1. GOVERNORS BALL CANCELLATION LEADS TO KANYE WEST-INDUCED CHAOS: After organizers cancelled Sunday’s Governors Ball lineup due to forecasted severe weather, scheduled bands including Two Door Cinema Club and Courtney Barnett played make-up concerts at music venues later in the evening. The festival’s headliner, Kanye West, made a surprise appearance at the Hot 97 Summer Jam in New Jersey, but ended up causing chaos in New York after a cryptic tweet lead to a rumor that he would perform a “secret show” at an unidentified Manhattan venue—which fans suspected was Webster Hall. Forbes: “The pop-up concert was prompted after Governor’s Ball Music Festival cancelled its third and final day on Sunday morning, at which West was slated to headline. Event organizers cited safety concerns due to ‘severe weather and a high likelihood of lightning in the area.’ They also promised refunds to all ticket holders, for whom Sunday general-admission tickets cost $105, or $260 for a three-day weekend pass. The outdoor music festival, held on Randall’s Island, is typically a rain-or-shine event, and it persisted Saturday despite the showers. … By 1 a.m., fans chanted ‘Pablo’ and ran sing-a-longs of Kanye-classics like ‘All of the Lights’ in the streets surrounding the East-Village venue. What began as a long line soon aggregated into a screaming swarm, where individuals stood atop cars and West’s own vehicle had difficulty inching through. Finally, after thousands had flooded into Webster Hall, the venue incited an even bigger riot by tweeting out: ‘There is no late show at Webster Hall tonight. Please get home safely.’ Thus far, there is much speculation revolving around the miscommunication of West’s show. While West tweeted about tickets being ‘sold out,’ there doesn’t seem to be evidence of a box office or online ticketing site ever opening. It is also unclear whether West’s team officially booked and notified Webster Hall, with a capacity of 3,000, of the pop-up show.” http://onforb.es/1X6HCo
2. GETTY TO USE ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY FOR RIO OLYMPICS PHOTOS: Sporting event photos taken at the Rio Olympics in August will most likely have been taken with the help of robots. Getty Images, the official photo agency of the International Olympic Committee, will use new robotic technology from Mark Roberts Motion Control to help photographers capture better images at multiple Olympic venues this summer. Mashable: "Enter MRMC, a builder of robotic rigs for broadcast and film cameras. The company is currently testing, in partnership with Nikon, the fifth prototype for a robot mount for still cameras. Getty plans to have these in the hands of their photographers at about 20 Olympic venues this summer, according to Getty VP for Sports Imagery and Services Ken Mainardis. At a press demonstration on Wednesday, Getty was showing off its robotic rig. The camera tracked basketball players as they ran up and down the court at New York’s Chelsea Piers sports center. The new rigs will give photographers shooting events more control over remote secondary cameras, letting them alter vantage point, lens focal length, and even the option to move the camera a full 360 degrees. … The rigs can be set up in a little as 45 minutes, but at the Olympics, where numerous outlets are vying for spots and there are obvious limits on what can be placed where and when—Getty plans to set up most of the PODs in Rio by mid-July, almost three weeks before the opening ceremony." http://on.mash.to/1PrLj5x
3. AIRBNB BEGINS TESTING CURATED EXPERIENCES FOR GUESTS: Airbnb has emerged as a popular hotel alternative for travelers, but now the company is looking to give its guests a chance to experience city life with curated, guided experiences. The house- and apartment-sharing platform has started testing a new program called City Hosts, which allows guests to rent private tour guides to show them less common experiences in a particular city. TechCrunch: “The private beta currently allows access to City Hosts available in San Francisco, London, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo. Airbnb wants to inject itself more into the experience of people’s vacations. The interface bares a sharp resemblance to Netflix and in a lot of ways that’s how Airbnb is treating this program: giving users the ability to choose custom entertainment experiences simply. There are currently 36 experiences available and they all honestly sound pretty awesome, ranging from adventures with a kite surfer in SF, Vietnamese cooking lessons with a Parisian chef and tours through London’s Grime music scene with a record scout. The experiences are charged per guest and you need to book a place to stay through Airbnb in the city of the experience. Depending on the City Host you choose, you may be sharing the tour with other Airbnb guests or you may have the whole experience to yourself.” http://tcrn.ch/1t6ZMdu
* LOCAL NEWS *
AUSTIN: Sheraton Georgetown Texas Hotel & Conference Center will open July 28 at the Summit at Rivery Park in Georgetown. The 222-room hotel will feature comfort food restaurant Brix and Ale as well as 30,000 square feet of meeting space, including 10 dedicated rooms with eight breakout spaces and a 16,000-square-foot ballroom.
BOSTON: Somerville's Redbones Barbecue will host a pop-up beer garden on Saturday at the Adams-Hancock Green in Quincy for the Flag Day festival. Onsite vendors will include the Chicken & Rice Guys food truck and Iron Furnace.
CHICAGO: Ethiopian and Caribbean concept Safari Lounge is now open in Rogers Park. The 5,000-square-foot space has two stages for live music and a DJ booth. Eater: http://bit.ly/1Zk9kMd
LAS VEGAS: MGM Resorts International and New York-based Sydell Group have partnered to rebrand the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino with a $450 million transformation that will launch two hotel experiences in late 2018: Park MGM and the NoMad Las Vegas. Park MGM will have around 2,700 rooms and a full-scale Eataly marketplace; NoMad will have 292 rooms and culinary and drinking experiences from chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara.
LOS ANGELES: The 15th annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball will take place Saturday at a private Mandeville Canyon estate. The event will honor Queen Latifah, Awesomeness TV founder and C.E.O. Brian Robbins, and Without a Trace creator Hank Steinberg.
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: Off the Wall Trampoline Fun Centers—an indoor trampoline park, climbing wall, dodge ball, and laser tag center—will open a second South Florida location in Hollywood. South Florida Business Journal: http://bit.ly/289bVhV
NEW YORK: Saying it needs to raise $2 million in the next two months to continue operations, Big Apple Circus has launched a fund-raising effort called Save the Circus. Fewer corporate groups are booking the circus for private events, according to circus executives, which has contributed to a drop in revenue.
The New York Aquarium will acknowledge World Oceans Day on Wednesday with cocktails, hors d'oevres, a sea lion show, and a screening of the documentary Saving Jamaica Bay.
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA: Kadmar Plaza, a new mixed-use project with a hotel, shops, and restaurants, has been proposed for land less than 10 minutes from Walt Disney World. Orlando Business Journal: http://bit.ly/1t6Nzpj
PHILADELPHIA: This year's Fringe Festival will take place September 9-24. The festival hub will be at the Delaware River waterfront.
SAN FRANCISCO: The Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival will take place September 10-11 at Ghirardelli Square. The event, which benfits nonprofit Project Open Hand, will feature a chocolate and wine pavilion, an ice cream eating contest, culinary demonstrations, and the "From Cocoa Bean to Chocolate Bar" chocolate school.
TORONTO: Honey Nut Cheerios will host a "Bring Back the Bees" planting event on Friday at Black Creek Pioneer Village. The family-friendly event will offer planting instructions on how to create a bee-friendly garden.
Children's hospital charity Smilezone Foundation will host its fourth annual Celebrity Golf Tournament on July 18 at RattleSnake Point Golf Club in Milton.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Mandarin Oriental will host a Father's Day "Bourbon, Bocce, and Bowties" event at its Empress Lounge Terrace on June 19. The event includes a whiskey tasting hosted by Woodford Reserve Distillery, fashion advice from J. Press, and a "dad-approved" barbecue menu from the Muze culinary team.
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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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