s Heavenly Planet festival. Much has been made of the decision to cancel this festival but when you consider that it was being organised by Reading Borough Council, it becomes more apparent why the event was under pressure to reduce spending. This festival was also being launched in direct competition to one of the UK’s largest and well known festival brands, the Reading and Leeds festival. It is now becoming apparent that festival organisers are ramping up the spend with interest in live music events defying the recession.

The NME reported last week that music buyers in the UK are much happier spending their money on live performances, rather than recorded music, and with recent ticket sales for Take That and more prominently, Michael Jackson, reaching seven figures in a matter of minutes, it is clear to see that live music events are still extremely viable for organisers. With news that Bestival and the mighty Glastonbury have maintained spending rather than cutting the budget in this time speaks volumes. Here at E3 Group we have been facilitating requests for numerous live music events with clients looking to hire a band for both festival style events and one off performance. The cost to book a famous band in the current climate is obviously more negotiable than it has ever been while savvy organisers are aware that ticket sales and public interest for live music events are maintaining pre-recession levels.

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Celebrity chefs have come under fire this week for the amount of saturated fat contained in a number of their recipes. Some dishes were identified as containing as much as 216 per cent of an average person’s daily allowance of saturated fat. Some chefs were singled out as being more health conscious when it comes to their recipes. Unsurprisingly, Jamie Oliver was commended for his balanced view towards healthy eating and Lesley Waters, a recent edition to E3 Artists’ roster, was applauded for her use of ‘good fats’, such as olive oil, in her cooking. Concerns were raised due to the increasing trend of people choosing to cook at home to avoid expensive restaurant bills.

I think that celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver have increasingly tried to make people aware of the fat content in their food and exactly what foods we need to avoid or eat less of. If you see a recipe chocked full of butter, sugar and cream, it’s hardly surprising to find that it exceeds your daily fat allowance. When E3 Group clients hire a celebrity chef for their event, their waistlines aren’t exactly a big concern. What’s more important is the knowledge that they will be eating truly exceptional food and that the chef they book provides a real treat for their attendees. There are thousands of healthy eating cook books on the market these days, often written by celebrity chefs themselves and ultimately, we are all entitled to a treat sometimes aren’t we?

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Julian Clary was on top form last Friday as he presented the Be Inspired Business Awards in Blackpool. The North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce chose to book Julian Clary for this event and they approached E3 Artists with him at the top of their wish list. E3 Artists has worked with Julian in the past and he is extremely popular with corporate event organisers looking to add his trade mark charm and rapier like wit to proceedings. The BIBA’s are hailed as the ‘one they all want to win in the North West’ and, as such, only a presenter of Julian’s calibre could do the event justice. This tag was not undeserved as the ceremony got into full swing, with live performances and music emphasising the scale and importance of this event to the North Western business community. Overseeing and co-ordinating Julian’s appearance was Dan Kujawski, E3’s senior entertainment agent.

Babs Murphy, Chief Executive of North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, looked at ease alongside Julian presenting the ceremony. The two sometimes appearing as if they were a seasoned comedy double act. All in all, Babs was delighted with the decision to hire Julian Clary and the event was a great success, complimented by the host’s ability to adapt any situation to his own undeniably unique style.

Colin Coulter photographed the event producing the great image above.

Last Week, a few members of the E3 team attended the International Confex exhibition at Earls Court. The event turned out to be a great networking opportunity, a chance to evaluate the current climate of the events industry and a great forum for assessing potential suppliers. The event was complimented by a useful and informative seminar programme bringing together leading figures from the conference and event industry. The seminar entitled Generating New Business in the Recession had a queue stretching the length of the exhibition centre, painting a pretty clear picture of the concerns of industry professionals during this difficult time.

The exhibition was able to capture the kinetic and dynamic nature of the events industry while keeping the professionalism necessary for networking on this scale. Events industry media outlets sat in amongst exhibition stand designers and conference support service stands bobbed happily along to live performances from corporate event entertainers. The full picture of the events industry was painted at Confex this year; the worries that the economic downturn is provoking, the ability of the industry to adapt and change and the similar experiences that industry professionals have been sharing over the past year. Get down to Confex next year and use the tools on offer to energise your outlook for 2010.

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The E3 Artists and E3 Events team recently put together an evening’s entertainment for business, technology and outsourcing giants Capgemini. The company held a belated Christmas Party at the China Palace in Worthing and the E3 Group provided vocal duo Silhouette and comedy ventriloquist Gareth Oliver to supply the entertainment culminating in a successful evening overall.

Ryan Curtis, E3 Entertainment Agent, was on hand to provide event management with some unexpected results. Ryan had a hectic night, leaving the event to pick up a mike stand from Brighton, before travelling back to the Worthing in the nick of time! This ensured that the celebration went without a hitch, so much so that all those dancing at the end of Silhouette’s final set were left clamouring for more.

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On the back of the huge popularity that the BBC show enjoys, many of E3′s key clients are requesting Strictly Come Dancing shows of their own for use at corporate events. Strictly Thomas Cook Dancing was produced by the E3 Group for Thomas Cook’s annual VI Conference held in Antalya, Turkey December 2008. Thomas Cook employees auditioned for the show with celebrity and professional dancer Anton Du Beke presiding over the audition process. The successful contestants were then partnered with professional ballroom dancers and trained in preparation for the live show.

The final performance included video diaries from the contestants and their professional partners, a panel of judges and even a green room, which was broadcast on widescreen, really recreating the feel of the original show. The audience were then able to purchase votes for their favourite contestants, with all proceeds going to the Antalya Forest Fire Relief charity. The overall winners of the competition received holidays in Brazil for their efforts, the Latin dance capital of the world.

Several months planning, preparation and rehearshals paid off last Saturday night when the E3 team delivered their promise of a “showbiz spectacular” with the Feather & Fireworks Ball. The event, which took place at the Brighton Hilton Metropole, raised over £20,000 for two local charities – The Martlets and Chestnut Tree House.

The evening celebrated our 10th year in the entertainment business and featured a full production show exploring the history of showbiz! For further information and images from the event, please click here.