1. COMIC-CON'S HALL H GETS A DOSE OF DIVERSITY WITH BLACK FEMALE MODERATORS: The addition of panel moderators Yvette Nicole Brown and Aisha Tyler in Hall H at this year's San Diego Comic-Con brought diversity to a major part of the event that has historically been led by white men. Los Angeles Times: "On Friday, Brown moderated an impressive three panels at the convention, not just for the Dead franchise but for Universal’s film presentation, including M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass and the reboot of Halloween. 'I am overjoyed to see that so many nerds of color, especially women, are getting a chance to shine on the main stage at Comic-Con, but I don't see it as new,' Brown said via email. 'I've been blessed to attend Comic-Con as a panelist since my series Community made its debut back in 2009.' Though Brown has moderated large panels in the past (including ABC's Once Upon A Time panel in Ballroom 20), this year marks her Hall H debut. Tyler, who was tapped to moderate Syfy's The Great Debate panel on Thursday and Warner Bros.' Hall H theatrical presentation on Saturday, is one of the few other women or people of color hosting a major panel at this year's Comic-Con. Tyler (who also moderated Warner Bros.' Hall H panel in 2015) is the only woman of color to host a Hall H panel prior to this year. She said she thinks diversity among moderators is improving, though 'it's definitely not a watershed moment right now.' ... Though she allows that Comic-Con and gamer culture as a whole has historically been a 'white male domain,' Tyler said she's begun to see more women and people of color present among the fans, representing a more authentic demographic of nerd culture." https://lat.ms/2Nv82y3
2. EVENTBRITE PLANS TO GO PUBLIC BEFORE END OF 2018: Eventbrite is heading to the stock market. The event-ticketing and -planning company has filed an initial public offering confidentially with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Wall Street Journal: "The company plans to go public later this year in an offering that will be led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Company, these people said. The filing Eventbrite submitted to the SEC isn’t yet visible to the public because the company has taken advantage of the commonly used confidential-filing provision of the JOBS Act. Eventbrite will unveil its documents, including details about its financials, in the weeks before its stock-market listing. Eventbrite’s platform is used to notify people about a range of activities, including parties, music festivals, conferences, and sporting events. It has processed at least $8 billion in gross ticket sales since its inception. San Francisco-based Eventbrite was co-founded in 2006 by Julia Hartz, Kevin Hartz, and Renaud Visage. Ms. Hartz serves as its chief executive. The company has raised more than $350 million in capital from backers, including Sequoia Capital, T. Rowe Price Group, and Tiger Global Management. Investors valued it at more than $1 billion as of 2014." https://on.wsj.com/2LGJhOR
3. RADIOHEAD'S THOM YORKE CRITICIZES TORONTO FOR RESPONSE TO 2012 STAGE COLLAPSE: In Radiohead's first Toronto show since a stage collapse killed drum tech Scott Johnson in 2012, Thom Yorke led a moment of silence and called out the city for its lack of action in response to the tragedy. Vice: "It took a year for the Ontario Ministry of Labour to investigate, finally charging Live Nation (full, disclosure, a company I’ve previously worked for), Optex Staging & Services Inc, and engineer Domenic Cugliari in 2013, and two more years for the case to finally reach trial in 2015. Come 2016, trial still underway, the Supreme Court controversially set time limits regarding the right to a 'speedy trial,' allowing cases to be thrown out after a period of delays. Lawyers for Live Nation and Cugliari successfully cried 'speedy trial' afterwards, and the Ontario Court of Justice stayed all charges regarding Johnson’s death in 2017. Thursday in Toronto, their first time playing the city since the stayed charges and the stage collapse six years ago, carried the weight of a life—and justice—lost. When our court threw out charges against Live Nation, Optex, and Cugliari, they threw out accountability for the death of an innocent man whose last moments were spent doing what he loves, all in the name of what, efficiency? Radiohead’s setlist was understated with rare moments of release. The climax of songs like '2+2=5' came and went, leaving me on edge, wanting more. The arc of the night grew poetic when Yorke halted their encore to finally speak out about the city and system that failed them. 'Six years ago, we wanted to do a show in Toronto. The stage collapsed, killing one of our colleagues and friends. The people who should be held accountable are still not being held accountable. In your city,' he said." https://bit.ly/2JLWe88
* LOCAL NEWS *
CHICAGO: The teams from Found Kitchen and Social House, Sketchbook Brewing Co., and nonprofit urban farm the Talking Farm, will host a dinner on July 29 at the Talking Farm’s Howard Street Farm in Skokie. The dinner will serve dishes from Found Kitchen’s chef Brad Phillips paired with Sketchbook beer, including a custom beer made for the event.
LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold has died at 57. Los Angeles Times: https://lat.ms/2A17fDe
ComplexCon's third annual event will take place November 3-4 in Long Beach. Pre-sale tickets went on sale Friday.
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: A group of tourism professionals from Collier County have launched the Wellness Tourism Visionary Task Force, a group that will work to establish Naples, Marco Island, and the Everglades as wellness destinations.
NEW YORK: The Madison Square Garden Company will announce a new signature marketing partnership with an event at Chase Square at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. The announcement event will feature former New York Knicks players Walt Frazier and Larry Johnson; former New York Rangers players Adam Graves and Mike Richter; and performances by the Radio City Rockettes and singer Bebe Rexha.
Eataly Downtown's Wine, Beer & Street Food Festival will take place Friday.
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA: Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando-Airport has completed a renovation of its guest suites, restaurant, public spaces, and 3,000 square feet of meeting space, which includes five meeting rooms.
TORONTO: This year’s Canadian National Exhibition, slated to take place August 17-September 3, faces an uncertain future after Exhibition Place’s board of governors locked out a union amid ongoing labor disputes. Toronto Star: https://bit.ly/2uBRoWj
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With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Ian Zelaya, and Kristine Liao in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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