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Nether Meant was a music festival held to raise money for coronavirus relief.1 The concert venue featured an open pit with seating areas and a bar. There was also a roof deck and outdoor areas, and a cloakroom for guests. Artistes took turns to play their sets while guests interacted with each other and browsed concert merchandise. Some danced, and there were even reported attempts at “crowd surfing”.
It could be any concert taking place in a venue that bore a startling resemblance to Elsewhere, a music hall in Brooklyn, New York. Except that this was located in the online world of Minecraft.
As 5G rollout gains momentum across the world, this blurring of the physical-virtual divide is no longer the stuff of overly-imaginative tech marketing.
5G offers connectivity 10 times faster than 4G, with maximum download speeds expected to go up to 10Gbps as the technology evolves. It will also be able to handle an exponentially larger number of devices per square metre.
At in-person events such as football matches, 5G and edge computing are being used to create a “fan-first” experience. For example, the audience can watch the action from different camera angles, catch instant replays and have live player statistics displayed on their mobile devices using augmented reality.
At the venues, 5G’s ultra-low latency and cloud-based processing allow organisers to white-list VIPs, special guests and employees using facial recognition to facilitate check-ins and allow access to differentiated services. Kiosk operators are introducing in-seat ordering and allowing guests to pick up their purchases at super-efficient AI-powered check-out kiosks.
Wireless sensors collect data on queues and crowds, which is processed using AI and machine learning to provide insights for guests and organisers. Staff can take action to ensure social distancing, and guests can find out which kiosks and bathrooms have the shortest queues.
5G also ensures that mobile network congestion and overload at big events become a thing of the past. Designed to accommodate more connections and support higher data rates, the 5G networks not only ensure an enhanced user experience for guests, but also provide security services and first responders with a fast and reliable communication network to deal efficiently with emergencies.
While all these are significant improvements to the audience experience, some of the really exciting developments will come when event organisers and businesses are able to take full advantage of live streaming apps and digital platforms to replicate venues like Elsewhere or create new virtual environments for their events. This will allow organisers, brand sponsors and attendees to push the envelope in terms of novelty, audience reach and engagement, and translate these into new revenue opportunities.
● Novelty
Take the novelty factor, which is important for audience attraction and sponsorship buy-in. Event organisers can attract attendees by using online gaming environments to create exotic virtual reality settings for conferences and trade shows and provide new ways for attendees and speakers or sponsors to interact.
Event organisers can also add a different dimension to the in-person experience by incorporating mixed-reality (MR) applications that merge the real and virtual worlds. This was demonstrated at a Mixed Reality Fashion Show in London, where guests using headsets were immersed in a digitally-enhanced audio-visual experience synced in real time with each model’s catwalk movement.
● Reach
5G can be used to increase reach and create new revenue opportunities. It enables venues like museums and art galleries to leverage technologies such as VR and AI effectively to create a rich visitor experience, and deliver it seamlessly to people anywhere in the world where the connectivity infrastructure is up to speed.
The ability to recreate venues and simulcast events also enables organisers to overcome the capacity limits of physical venues. Virtual events have practically no cap on the number of people who can participate. Tickets can be sold for sports events, priced differently depending on the vantage point. Attendees at virtual conferences can attend multiple tracks, browse exhibits and engage with speakers via digital channels without having to challenge each other for the microphone.
● Audience engagement
The different channels for interaction available through digital platforms can also help to enhance audience engagement. During the pandemic, many artistes turned to live streaming on social media and other networking platforms to connect with their fans and audiences. 5G can turbo-charge the delivery of VR and other services to bring this to another level.
At Nether Meant, attendees paid real money to access a Discord server for a virtual meet and greet with band members. There was also merchandise on sale, modelled by a Minecraft avatar roaming around the venue.
How well businesses can capitalise on these possibilities will depend on their vision and the ability to execute, and this will require the right connectivity, computational power, and content.
5G will be a key enabler. It addresses the connectivity piece by combining high throughput and high capacity with the flexibility and agility demanded by businesses and users today. It helps plug the need for computational power by providing businesses with efficient access to resources at the edge. And it plays a key role in realising the content proposition – the Elsewheres and their roving avatars that will have to be created and delivered seamlessly for the ultimate audience/visitor experience.
As all three pieces come together, businesses and users will be able to realise the full potential of 5G-enabled events of the future. And when that happens, the experiences will be amazing.
Enable new possibilities with 5G. Speak to us to learn how.
1 Business Insider, A Brooklyn nightclub recreated itself in 'Minecraft' to host a virtual concert and raise money for coronavirus relief — see what it was like, 2020
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