May 26, 2016: How City Officials and Organizers Plan to Keep R.N.C. Protests Safe, U.S. Begins Major Effort to Protect Olympic Athletes From Zika, Electronic Music Industry Growth Sees Slower Increase

1. HOW CITY OFFICIALS AND ORGANIZERS PLAN TO KEEP R.N.C. PROTESTS SAFE: Since recent protests have turned violent outside of Donald Trump speeches, city officials in Cleveland are all but expecting chaos outside of the Republican National Convention in July. With numerous planned demonstrations, marches, and protests scheduled to occur in Cleveland surrounding the event, rally organizers, police officers, and city officials are all taking numerous safety measures to keep the events as peaceful as possible. Politico: “So far, more than half a dozen protests and marches—including one anti-Trump rally whose organizers are predicting 10,000 participants on the day Trump is expected to formally claim the nomination—are seeking permits to parade through Cleveland during the convention. The planners of those events insist they’re taking precautions to encourage nonviolence, but some fear that the strong feelings Trump engenders among supporters and detractors alike will create a combustible atmosphere. In a filing with the city, one pro-Trump march organizer noted that his group is planning to contract with ‘a private security company and off-duty police officers to escort and assist us’ in daily marches in support of the mogul. … City officials said protests must be finished by 2 p.m. on most convention days, and no vehicles will be permitted, only marchers on foot. Unplanned or unregistered protests will be permitted on a ‘case by case’ basis, so long as they don’t block traffic or compromise public safety, Williams added. There will also be an official ‘speakers’ platform’ on Public Square—a half-mile from the convention arena—to allow members of the public to speak in half-hour increments from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Objects like fireworks and drones will be banned in the area nearby the arena.” http://politi.co/1WPzoAM

2. U.S. BEGINS MAJOR EFFORT TO PROTECT OLYMPIC ATHLETES FROM ZIKA: While many Olympic athletes have already announced their wariness to participate in the Rio games because of Zika, U.S. officials are beginning a major effort to prevent American athletes from contracting the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also monitoring the threat of athletes and attendees bringing the virus home. Washington Post: “In recent weeks, the CDC and and USOC have been in round-the-clock discussions about ways to test athletes and members of the delegation for Zika during the Olympics, which begin Aug. 5, and the Paralympics, which start Sept. 7. The U.S. delegation is expected to number about 2,630, including about 815 athletes. Of the 550 Olympic athletes, more than half will be women. Exactly how testing of U.S. athletes and staff will take place is still being worked out. One study underway at the University of Utah is monitoring potential Zika infections in about 100 participants. The volunteers include Olympic athletes, coaches and USOC staff. Researchers have been testing their blood, urine and saliva on a regular basis since early March as they travel to and from Brazil for preparatory visits. Sixteen have completed travel. No one has tested positive so far, said Carrie Byington, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the university who is leading the study. Byington also chairs the USOC’s Infectious Disease Advisory Group. She hopes to expand the pilot study to 1,000 individuals, including athletes, coaches and staff who will be attending the Olympics and the Paralympics.” http://wapo.st/1TxRzuq

3. ELECTRONIC MUSIC INDUSTRY GROWTH SEES SLOWER INCREASE: While there has been talk of the EDM event and club craze dying down this year, a new report from the International Music Summit shows that growth has slowed but is still increasing for the electronic music industry, which was worth $7.1 billion last year. Billboard: "But growth is still growth, and compared to the larger global music industry report, dance music seems like it's still in a good place. The IFPI highlighted the explosive growth of streaming as digital revenue soared past physical for the first time ever and the recorded music industry as a whole saw an uptick in overall revenue at a rate of 3.2 percent, spurred by big increases in Asia (+5.7 percent) and Latin America (+11.8 percent) that themselves are driven by massive streaming gains. In the electronic space, streaming has grown 33 percent year over year to 14.9 billion streams, as the industry overall almost doubled across all genres. But it's growing in the right areas; nine of the 20 new additions to DJ Mag's Top 100 Clubs of 2016 come from Asia, according to the IMS report, the most of any region, while new festivals have already opened in Cuba, Panama, Vietnam and the Philippines this year. In the U.S., a study led by Nielsen Music and included in the IMS report shows that electronic music-related events are the only U.S. live music events showing year-over-year increases, rising as high as 3 percent for club events as music festivals across genres hold steady across the board." http://bit.ly/247ZYo7

* LOCAL NEWS *

ATLANTA:  Noble Fin, chef Jay Swift's second Atlanta-area restaurant, opened in Peachtree Corners on Monday. Eater: http://bit.ly/1Wjx5pJ

CHICAGO:  The Women's Board of Lincoln Park Zoo's 39th annual Zoo Ball will take place June 15. The theme of the event, which will be catered by Jewell Events Catering, is "Penguins in Paradise."

LAS VEGAS:  The Las Vegas Monorail and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers has announced it will give attendees and exhibitors of the ConExpo-Con/Agg trade show—which takes place March 7-11, 2017, at the Las Vegas Convention Center—unlimited Monorail rides with three- and seven-day passes.

LOS ANGELES:  The biennial Ice Age Hair Ball is slated for June 4 at the La Brea Tar Pits.

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

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  Fried chicken restaurant Spring Chicken's Fort Lauderdale will have its grand opening on June 9.

NEW YORK:  Food Network and Cooking Channel's ninth annual New York City Wine & Food Festival will take place October 13-16. For the first time, the festival will expand to Brooklyn with new events including "Best of Brooklyn," presented by Munchies and hosted by Action Bronson. The festival will also feature its first-ever Broadway event, "Broadway Tastes," which is sponsored by Variety and hosted by David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris.

The Museum of the City of New York will honor designer Jacques Grange with its City of Design Award on June 1 at its annual Spring Symposium & Luncheon. The symposium will take place at the Academy of Medicine's Hosack Hall, and the luncheon will take place at the museum's Fifth Avenue terrace.

WNET will host its annual gala salute on June 14 at the Plaza. The event will honor Angela Lansbury, Francisco D'Souza, Ali and Joe Torre, and Leonard Tow. MetroFocus hosts Jenna Flanagan, Jack Ford, and Rafael Pi Roman will serve as masters of ceremonies at the event, which will feature a Broadway performance from Norm Lewis.

The fourth annual Newark United Negro College Fund Mayor's Masked Ball will take place June 24 at Newark Club.

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

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  The Grove Resort & Spa will open in the fall on more than 100 acres near Walt Disney World. The 878 room all-suite resort will have 6,000 square feet of flexible event space, catering services, a 221-seat restaurant, water park, spa, and a surf simulator.

MegaCon runs today through Sunday at the Orange County Convention Center. More than 80,000 people are expected to attend the huge pop culture convention that will include appearances by William Shatner, Stan Lee, John Cusack, and more.

The N.F.L. is moving the Pro Bowl from Honolulu to Orlando. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1NAXyw8

SAN FRANCISCO:  Frameline 40, the 40th edition of San Francisco's long-running L.G.B.T.Q. film festival, will take place June 16-26. The event will feature 155 films from 24 countries. Hoodline: http://bit.ly/1TzOtG4

TORONTO:  Axis Freestyle Academy, a 20,000-square-foot indoor ski and snowboarding facility, is slated to open this summer. blogTO: http://bit.ly/1sPOmuz

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  The National Memorial Day Concert will be broadcast live on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Sunday.

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

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

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

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