5 Online Events That Changed The Game This Year

While your dreams of being in the throng of a crowd might be a little far off rn, that hasn’t stopped artists and event planners from throwing some spectacular shows. These amazing events have come together through imagination, talent and top-notch professionals working in the Entertainment Business Management (EBM) space. EBM covers everything from marketing and festival management to entrepreneurship and business planning.

If you’re curious about what EBM is and how it works, make sure you check out our new Academy Backstage Class! Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the best events from this year:

Splendour XR

No bathroom queue or struggling to set up your tent at a festival? You’ve got our attention! Splendour said “yeah nah” to letting corona ruin their festival for the second year in a row - thus Splendour XR was born. If you had a gaming PC or a VR headset at your disposal, you could either fully immerse yourself, allowing you to have a personalised avatar and roam around the digitally recreated stages, or you could just access it via your web browser. You could even switch 'cameras' in the virtual space and pretend you were backstage or in the front row! Phoebe Bridgers, Little Simz, Denzel Curry, Pond and Methyl Ethel seemed to be crowd faves. The Avalanches' performance was recorded during their show at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre, and Vance Joy’s set was shot on a Gaudi creation in Barcelona. Five of the performances are green screen, including Charli XCX. Pretty cool, huh?

Lil Nas X’s Roblox Concert

Virtual concerts in video games have changed 👏 the👏game👏. Just suss out Lil Nas X and his performance on the hit kids game Roblox. He performed to an audience of millions across two days and four shows. There were 33 million views in total, to be exact. 😱 The shows starred a motion-captured version of Lil Nas X performing four hits. His “Old Town Road” track was in front of a neon-lit old west backdrop, and “Rodeo” featured the spooky night locale from the music video. His song “Panini” was futuristic and funky, defs giving Blade Runner vibes. And finally, the debut of Lil Nas X’s new hit single “HOLIDAY,” came with a wintry wonderland, Lil Nas X decked out in a silver Santa suit.

South By Southwest

South By Southwest (SXSW) is an annual event held in Austin, Texas that features sessions, music and comedy showcases, film screenings and exhibitions. In 2021, the event created the SXSW Online platform, which allowed you to access from your computer, mobile or TV. There were 75 features films (including Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil) as well as 20 Virtual Cinema projects - fantastical virtual versions of iconic Austin locations, live panels and a Virtual Cinema! The music festival aspect had one-of-a-kind performances presented directly from the artists’ home countries or unique locations. Not to mention the abundance of featured speakers, comedians, conferences, exhibitions, and networking opportunities. It was a total success - so much so that SXSW are already working on upping their XR game for the future.

The Tokyo Olympics

Surely we all remember the insane drone display at the opening ceremony? Let us jog your memory - 1824 multi-coloured drones flew 175 metres above the Olympic stadium, transforming into different shapes, including a world globe. This jaw-dropping display immediately set the tone of The Olympics. Yes, the world has been through hell and back after corona, but we’re all in this together (that was an accidental High School Musical quote, but it rings true). Whilst stadium crowds were empty, and medal ceremonies were masked and contactless, watching the Tokyo Olympics delivered the same thrill and adrenaline rush to millions of people worldwide. Sri Chinmoy recently said “this world is full of sadness, sorrows, frustrations and depression. But in the Olympics, at least we get the opportunity to meet together for a few weeks and create a oneness-world-family.”

Ariana Grande’s Fortnite concert

Fortnite, like Roblox, is another online gaming side that’s mixing with music to create virtual experiences for fans and gamers alike. This year, Ariana Grande had a multi-day ‘tour’ with a handful of mini-games. The sequence began with players surfing a rainbow racetrack, hitting power ups (very reminiscent of Mario Kart). This was then followed by bouncing players through a Dr. Seuss-style landscape with candy-like trees and massive floating eyeballs. The sickest part, hands down, was when a skyscraper-high Grande came down staircases with a giant diamond mallet before flinging it to shatter the sky shotput-style. Alpha energy if we’ve ever seen it!

Want to be the genius behind the next huge online event? Look no further than our new “Backstage Class”, your go-to guide to the entertainment business and management industry! We partnered with JMC Academy to give you all the goss on planning, promoting, and putting on an unreal event.