Manchester is set to welcome a new arts venue in 2023 in the form of the £186m ($227m/€213m) Factory International, with its opening events announced in September 2022. Director Danny Boyle will use the space to launch a live production of The Matrix, while the venue will also become the permanent home of the Manchester International Festival.
September saw event technology platform Lyte acquire Festicket and Event Genius, after Festicket fell into administration. Festicket worked with festivals and events as official partners to provide general admission and VIP tickets, which were then bundled together with travel, accommodation and various other add-ons.
Software company Halo Solutions launched a ticket-scanning solution that is directly linked to an incident management platform. The world-first integration can be accessed via the Halo app on any smartphone, meaning there is no extra software or hardware. The system was officially launched at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on August 31.
The end of September saw TodayTix Group acquire London-based entertainment company Secret Cinema, in a deal worth over $100m. The move will help to boost the ticketing platform’s presence in the growing immersive film and television events space. Secret Cinema has previously produced experiences alongside the likes of Disney, Marvel, Universal, Paramount, Lionsgate, Netflix, Sony and Eon Productions.