1. DAREDEVIL PERFORMERS CROSS TIMES SQUARE ON HIGH WIRE: Two daredevil performers from the circus act Flying Wallendas crossed Times Square on a High Wire on Sunday night. Siblings Nik and Lijana Wallenda walked a quarter mile on the wire, which was strung 25 stories high. The New York Times: “The siblings held balancing poles and started on opposite sides of a 1,300-foot wire, strung between 1 Times Square at the south end at 42nd Street, and 2 Times Square, just north of the TKTS booth at 47th Street. … The wire walk had the feel of an old-time spectacle, and spectators who packed Times Square seemed for the moment immune to the flashy billboards and other distractions.”
2. HILTON WILL INTRODUCE NEW TECH-FORWARD EVENT SPACES: In an effort to draw more business travelers and expand offerings for event planners, Hilton is introducing new technology-driven meeting and event space concepts. The hotel company is in talks with franchises to debut two new concepts called ensemble and character rooms, based on positive market testings of the rooms at select properties. Skift: “Character rooms, such as the Reverbery at the Hilton Austin, pay homage to a city’s culture—similar to lifestyle hotel brands—while ensemble rooms are modeled after a converted innovation lab built by the brand in 2017 at its Hilton McLean Tysons Corner property in Virginia. Both concepts offer wireless charging and digital whiteboards for presentations powered by cloud technology. … Since opening the ensemble room at Hilton McLean to customers two years ago, the property has earned 15 percent more in revenue compared to preexisting rooms, Manoukian added. Groups, meetings, and events currently drive 30 percent of Hilton Hotels & Resorts’ total annual revenue.”
3. WOODSTOCK 50 DENIED APPEAL TO RECOVER $18.5 MILLION FROM FORMER INVESTOR: New York appellate judges denied Woodstock 50 festival an appeal to recover $18.5 million from former Japanese investor Dentsu Aegis. This is the third legal defeat in two months for the Woodstock anniversary event, which is slated to take place in August. Billboard: “The failed appeal leaves Woodstock 50's Greg Peck and Michael Lang with few options for recovering the money from Dentsu, a multinational Japanese conglomerate that had agreed to provide $49 million in funding for the August 16-18 anniversary event, only to try and cancel the festival months later and withdraw its remaining investment from the festival's bank account. A judge later ruled Dentsu didn't have the right to cancel Woodstock 50, but balked on forcing the company to return its funds to Peck and Lang, saying the men were far behind on permits and had missed too many milestones to deliver a successful event.”
