June 15, 2018: HBO to Skip San Diego Comic-Con, Fox Apologizes for Singer Flipping Off Camera at World Cup Opening Ceremony, Inside a Food Festival by and for Refugees

1. HBO TO SKIP SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON: For the first time in years, popular HBO series like Game of Thrones and Westworld won’t have panels at Comic-Con International. The Hollywood Reporter: “The premium cable network has opted to sit out the July 18-22 pop culture confab. The decision means that there will be no panels for HBO hits Game of Thrones or Westworld. ‘Due to production schedules and air dates for Game of Thrones and Westworld, these series will not be presented at San Diego Comic-Con this summer,’ reps for HBO said in a statement Thursday. … This marks the first time that Game of Thrones will skip its annual trip to San Diego Comic-Con, where it has appeared every year since its debut and has ranked among the most anticipated panels of the massive marketing event. Westworld made its SDCC debut last year. Game of Thrones will return for its final season in 2019, while the Westworld season two finale airs June 24. The series has not yet resumed production for the previously announced third season. HBO will forgo the marketing side as well. The Westworld and Game of Thrones interactive activations that were the breakout hits of last year's event will be absent this time. That HBO would opt to bypass the massive event comes amid rapidly growing competition in the Peak TV era, where scripted originals are expected to top 500 this year.  To be sure, bringing the cast and creators of any TV series to SDCC is an expensive undertaking and one that many outlets are carefully considering as the calendar presents more opportunities to promote new and returning programming. Smaller events provide better opportunities to cut through the cluttered landscape in a more financially feasible fashion.” https://bit.ly/2MpPvUh

2. FOX APOLOGIZES FOR SINGER FLIPPING OFF CAMERA AT WORLD CUP OPENING CEREMONY: Singer Robbie Williams flipped off the camera at the opening ceremony of the World Cup, leading live broadcaster Fox to apologize. ESPN: "The pop star was singing at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow before the first game of the tournament when he showed his middle finger to the TV cameras, with hundreds of millions of viewers expected to tune in. Williams had been criticised in both Russia and England before the event for agreeing to participate in the ceremony. The 44-year-old had said he was told not to use his song 'Party Like a Russian,' which pro-Kremlin media outlets suggested mocked Russian oligarchs, while critics in England objected to Williams performing at such a major event for a country that has been accused of human rights abuses. ... The incident led American broadcaster Fox to issue a statement apologizing for showing the gesture. 'The 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony was a newsworthy event produced by a third party and carried live on Fox,' the statement said. 'As it was broadcast live, we did not know what would happen during Robbie Williams' performance and we apologize.' The 15-minute show, produced by Russia's state Channel One, broke from World Cup tradition, focusing on musical acts, including a performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky in front of full stands at the capital's main stadium." https://es.pn/2JTneae

3. INSIDE A FOOD FESTIVAL BY AND FOR REFUGEES: In New York this week, the Refugee Food Festival kicked off, highlighting dishes at popular restaurants cooked by refugees—including Nasrin, an Iranian refugee who cooked a falafel sandwich for Middle Eastern restaurant Taim. The festival was founded and developed by Food Sweet Food in partnership with U.N.H.C.R., the United Nations Refugee Agency. The New York Times: “The festival, which started in Paris in 2016 to help change the perceptions of refugees in France and to bring people together around the dinner table, is now celebrated around World Refugee Day (June 20) as a series of meals cooked by 100 refugees in 14 cities around the world, including Amsterdam, Cape Town and San Francisco.  The 100 participating restaurants cover the costs of ingredients for these meals, pay the chefs for their work and donate a part of the profits to the local refugee organization of their choice. Taim is donating $1 for every one of Nasrin’s sandwiches. In New York, the consultant Céline Karout has helped to organize three events: Nasrin’s falafel sandwich is on sale at the NoLIta location of Taim on Thursday, June 14. Nasrin will also cook a more complex, multicourse Iranian dinner at Le Coq Rico on Saturday. Diaa Alhanoun, from Damascus, will cook a Syrian dinner at Porsena on Sunday. Mr. Alhanoun, who has been cooking since he was 15, arrived in the United States a year and a half ago. He spent four years in Jordan as a refugee after fleeing the war in Syria. According to data from the United Nations refugee agency, 65.6 million people were displaced in 2016, and more than half of the world’s 22.5 million refugees are children.” https://nyti.ms/2ybrtsR


* INDUSTRY NEWS *

Concert discovery platform Bandsintown has added a new integration of Snap Inc.’s Creative Kit in its concerts app. The feature will allow fans to share concerts with personalized Snapchat stories and stickers directly from the Bandsintown concerts app. 

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport, which is slated to open in 2021, has appointed Sean P. Reardon director of sales and marketing. 

CHICAGO:  The Albert at Hotel EMC2 has appointed Larry Feldmeier executive chef. Feldmeier was previously executive sous chef at Sixteen. 

DALLAS/FORT WORTH:  Post Malone will launch the first-ever Posty Fest October 28 at Dos Equis Pavilion. The festival will have a music lineup curated by the rapper, who will also headline the event. 

LOS ANGELES:  The fourth annual Pow! Wow! Long Beach mural festival will run June 24-30. 

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

NEW YORK:  The third annual Pinknic rosé festival will take place June 30-July 1 at Governors Island. 

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

TORONTO:  The seventh edition of Le Diner en Blanc, the pop-up culinary event in which attendees dress in white, will take place August 16 at a secret location. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  The Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference will take place June 16-21 at the Newseum. The event will host 51 high school students from across the U.S. 

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, Ian Zelaya, and Kristine Liao in New York.

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

Feed the Sheet: [email protected]

Subscribe: www.bizbash.com/bizbashdaily

Advertise with BizBash: [email protected]