For festivalgoers and guests at major events, the best event technology is often the technology they never have to think about.
They arrive onsite, connect to Wi-Fi, buy food and drinks, share moments with friends and get on with enjoying the event. Behind the scenes, making all of that possible means building and operating a sophisticated technology environment, often in a location where very little permanent infrastructure exists.
It’s a challenge PMY knows well.
As a global technology partner to operators of live environments, PMY works across major events, stadiums and venues, as well as airports, retail precincts, schools and other complex environments. In the UK, our event technology teams support some of the country’s best-known events, including Glastonbury, Boomtown, Victorious Festival and Winter Wonderland, as well as American Express presents BST Hyde Park and The Big Feastival.
Globally, PMY has more than 500 people working across the UK and Europe, Australia, the USA, Saudi Arabia and other international markets. The environments might be very different, but the challenge is often the same: making sure technology works when thousands of people are relying on it.
Building a temporary city
Boomtown is a great recent example.
For a few days each year, a remote site near Winchester is transformed into a temporary city for more than 70,000 people. Stages, hospitality areas, vendors, security teams and event operations all need to function within an environment that has effectively been built from the ground up.
That creates a pretty unique technology challenge.
At this year’s festival, PMY deployed critical infrastructure across the site to help keep Boomtown connected, secure and moving. This included site-wide Wi-Fi and CCTV, alongside the connectivity needed to support the festival’s fully cashless environment.
Our infrastructure also provides the connectivity that keeps Boomtown’s award-winning RFID wristbands online. The wristbands help capture each guest’s journey around the festival, contributing to a personalised, cinematic digital souvenir delivered through the Boomtown app.
It’s a good example of just how much modern events rely on connectivity. Networks now support everything from payments and security to event operations and digital experiences for guests.
Glastonbury is another one of our flagship events that we’ve been proud to support for 15 years. With more than 200,000 people onsite, reliable connectivity is critical, not just for festivalgoers wanting to stay connected and share their experience, but for the huge operation happening behind the scenes.
Our work at Glasto spans dual internet connections, IT infrastructure, Wi-Fi, VoIP telephones, CCTV, connectivity for ticket scanning, weather reporting stations, trader networks and fibre connections supporting BBC coverage. We also provide failover internet where it is needed, helping keep critical systems online throughout the event.
After 15 years, it’s a festival our team still loves being part of and we can share our experiences to support our other clients.
Technology that has to perform
Major events also present challenges that permanent venues don’t always encounter.
Infrastructure may need to be deployed across huge outdoor sites, sometimes in remote locations, and then removed again only days later. Tens of thousands of guests can arrive within a relatively short window, putting immediate pressure on networks and operational systems. And once the gates open, there is very little room for technology to fail.
That’s why understanding how an event actually operates is just as important as the technology itself.
PMY’s event technology specialists work closely with organisers and in-house IT teams to understand what each event needs before designing and deploying the right infrastructure. Depending on the environment, that can include high-speed internet, Wi-Fi, HD CCTV, people-counting technology, fibre networks and temporary technology overlays.
For permanent venues, the challenge can be slightly different. Stadiums and other spaces are increasingly expected to accommodate everything from regular sporting fixtures to concerts, esports and major one-off events. Temporary technology overlays can help existing infrastructure adapt to those different demands without disrupting the venue’s day-to-day operations.
A shared passion for live events
Technology is only one part of what makes a great event, and that’s exactly why getting it right matters.
When everything works as it should, most guests will never think about the network or infrastructure sitting behind their experience. They’ll simply connect, pay, communicate, share and enjoy the event, while the teams behind the scenes have the systems they need to keep everything running.
After working across thousands of events and live environments globally, our teams know there is no universal blueprint. Every site, audience and event brings its own challenges, and solving them takes people who understand both the technology and the realities of delivering a live event.
It’s also what keeps the work interesting.
The PMY team will be attending The Showman’s Show, where we’re looking forward to catching up with others from across the events industry, sharing a few stories from another busy season and talking about where event technology is heading next.