March 26, 2018: March for Our Lives Rally Draws 800,000 to Washington, Russia Isn't the Ideal Destination for U.S. and U.K. World Cup Fans, Cannes Film Festival Bans Netflix and Selfies

1. MARCH FOR OUR LIVES RALLY DRAWS 800,000 TO WASHINGTON: At the March for Our Lives rally on Saturday, survivors of gun violence called for change at an event that drew 800,000 people to Washington. NBC News: "On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of students gathered in the nation's capital and at sister marches across the country and around the world to deliver a powerful, unified message: Enough is enough. Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School organized and hosted the main event on the mall in Washington with the U.S. Capitol in the background, a stark reminder of why they were demanding change. The Washington rally featured 20 student speakers, numerous famous musicians and the Stoneman Douglas Drama Club, which performed their original song 'Shine' with the student choir. Organizers estimated that approximately 800,000 people attended the march. Across the country, there were more than two dozen marches that occurred in large cities, including New York, Miami, Cincinnati, Houston, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. Rallies were also held around the world in Israel, New Zealand, Australia, the U.K., Japan, Belgium, India, France and Chile. In total, organizers estimated there were approximately 800 marches organized on Friday and Saturday — even one in Antarctica. In Washington, rally-goers were chanting 'vote them out! Vote them out!' before the event began. Hundreds of homemade signs were held up above the crowd: 'Stop the madness vote them out.' Another said, '18th century law can’t regulate 21st century weapons.' And another put it bluntly: 'What’s worth more? Your children or your guns?' ... The rally also memorialized the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, as Christopher Underwood, 11—who lost his older brother to gun violence in Brooklyn, New York—reminded the crowd that the civil rights icon's death was the result of gun violence. Those in attendance were surprised when King's granddaughter, Yolanda Renee King, 9, later came to the stage alongside Stoneman Douglas junior class president Jaclyn Corin with a microphone." https://nbcnews.to/2pDcpg9

2. RUSSIA ISN'T THE IDEAL DESTINATION FOR U.S. AND U.K. WORLD CUP FANS: The U.S. failing to qualify for this year's World Cup, along with host country Russia's geopolitical turmoil, are some of the reasons why U.S. and U.K. soccer fans aren't interested in attending the tournament in June. The New York Times: "'I think more than anything it just feels like a logistical nightmare,' said Dan Wiersema, the head of communications for the American Outlaws, a group of U.S. Soccer supporters that organized trips for fans to the last two men’s World Cups and the 2015 women’s World Cup. 'You’re going halfway around the world, and if your team’s not in the World Cup, that seems like a whole lot of legwork for a lot of unknowns.' Mr. Wiersema added that in a country as diverse as the United States, there are plenty of Americans who will be rooting for other teams competing in Russia—but ticket sales show a clear drop in interest from Americans compared to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. According to FIFA, the world soccer federation, of the nearly 5 million ticket requests made before its random selection draw sales period ended on Jan. 31, roughly 87,000 were from fans in the United States, the 10th most of any country. (Russia was first, followed by Germany.) For the 2014 tournament, spectators from the United States purchased a total of nearly 200,000 tickets, more than any other country other than the host. Some may also be waiting for the 2019 women’s World Cup in France, which is a potentially more attractive travel destination for Americans in terms of infrastructure and location. It’s also where fans can root for the defending-champion U.S. women’s team. ... Fan safety may be of particular concern for fans in England, where ticket sales have also been significantly lower than for past World Cups. During a 2016 European Championship match in Marseille, France, Russian and English fans clashed violently in the days leading up to and then the match between the two teams; over 30 spectators were injured. The disciplinary committee of UEFA, which oversees European soccer, fined and sanctioned the Russian soccer federation as a result." https://nyti.ms/2pFjoGc

3. CANNES FILM FESTIVAL BANS NETFLIX AND SELFIES: Days after banning selfies from the red carpet, the Cannes Film Festival has banned Netflix films from the competition lineup. The Hollywood Reporter: "Last year when Bong Joon-ho’s Okja and Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories were allowed in competition, the decision sparked a worldwide uproar. French filmmakers and unions condemned the move and vowed protests, only for the festival to change the rules for 2018. It didn’t apply in time for the screenings of the two films last May, but neither were awarded with prizes. The decision was a risk he was willing to take, at least the first time, to keep the festival from becoming stagnant, Fremaux said. And while he knew it would be controversial, the festival wanted to premiere the films from the two established filmmakers instead of having them go to another festival. Still, he admits he overplayed his hand with Netflix, thinking they would bend their rules for the festival. ... At the time, Netflix tried to secure temporary permits to screen the films for less than a week in France, day-and-date to their online releases. That move wasn't permitted because of France's strict chronology laws and the two sides couldn't reach an agreement. As a result, the festival has changed the rules to require theatrical release in France. 'The Netflix people loved the red carpet and would like to be present with other films. But they understand that the intransigence of their own model is now the opposite of ours,' he said." https://bit.ly/2ufozkX

* LOCAL NEWS *

CHICAGO:  The 71st annual 57th Street Art Fair will take place June 2-3. 

LOS ANGELES:  The Los Angeles Times' Festival of Books will take place April 21-22 at the University of Southern California. The event will draw more than 500 writers, musicians, artists, and chefs, plus hundreds of exhibitors and an expected 150,000 attendees. Newstory, a series of multimedia programs highlighting creative forms of storytelling, will debut at this year’s festival.

Lightning in a Bottle—the annual sustainable, vegetarian music, food, art, and wellness festival from the Do LaB—will take place May 23-28 at Lake San Antonio. 

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

NEW YORK:  The Life of Pablo Exhibit, a glow-in-the-dark pop-up featuring artwork inspired by Kanye West, will take place April 28 at 107 Norfolk Street. 

Actress Samira Wiley will be honored at the 29th annual Glaad Media Awards, which will take place May 5 at the New York Hilton Midtown. The event will have appearances by Halsey, Laverne Cox, Lea Michele, Wrabel, and Asia Kate Dillon. 

The Hot Pink Party, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s annual fund-raiser, will take place May 17 at Park Avenue Armory. The event will be hosted by Elizabeth Hurley and feature a performance by Mary J. Blige. 

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

SAN FRANCISCO:  The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival will kick off May 6 and run through October 28. 

TORONTO:  This year’s Inside Out L.G.B.T. Film Festival will run May 24-June 3 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. 

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

JOB BOARD: Post a job or find a job: http://jobs.bizbash.com

With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

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