Chris Hughes, the pioneer behind Brand Events, will deliver a ‘tell-all’ account of the company’s rise and fall to open the EN Indy Expo next week.
Huges will be interviewed on-stage by Mash Media’s chairman, Julian Agostini. He will recount the highs and lows of a 30-year career launching high-profile public events, festivals, and consumer shows around the world.
Brand Events was responsible for many of Britain’s most innovative live events. It was the company behind the globally successful Top Gear Live show, the CarFest family festivals, the IGNITION Festival of Motoring, and the Taste food festivals.
During the pandemic, Brand Events was hit very badly by the uninsured cancellations of Covid, causing losses of over £5m.
Despite being part of the battle to keep UK events alive with drive-in cinema experiences, the losses caught up in 2022, leading to the closure of the Brand Events group.
In June 2023, Brand Events TM, a joint venture between Hughes and Trinity Mirror (now Reach), quietly entered administration mid-way through its Tom Kerridge’s Pub in the Park food and music festival run, reportedly owing £3m to creditors.
Hughes will discuss making and losing money, how his former festivals, such as CarFest and Pub in the Park have survived, his charity endeavours, and the joys of life as an event entrepreneur.
The EN Indy Expo will take place on 25 October at Convene Sancroft, St Paul’s. The ‘In Conversation with Chris Hughes’ session will be followed by three conference tracks, covering topics ranging from selling an exhibition business and event tech stack challenges, to budget planning, geo-cloning, and content strategy.
